Tyler, the Creator has long believed in scarcity. Limited-edition drops for his skate-inspired clothing line Golf Wang and collaborations with Converse and Lacoste are what made fans line up in droves for his colorful sneakers, polo shirts and hats for the last decade.
But as his nearly two-year-old luxury lifestyle brand Golf le Fleur grows up, the musician-turned-designer is taking a new approach to his beauty portfolio.
“I can’t front. I want the fragrance everywhere,” he said.
Like hip-hop contemporaries Pharrell Williams and Kanye West, Tyler Gregory Okonma — better known as Tyler, the Creator — has cultivated a unique aesthetic and built lifestyle brands while making music.
The Grammy-winning artist is best known for his fashion influence, with ties to the late Virgil Abloh and skate brand Supreme.
But it’s his fragrance, French Waltz, that has become the bestseller for his budding brand, over nail polishes, clothing, eyewear and luggage.
“I’m not an online shopper, much. I don’t even use Uber Eats. I go to restaurants,” Tyler said. “For me, in-store experience is number one, because I’m a person with senses that work.”
The cult of Tyler
Best known for his genre-bending musical career that began with his hip-hop collective Odd Future, Tyler’s style has evolved just as his music has.
He played a major role in the rise of Supreme; resale site Grailed reported that he drove the highest number of Google searches for Supreme above A$AP Rocky, Travis Scott and Justin Bieber between 2011 and 2015.
He is also credited with pioneering what is now called “grandpacore” fashion well before TikTok discovered it.
He quickly became known as a trendsetter, which led to the launch of skate and streetwear brand Golf Wang in 2011.
An elevated sub-brand, Golf le Fleur, first appeared five years later with Converse and Lacoste collaborations, and was spun off into a standalone label in 2021.
“He is one of those artists that has that die-hard fan base,” said Marina Mansour, vice president of beauty and wellness at creator marketing agency Kyra. “Tyler’s basically a business, but he’s done it in a way that you kind of didn’t really notice because it’s not like he suddenly was the face of everything and shoving merch down everyone’s throats.”
Thus far, shoppers have mostly bought into Tyler’s beauty vision online, but the founder stressed the importance of experiencing beauty in store.
Acknowledging that he does not have a strong female-focused customer base, Tyler said that the move into Neiman Marcus will allow him to reach a wider audience.
“I like that it will be people who have no idea who I am who get to not only smell the fragrance, but also smell it from a blank state,” he said.
In addition to more retail locations, Tyler hopes to open a standalone Golf le Fleur store. He is also taking it slow with category expansion, but stated that French Waltz is just his “first” fragrance.
Source: CNN
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