Kai Cenat has conquered streaming. Now, he wants a seat at fashion’s table.
The digital superstar officially introduced his new label, VIVET, with its first runway show at Cipriani in Lower Manhattan, presenting a Spring/Summer 2027 collection that makes one thing immediately clear: Kai Cenat is taking this seriously.
VIVET arrives with menswear, womenswear, footwear and luxury leather goods from day one, moving between sharp tailoring, oversized sportswear and heavier pieces informed by different corners of subculture.
Even the name comes loaded with ambition. Derived from Latin and roughly translating to “he, she or it will live forever,” VIVET is being presented as something Cenat wants to exist beyond his own internet fame. Ahead of the debut, he spent months in Italy learning more about textile production, pattern cutting and leather construction, giving him a more hands-on introduction to how the clothes he wanted to create could actually be made.
VIVET split its debut into three acts charting a progression in Cenat’s approach to design. The opening section was deliberately raw, with exaggerated proportions and the hand-sewn Beginner Hoodie setting the tone. From there, things became darker and more assertive, introducing long leather coats, extremely slim denim and heavy structured boots.
By the final act, VIVET had cleaned itself up considerably. Architectural tailoring entered the picture alongside flowing silk and more refined leather outerwear, suggesting the point wasn’t just to show three different wardrobes but to visualise the journey from someone learning how to make clothes to someone beginning to establish a design language.
It’s an ambitious concept for a first collection, and inevitably there’s a lot happening. But the strongest moments arrive when VIVET stops trying to prove how many categories it can tackle and focuses on material and construction.
Canvas, denim, neoprene and hand-treated leather form much of the collection’s foundation. Moto-inspired tops, glossy jeans and utilitarian cargo jackets feature exposed seams, articulated details and aged wax finishes, while references to Cenat’s Haitian background and carnival culture are worked into the clothing without turning the entire collection into an exercise in autobiography.
The Cenova arrives as the label’s flagship bag, while the Streamer takes the language of Cenat’s original profession and attempts to translate it into a luxury object. It’s perhaps the clearest meeting point between the world that made him famous and the fashion world he’s now trying to enter.
Celebrity-founded fashion labels are hardly unusual, and an enormous audience doesn’t automatically translate into a convincing clothing brand. Cenat’s challenge from here will be proving VIVET can develop an identity strong enough to exist independently of his name.
For a debut, though, there’s no shortage of intent. VIVET isn’t arriving quietly, nor is Cenat pretending he has already figured everything out. In fact, the entire show is built around the opposite idea: starting as a beginner, learning the craft and seeing where it goes.
