To reclaim originality in an era of sameness requires a different kind of noticing—one that privileges interiority over approval. Ask yourself:

• What would I want if I had never seen anyone else want it?


• What colors, textures, or environments make me feel joy?


• What forms of beauty did I love as a child?

This isn’t about avoiding all trends or purging... See more

The things that endure — personal essays, strange little games, raw photography, handmade software — tend to feel like the opposite of brand work. They feel like someone trying, and risking.

The idea of putting things in a box just doesn’t work for me. It worked for a generation that was supposed to be where they are. My story starts from immigrant parents from Ghana in West Africa. On the will of my dad making it to America, I was afforded the range of options opposite from a third world country.

Being an outsider allowed Abloh to... See more