How Asake’s Style Has Evolved Over The Years 

From old singlets and Ankara trousers to locs and military style-inspired tailoring, Asake’s fashion has evolved alongside the man behind the music. Before the designer clothes and multiple fashion week appearances, there was Asake in a changing room, pulling on an old white singlet. In 2022, NATIVE Mag caught up with him for a cover shoot at the beginning of what would become a career defining run. 

At the time, he tried on a pair of Ankara trousers from Lagos skate brand, waf., telling his stylist Momo Hassan-Odukale: “I like to wear old singlets.” It was a simple statement that said something about the artist: He knew what he liked. That instinct and an ensuing spontaneity with his looks informed by the things he liked would become one of the most recognisable parts of Asake’s image.

When he broke into the mainstream with the ‘Ololade Asake’ EP in 2022, his style was rooted in the same environment as his music: oversized clothes, sneakers, jerseys, and other staples of Lagos’ streetwear culture. Most noticeably, though, were the twisted locs. It lended him a certain casualness. He didn’t arrive looking like someone trying to manufacture a Pop-star identity from scratch. 

‘MR. MONEY WITH THE VIBE’

By the time ‘Mr. Money With The Vibe’ arrived, the circumstances around Asake had changed, So had  his wardrobe. His outfits became louder and more intentional. Oversized trousers, statement accessories, sunglasses and bright colours began appearing alongside the streetwear that had defined the previous era. His locs became another layer of the experimentation, appearing in different colours and arrangements. The appeal of his new look was having luxury sit beside Lagos streetwear without one cancelling out the other. He could look luxurious while maintaining the air of authenticity that allowed people to connect so easily with him. 

‘WORK OF ART’

Asake had become more interested in his image, developing a more visible interest in fashion. His clothing became more experimental while the locs, which by now had become an integral part of the artist’s visual identity, had become increasingly sculptural. At Paris Fashion Week 2023, Asake appeared at shows including BOTTER and Sacai, wearing a futuristic cobalt-blue look, silver sunglasses and statement footwear at one appearance, then a more restrained all-black look with a heavy chain at another. 

Speaking to PAUSE Magazine that year, Asake called Fashion Week “phenomenal,” explaining that he loved looking good and wearing good clothes and that being there allowed him to meet people who shared that interest. He also described fashion and music as two different expressions of the same person: both were elements of who he was, even though they could exist independently. In 2024, Asake cut off his locs. It was a simple act that kickstarted a major visual epoch. His signature locs had followed him from the beginning. They had been twisted, dyed, and sculpted, but they had remained the most consistent feature of his appearance. The timing is significant because this happened as Asake entered the ‘Lungu Boy’ era. Instead of replacing the locs with one new signature, he started moving through different hairstyles: box braids, cornrows, shorter hair and eventually an afro. His appearance was becoming more difficult to predict.

There were also tattoos. By this point, Asake’s body had become another part of his visual identity. The large “ASAKE” tattoo across his neck was particularly striking, but its story was more personal than simply wanting to look different. In his 2024 GQ profile, Asake explained that he got the tattoo during a period when he was feeling discouraged about his music career. He had been tired and questioning whether he wanted to continue. The tattoo was, in his words, a way of giving himself no other option but to keep going. He also had “Stay Real” tattooed across his hands. Beyond fashion, some of his tattoos are reminders of the person behind the music.

‘LUNGU BOY’

Lungu Boy arrived with an Asake who looked markedly different from the artist on his first two albums. The locs were gone. His hair was shorter. The tattoos were more visible. The styling was edgier. But the connection to home remained. Asake’s fashion has always had room for Nigerian references, whether through native fabrics, traditional silhouettes or the way he mixes them with contemporary streetwear. His early stylist Swazzi has spoken about that balance, including his use of African designers alongside international brands.

“MILITARY”

By 2025, the changes to Asake’s looks were more spontaneous than ever before. He moved through braids, lower cuts, coloured hair and other styles before eventually appearing with a clean fade and, later, a completely shaved head. At the 2025 Grammys, another version of Asake appeared: dressed in a custom military-inspired outfit created with his friend PDF. When asked about the look, he had a simple explanation: “I’m in my military time.” It was an authentic Asake answer.  Later that year, ESSENCE asked him about the continuous hair transitions and what they meant. Again, he framed the changes around evolution and growth rather than presenting them as a rigid fashion strategy.

‘M$NEY’ AND THE FREEDOM TO CHANGE 

By the ‘M$NEY’ era, the question was no longer what Asake’s signature look was. There have been too many. The clothes have followed the same pattern. There are still oversized silhouettes and streetwear references, but they now sit alongside luxury pieces, experimental styling and looks that would have been difficult to imagine on Asake in his early days.  Yet, the basic instinct hasn’t changed. In his interview with GQ in 2024, Asake recalled that even as a child he used fashion to stand out, describing it as “putting pieces together, trying to be different among everybody.” 

Although it is tempting to divide Asake’s fashion evolution into neat eras, he doesn’t exactly dress in neat eras, with each defined by completely different style directions. Rather, the styles overlap. The old influences—streetwear and his interest in exaggeration—keep returning. What seems to not change is his willingness to let go of something once it becomes too familiar. That is why the 2024 haircut feels like such an important moment. Not because we can say with certainty that cutting his locs meant he was leaving one version of himself behind. Asake hasn’t made any public statement to that effect. 

It matters because the locs had become so deeply associated with him, and he chose to remove them anyway. His career has grown. His hair has moved through phases. His clothes have evolved. But the person putting the pieces together hasn’t changed as much as it might seem. Asake has always wanted to look like Asake. Perhaps that is the real thread running through all of his fashion eras: not one signature outfit or neatly distinct eras, but the freedom to keep becoming.

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