A$AP Rocky and Armiel Chandler have two things in common: Both are from New York and are creatives in their own right, so it was a no-brainer for Chandler when deciding on whose looks he wanted to recreate as a plus-size person. A$AP Rocky is notable in the fashion space. As one of this year's Met Gala 2025 co-chairs, he's earned his spot as one of the most fashionable men on all of our favorite red carpets and runways.
“I feel like when it comes to style, there are a couple of people that draw my attention,” Chandler tells Teen Vogue. “It's always André Leon Talley, Jeremy Scott, Andy Warhol. But when I look at drip specifically, I look at A$AP Rocky, I look at Pharrell, I look at Rihanna, I look at Janelle Monáe. Going to high school in Harlem, A$AP Rocky's style was just one that was always engraved in my brain. I felt like he knows fashion, and it's not just fashion, it's art.”
For Chandler, A$AP Rocky was one of the first heterosexual men he saw who weren't afraid to wear different silhouettes and textures. “People mess with it because his style is him, it's unique,” he continues. “I think that's what gravitated me towards him, because I'm the same way. I feel like clothing is art. You should be able to do whatever you want with clothing, and it doesn't matter sexuality wise, gender wise, it's art at the end of the day.”
As a music artist himself, Chandler has found a way to build out a corner of the internet that is all his own. He says a lot of that comes from being raised in New York. Growing up in the city, he believes the kids here are able to form a certain je ne sais quoi that helped him build out the “aura of Army.”
“When it comes to fashion, I always heard this saying that, 'It's in you, it's not what's on you,'” he says. “When it comes to style, I've always looked at my mom and my family for style purposes, but I feel like when I got to college, I started to develop this self-expression of who I am.”
As a plus-size man, Chandler isn't afraid to experiment with fashion. It's given him the freedom to explore fashion in a way some men feel they aren't allowed to. It's given him the space to build an audience that can see fashion is for every body.
For the new installment of CTRL+C, Armiel Chandler tried to recreate a few of his favorite A$AP Rocky looks as closely as he could in a plus-size body. Whether you’re a plus-sized fashionista looking for inspiration or just here for the ride, here are some plus-size-approved options to channel your inner A$AP Rocky:
Outfit 1: “Canal St.”
“When I started to pull the outfit together, I was like, ‘Wait, this is actually lit,’ because every outfit I put my own Army spin onto it, it's like it is an A$AP look, of course, but I put my own spin of ‘What would I do to make it me?’ And I felt like this outfit is very simple, but it's still chic and still fire. I went to a Puma gifting suite, and I wanted to wear the A$AP Pumas. So instead of his loafers, I wore his Pumas, and then I wore these oversized pants from Eloquii. So it kind of gave the same vibe.
I got some pants from Levi's, but when they came, they were super skinny jeans. And I was like, 'Oh, I'm not really a fan of that.' So I had to scramble, but then when I started looking in my closet, I was like, ‘Wait, you have pants from Eloquii that you never worn before, why not wear those?’ So, I mixed and matched. The shirt was a button-down shirt, and I know from the eye it may seem simple, but it was a sequinned striped shirt that I got from Torrid, literally for $10 during fashion week. So all the pieces I had it was just more about putting it together to look like his style."
Outfit 2: “Fashion Killa”
“His Met Gala look was something that I always wanted to do because I love kilts. I have a multitude of kilts. And when I decided who I wanted to do, I was like, 'Okay, he's the kilt guy.' He's that n**** when it comes to kilts, you know?
I wanted to do that look because I just thought it was so interesting, but also play with the idea that his style is so versatile. He could do casual, he could do street wear, he could do avant-garde, and I think that's what makes someone a real fashion God when it comes to dressing up. So I wanted to play with the different ranges of his style. The Met Gala, look, it was really, really easy to find. The only thing that wasn't as easy was the blazer, but I remember that I had a trench coat that I got from Universal Standard. So I was like, ‘Oh, why not just wear a trench coat?’ It's still his style, but it's like you're putting your spin on it. I think the look came out really, really dope. I played around with accessories. I couldn't really find belts, because we know how belts are with plus-size people. But I had to put my own spin on it and made it work, and it came out cool."
“The camouflage look, I felt, was a must because my nickname is Army. And I also do music as well, and my palette and my silhouette when it comes to music is about to be all camo. So I knew I wanted to pay homage to that. And when I think of camo, I think of hip hop, and I think of how well camo and hip hop played a role in army fatigue in different colors. So when I saw that, I was like, ‘This is definitely street wear. I have to do it.’ And that was easy for me to find as well. I had these Ralph Lauren camo cargo pants. And then if a lot of people don't know, there's Army and Navy stores that go up to a 6 and 7X.
If you look online, there's a bunch of stuff that has jackets. So it's very accessible for people of all sizes. I wear a 3/4X, so it wasn't really hard to find pieces, but sometimes when it comes to different sites, 3/4X is different in silhouette and shape. So I was a little apprehensive on the fence, like, is it going to fit, is it not? But when it came and fit, and the Balaclava hat that he had on, I got from Amazon. Then I decided to pair it with some butters and some constructs, as I feel that's very New York, very streetwear. Even though on the photo you don't see his shoes, I just felt like, what would Army do and I would wear constructs."
Armiel's quotes have been edited and condensed for clarity.
