Kendrick Lamar Has Always Used Fashion to Send a Message

Kendrick Lamar hasn’t even hit the stage at Super Bowl LIX, but he’s already riding high.

On Sunday, the rapper took home five Grammys for his song “Not Like Us,” an eviscerating diss track in his protracted feud with Drake. As if Lamar’s lyrics—and the enthusiastic support from his star-studded audience—weren’t brutal enough, he used his fashion to drive the final nail in the coffin. Accepting his awards on the Grammys stage, Lamar wore a Maison Margiela Canadian tuxedo—a subtle dig at Drake’s home country.

This is far from the first time Lamar has used fashion to send a message (though maybe the most creative). He’s wont to lean into iconography and pieces loaded with meaning: Repping his hometown of Compton—and Los Angeles at large—he regularly sports an LA baseball cap and Dodger blue. During his Big Steppers Tour, he painted himself as a Christlike figure, wearing a custom Tiffany & Co. crown of thorns. While Lamar has been championed by major fashion houses like Chanel and Louis Vuitton (who made his 2022 Super Bowl look), he’s also thrown his weight behind labels like Martine Rose, ERL, and Willy Chavarria.

“He’s someone who understands the impact of what he’s doing, and his messaging is all very, very politically minded, and it comes from a place of sincerity and goodness,” Chavarria told Vogue in 2024. The designer, who dressed Lamar for his “Not Like Us” video and Big Steppers Tour, will team up with the rapper for a limited collectsion in honor of his Super Bowl halftime performance.

While we wait with bated breath for Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX Half-Time performance, take a look back at some of his fashion evolution.