In early 2025, Ken Carson, a.k.a. Teen X, a.k.a. the Lord of Chaos, debuted his first number one album on the Billboard 200, aptly titled More Chaos. In the few months since, he's not only released more music (including three back-to-back singles last month), but he's also touring massive venues with sold-out crowds and making time to fit in a SKIMS campaign among his other fashion ventures.
Carson is among a group of musicians who use fashion to tell the story of their art. When I caught up with him, he was backstage at the Antagonist 2.0 tour in Brooklyn's Barclays Center. Before his show even started, speakers were knocking through the air as fans raged in the ticket line to “overseas,” one of Carson's platinum hits. Mentally fit-checking the scene, it's a sea of black leather, the chunkiest boots money can buy, and DRKSHDW by Rick Owens sneakers. The Opium Warriors are outside. At this point, Carson had already been in New York for two days. “I've been shopping out here, and I know the perfect energy to bring for New York,” he tells Teen Vogue.
Carson is fully zen, getting a shape-up from his barber and relaxing in the green room with friends, including his longtime jeweler, Alex Moss, with whom he regularly collaborates on his sick, one-of-one treasures. Everyone looks the part in their statement pieces, but Carson seems to stand out while trying the least, signaling a style mantra of his. Being part of a collective, you need to stand out while staying true to your individual taste.
“I feel like I got a straightforward life, like, we [Opium members] like different types of cars, clothes, we're completely different,” Carson says, citing 424, Rick Owens, and Chrome Hearts as some of his favorite brands. Staying true to those sentiments, in one of his favorite tour looks, pictured here, he wears unreleased Opium x Evisu jeans, Ken Carson merch, and a Chrome Hearts belt with a custom Alex Moss belt buckle.
The Opium aesthetic draws inspiration from Eastern European vampire folklore, gothic architecture, and the conceptual designs of brands like Balenciaga, Maison Margiela, and Rick Owens. With strong punk overtones and black, broody clothing, this look has been cloned by many — skinny, wax denim, colorful locks, face piercings, and geobaskets — it's like you could guess someone's music taste just by looking at them.
But trendsetters have to find ways to reinvent the past, and themselves. In Carson's case, he unlocked a cheat code to originality: one-of-one custom pieces are a great way to evolve and remain authentic. It's not like anyone can just go out and buy an Opium logo belt buckle in stores or online.
When asked about some of his most outlandish fashion choices, Carson's energy spikes. “Oh, I got a Chrome Hearts suede trench coat… A Junya Watanabe trench coat,” he says. “I think the craziest is probably them leopard pants, they're Chrome Hearts too. I haven't worn 'em yet tho. I gotta lot of stuff I ain't wear, I got like white Timberlands with diamonds on 'em, sh*t is tough.”
In almost every performance across the tour, Carson wears sensible denim, tees, and zip-ups for ease of movement, and he cites the Rick Owens Black Short Level T as his tour must-have. But he elevates those simple elements by adorning himself with personal touches of the most fabulous, dancing diamonds. The grills he wears today are so iconic that they were on display last year at the American Museum of Natural History's Ice Cold exhibit, which showcased moments of cultural advancement in hip-hop through jewelry. A signature element of his style is stamped in history, and Carson attributes that to looking within for inspiration.
While labelmate Destroy Lonely attacks the stage, Carson's demeanor becomes more introspective backstage — getting fly is only part one. At this point, Teen Vogue and the rest of his label and friends corral onto the risers to anticipate his set, and when Carson steps foot on that stage, the ground under us entirely erupts. He performs his new single, “Catastrophe,” released a few hours prior, for the first time, followed by the hype-and-menacing track, “Lord of Chaos.” The mosh pits set off a seismic burst through the arena.
In some of his tour outfits, he can be seen wearing unreleased items and upcoming drops — a clear indication that he's already committed to his next fashion phase. He does, however, promise Teen Vogue and his loyal fans that there will also “be a lot of old music too, because that's what my fans want.”
“I record all the time, and I really feel like right now, I'm doing what I always wanted to do. I'm an adult now. I feel like I'm leaning towards the new era now that the music is coming out," he says. Tour life has also allowed Carson to reflect and gather a live review of what resonates with people. “Motherf*ckers wanna get turnt up. Even when I'm recording. When I made Rock n Roll and sh*t like that, I was even thinking, ‘Can I picture a crowd singing to me?’”
Playboi Carti's Antagonist 2.0 tour continued with several sold-out shows across the US, concluding in the same place where Carson discovered himself through experimentation: Atlanta. In a time where you can find step-by-step instructions online about how to present a specific core or aesthetic, Carson implores anyone struggling with their identity to “trust your gut,” ignoring the pressures of criticism to create your own lane. “I don't be as verbal, cuz motherf*ckers twist words. I just make music and get dressed.”
