Who Gets To Become a Fashion Designer?
By: Gabrielle Shawky
As fashion opens its doors to wider audiences, Kai Cenat’s move from streaming to design raises questions about reinvention, opportunity, and who gets the chance to be taken seriously in fashion?
Courtesy of Dazed
This September, watching New York Fashion Week didn’t necessarily require an invitation. At Rockefeller Center, the CFDA’s NYFW Live program returned for its third edition, bringing collections to a public screen. Visitors could follow the shows without navigating a guest list, a welcome development for anyone whose interest in fashion exceeds their industry connections.
CFDA president and CEO Steven Kolb called the initiative a “truly public front row.” It offers a place to discover designers and join conversations that extend well beyond the runway (CFDA).
Public screenings bring more people into the audience. Becoming one of the designers on stage is a different task, yet it raises a related question: how do people turn an interest in fashion into a spot in the industry? Including unlikely candidates like Kai Cenat, the Twitch streamer and online entertainer whose label, Vivet, brings a familiar internet personality into a new creative setting.
A Notebook and a New Beginning
Earlier this year, Kai attracted attention at Paris Fashion Week by carrying a journal between shows.
Courtesy of Teen Vogue
A closer look at the journal revealed how closely it was tied to Kai’s creative goals. Teen Vogue noted that Kai had shown the journal on his YouTube channel, Kai’s Mind, where it contained ideas for his clothing label, Vivet. The coverage also connected his reading and writing habits to his desire to explain his designs more clearly. That made fashion week seem to require more homework than expected (Teen Vogue).
Kai later told The New York Times Popcast that the jokes initially discouraged him. Eventually, he came to appreciate how much conversation surrounded a brand people had barely seen; the attention became part of Vivet's introduction, even when it wasn't the response he had hoped for (The New York Times).
Becoming a Student Again
After many years of streaming, Kai had become an expert in understanding how the industry worked.
However, starting a new project revealed a challenging truth. Excelling in one field does not guarantee instant mastery in another, and every new journey brings fresh lessons.
For Kai, learning fashion meant stepping back from regular streaming. In his Popcast interview, he described visiting factories, studying materials, and finding people who could help him build a collection.
Courtesy: Instagram
Videos and books formed part of that education, alongside conversations with experienced professionals. Kai acknowledged feeling overwhelmed as he learned how much the process required (The New York Times).
Vivet’s debut received a mixed response. In Dazed, fashion writer Sophie Wilson questioned the collection’s distinctiveness while examining the skepticism surrounding Kai’s credentials. Her review offered room to consider both the designs and the expectations placed on someone entering fashion from another profession (Dazed).
Those expectations are also shaped by what Kai brings with him. His first steps in design were always going to attract more attention than most beginners receive.
Bringing an Audience Along
Streaming gave Kai a head start most designers don't get: an audience already curious about Vivet before they'd seen a single piece. Many emerging designers spend years building that kind of following from scratch.
His previous career also offers ideas to draw from. In GQ’s collection walkthrough, Kai presents a streamer backpack, connecting his designs to the practical world of broadcasting on the move. It’s a specific example of how experience outside fashion can inform a clothing or accessory design (GQ).
For newcomers, his interviews and documentation offer a glimpse of the learning involved. Touring factories and asking specialists questions may suggest places to begin researching, even if everyone’s resources differ. His experience is one possible starting point for curiosity, rather than a set of instructions to follow.
Public screenings make collections easier to encounter; stories like Kai’s make parts of the creative process more visible. However, neither one eliminates every barrier to entering fashion. Together, they give aspiring designers more to watch, question, and learn from, and perhaps a reason to open a notebook of their own.
Maybe the real question isn't whether Kai belongs in fashion. It's who else has been waiting for the door to open.
Comments