When you swerve too hard http://t.co/LxiQhHAZPu pic.twitter.com/weCtI6AmLy
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) April 10, 2015
Jaden says yes to the dress: Following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain and Jean Paul Gaultier, Jaden Smith hopped aboard the man dress train last month, tweeting “That Moment When Your Wearing A Dress With No Pants And You Swerve Way To Hard.[sic]” The elder Smith was snapped wearing a black sweatshirt dress and white crochet tank top, and two days prior, captioned a selfie in a striped frock: “Went to TopShop to buy some Girl Clothes I Mean ‘Clothes.'” But as i-D explored, Jaden’s latest style swerve is no gimmick–it’s exciting see someone so young and high profile pushing past the gender binary so earnestly. We hope he’s already copped a few of those Hood By Air A-lines.
When did the women’s body start being something to hide? #freethenipple pic.twitter.com/RBxQTXhyIY
— Willy (@OfficialWillow) January 23, 2015
Willow #freesthenipple…kind of: Earlier this year, Willow Smith posted an adorable snap of her bad self flexin’ in a vintage Jean-Paul Gaultier top featuring a marble bust’s pair of knockers, a tongue-in-cheek take on #freethenipple. She immediately found herself in a shitstorm of backlash courtesy of Instagram’s body police, a chorus of puritanical trolls crying “she’s too young for this.” Although she ultimately deleted the post from her own page, she went on to rock the shirt again at her recent Broccoli City performance.
The siblings get spiritual in T: The Smiths made a massive splash upon speaking to T Magazine about Archimedean solids, prana energy, and why driver’s ed is useless in their first ever joint interview last fall. While the story did spark some public debate about whether the pair were the next Einsteins or just really arrogant, it was pretty refreshing to see a 14-year-old and 16-year-old turn “heady teenage introspection into expression instead of ennui.” Love em or leave em, these two aren’t sitting up in their rooms watching Donnie Darko like the rest of America’s philosophical, angsty teens any time soon.
20-Yr-Outdated Moises Arias Could Be Questioned By CPS In Willow Smith Photo Case – http://t.co/DqtIYupKl8 #news pic.twitter.com/UnbepbVt4c
— WorldNewsToday (@NewsWorldToday_) May 24, 2014
Willow vs. Child Protective Services: Last year, a photo depicting the siblings’ BFF, former Hannah Montana star Moises Arias, laying shirtless in bed with Willow landed the family in pretty hot water with Child Protective Services. The agency found the photo of then-20-year-old Moises and 13-year-old Willow a little too risque, and launched an investigation, interviewing both Will and Jada about their parenting techniques. Days later, Jada came to the rightful defense of her daughter, telling prying paparazzi, “There was nothing sexual about that picture or that situation. You guys are projecting your trash onto it; you’re acting like covert pedophiles and that’s not cool.” Anyone who follows the Smiths social media accounts or listens to their lyrics knows Arias really is their homeboy–Willow even reposted the controversial shot this year with the caption “National Siblings Day” earlier this year.
Willow learned about heavy metal from her mom: Recently, the siblings spoke about their parents’ musical influence in a joint interview with Billboard. While Big Willy got his fair share of love from Jaden for tracks like Parents Just Don’t Understand, the biggest shock of the interview was mom. Turns out Mrs. Pinkett-Smith formed her own heavy metal band, Wicked Wisdom, back in 2002, snagging an opening slot on Britney Spears’ 2004 shows and toured with Ozzfest a year later. “When I was younger, my brother and I toured with my mom’s band, Wicked Wisdom, so heavy metal was one of the first types of music I heard a lot and I’m still really inspired by it,” Willow told the magazine. “My mom listens to my playlists on Hype Machine all the time and I listen to hers — that’s how I found out about Radiohead and Lamb of God.”
Willow breaks out a British accent: Three years ago, Willow dropped a video for Summer Fling, basically an adorably innocent version of Rihanna’s electric We Found Love video. There’s a pool party, a playground swing session, and a colorfully smoky rave in a field. Just like the Rihanna short, Willow also tries her hand at a British accent. Needs a little work, but it’s nowhere near as bad as Mischa Barton’s.
Jaden Smith transformed into a superhero for prom: http://t.co/btcL86u8hg pic.twitter.com/pPc6n6hXbk
— i-D (@i_D) May 19, 2015
Jaden’s style icons are superheroes: For his prom last weekend, the free-spirited elder Smith skipped the whole tux thing entirely, instead breaking back out the all-white Batman look he debuted at Kimye’s wedding last year. He’s also been known to rock an Iron Man look out and about with Kylie Jenner, citing superheroes as style icons in a recent Billboard interview: “Fabrics definitely inspire me and superhero comic book characters inspire my clothes. That’s why I like to wear long drapey things because I want to look like Batman and Robin.”
SZA brings out Willow at the AfroPunk showcase: Last summer, I watched a lanky teen in a muscle tank with the names of prominent feminists join neo-soul singer SZA on stage at her AfroPunk showcase soundcheck. It took me a minute, but that I realized that teen was Willow Smith and then chatted to SZA about their friendship. Later that night, SZA brought Willow out as a surprise guest, and the crowd went bananas over the debut performance of a collaborative untitled track. The pair later released another collaboration, 9, and remain great pals. Fingers crossed we’ll be vibing out to another one of their woozy drops soon.
Willow channels her chakras: Recently, Willow dropped her first video in two years, the soon to be summertime anthem F Q-C #7. Climbing trees, skipping class, and snagging the perfect pair of overalls, the lil’est Smith also found a minute to channel her crazy colorful Chakras. The different Me’s represent my Chakras,” she told the The Fader. “Yellow is self-confidence, Blue is my voice (song), Red is my survival instinct, and the Black is a combination of everything (the true me).” We’ll take one of those oversized monochrome outfits and facepaint situation in every shade.
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Photography Kevin Mazur via Getty Images