Vivet: A Deserved Success?

Streamer Kai Cenat has recently launched a designer brand called Vivet. Cenat’s immediate influence and emergence into the fashion sphere have stirred more than a little controversy. Some people see his instant appearance on the New York fashion scene as undeserved due to his lack of experience and time in the industry. Others see the same event as an example that the American Dream still lives and that a man is achieving a lifelong goal.

The fact of the matter is that Cenat likely either would never have been able to make Vivet or it would have taken far longer without his platform and wealth from his streaming career. The question then is whether that invalidates his brand in some way? Success in one field has opened doors for him in another, unrelated one. Perhaps he will show that he has the goods and silence the doubters in the years to come, but that will take time to show one way or another.

Is it so great a sin to use one’s platform to expand into other domains? It is certainly not a new phenomenon; celebrities have been getting books published or movies made with an ease that aspiring writers or filmmakers can only envy. This is perhaps the first time that such a crossover has occurred in the fashion world, though. Likely this is the root of the controversy. Hearing, for example, that any given billionaire is publishing a book does not cause a single author to bat an eye.

Such a concept has been highly normalized in our society. Money opens doors, always has, always will. That is the reasoning, and so far it has held up very well. The next few years could very well see other people of wealth or influence following Cenat’s lead and a proliferation of fashion brands burgeoning under myriad popular heads. This eventuality is probably hanging in every designer’s mind right now, like some kind of torturous fruit.

The only consolation to such concerns should be that Cenat, personally, is not such a cut-and-dried case. By his own admission he has always loved fashion and wanted to do it and finally took the steps and used what he had built with his own hands to achieve it. Sure, cynical interpretations of his actions could just see a blatant cash grab, nothing more or less. To defend that point or assail it is not too difficult.

But not every action needs to be assumed to be taken from greed or malice of some kind. Can we not, as a society, look at a man finally achieving his real dream and simply say, “Well isn’t that cool.” We don’t need to rip through motivations and actions, looking for the weak points and the hidden evils.

Those rotten patches may exist, or not, and the truth will out if it will. Or not, no matter. Cenat has made a fashion brand and called it Vivet. If he makes good fashion, he’ll succeed. If he doesn’t, he’ll fail. Controversy stirs because people are cynical. It is a waste of time to batter a cynic with logic.

When all is said and done, Vivet exists and we can choose to believe that Cenat is enjoying himself and living his dream while hopefully making great fashion. He decided not to be locked into the niche he had started in. He wanted to pursue something he had always loved and is doing it as best as he can. Of course we could call him all sorts of vile things. We can make assumptions about whether he deserves Vivet being as prominent as it is or not. Or we can just stop seeking out filth to roll in and appreciate the grass.