Why Jaden Smith Decided To Wear Skirts Against Will Smith’s Wishes

Jaden Smith’s decision to use fashion to express recent issues in society didn’t fare too well with his father, Will Smith. 

Jaden is known for his outlandish style, which shines through his music videos and red carpet. In 2016, Jaden turned heads when he became the face of Louis Vuitton’s womenswear. The deal came after Jaden wore skirts in public as a teenager. 

Jada Pinkett Smith explained during an episode of Red Table Talk that she and Will Smith had different views on Jaden’s fashion look. She said her husband had trouble accepting their son’s decision at first, but that soon changed. Although he didn’t have his father’s full support, Jaden explained that the reason behind him wearing a skirt was more significant than the uproar he received. 

Why Jaden Smith decided to wear skirts

Jaden shared in 2016 that he wanted his style to bring attention to the bullying and violence other children face due to them expressing themselves at school. The then-17-year-old told Nylon he tried to change the way young, Black men view fashion. By joining Louis Vuitton’s campaign, Jaden said he hoped people with differing opinions would stop mistreating others because of their appearance.

“So, you know, in five years when a kid goes to school wearing a skirt, he won’t get beat up and kids won’t get mad at him,” Jaden said. “It was lit because we all knew that we were going to impact the culture and change the game and make a difference.”

Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith had different opinions on Jaden Smith’s clothing

Jaden’s gender-fluid fashion sense became a hot topic of conversation between the Smith family. Jada shared on Red Table Talk that when Will learned that Jaden was wearing skirts as a part of his Louis Vuitton campaign, he called his wife and asked if she talked to Jaden about it. Jada said she fully supported Jaden and was happy to see her son feel free to express himself publicly. 

“He has his feelings on that for sure. I remember Will calling me and being like, ‘Have you talked about this Jaden and him wearing a skirt?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, I have. He’s pretty happy about it,”’ Jada recalled. “[Jaden] talked about wanting to wear skirts to give kids the freedom, to give other people the freedom to think out of the box for themselves and not feel like in doing that that they would be bullied or be attacked in some way.”

How Jaden Smith feels about being a gender-neutral fashion icon

Although there have been many reports surrounding his sexual and gender identity through the years, Jaden hasn’t shared exactly how he identifies. He does, however, appreciate the positive words he receives for his non-traditional fashion style. 

Jaden shared in a 2016 interview with British GQ that while he enjoys expressing his style and encourages others to do the same, he isn’t interested in being a poster boy for all gender-fluid fashion. Instead, he hopes people will do more research about gender norms to communicate with the people in their lives better. 

“I feel like people are kind of confused about gender norms. I feel like people don’t really get it,” Jaden said. “I’m not saying that I get it; I’m just saying that I’ve never seen any distinction. I don’t see man clothes and woman clothes; I just see scared people and comfortable people.”