The Graduate

Talking to Swizz, you can feel his immense hunger for accomplishment and for being a trailblazer in the industry. “I’m the one that’s going to go out there and not sleep and travel across the world and produce music and art, and take the business to levels no one is thinking about.” That desire to become the very best at everything has spilled over to countless collaborations and relationships in the music, entertainment, and fashion worlds. For the last decade, Swizz has built an empire around his beats, but in this “graduation” year, he is intent on introducing the man behind the music—Kasseem Dean, his given name. And, in what he coins the official launch of the mogul, Swizz has lots of tricks up his sleeve.

Swizz has already collaborated with Paul Budnitz of Kidrobot, the world’s premier label for limited-edition art, toys, and apparel, most notably recognized for its quirky pop art and mass culture novelties. This partnership helped Swizz realize his true potential as an entrepreneur and fashion heavyweight. “I teamed up with him and they wanted me to design a doll. But, you know, my mind is a little bit bigger than just designing a ‘Swizz’ doll.” When Budnitz was not convinced of the selling power of a Kidrobot fashion line, Swizz was the one who hired designers and made it happen. Today, Kidrobot apparel is a leading brand in that genre. But Swizz is already on to the next one, intent on graduating to more high-end, luxury brands.

He is great friends with Christian Louboutin and Christophe Decarnin of Balmain, and his future projects with these fashion greats are all part of the “next” stage of his life. “It’s amazing to be in Italy at the factory with Christian [Louboutin] and just be in his world. Just as much as I want to be in fashion, he loves music and film,” explains Swizz. And it is their shared affection for each other as well as each other’s creative businesses that led them to collaborate on a short film as well as musical projects and shoes. Swizz is a big supporter of Mr. Louboutin’s crystallized sneakers, even sporting them for the Haute Living photo shoot. Of Swizz, Mr. Louboutin has the highest praise, saying, “First of all, Swizz is a great soul. The wonderful thing about collaborating with someone like him is that you have no sense of boredom, no sense of exhaustion. It’s all great energy mixed with fun ideas.”