Jaden Smith is on the cover of Nylon, and he wants us all to rethink gender

Jaden Smith has been ahead of the game as far as rethinking gender when it comes to fashion — sure, there are many iconic stars who have been doing it for decades, but it seems that he came upon his fashion sense in a truly organic way, and he’s a beacon for other young people who don’t identify strongly with masculine or feminine aesthetics. The fact that the fashion industry has embraced him is a huge deal, because he now has a platform both for visibility as well as to speak up about gender and what it means (or doesn’t mean) to him.

One of the first times we remember him really speaking out about gender in fashion was when he posted this photo to Instagram, with the caption, “Went To TopShop To Buy Some Girl Clothes, I Mean ‘Clothes.’”

He’s been speaking out ever since then in interviews, on Twitter, and wearing whatever he wants — from both the men and women’s section — to any event, and we think that’s FANTASTIC. Now, he’s going to be on the cover of the August issue of Nylon magazine, and he’s the first man to be on the cover solo.

Here’s what he says in the mag:

Isn’t that inspiring? The next generation is giving us so much hope — hope that there will be less hate and more acceptance in our future. Thank you, Jaden, for being exactly who you are.