For years, Kai Cenat built his career around a screen. This weekend, he stepped off of it and onto the runway.
On September 12, the streamer debuted the first collection from his fashion brand, VIVET, during New York Fashion Week at Cipriani in Lower Manhattan. The presentation featured 41 looks and marked the culmination of nearly a year of work.
Cenat first teased VIVET in December 2025 before formally introducing the brand. Over the following nine months, he spent his time learning the fashion industry from the ground up, studying textiles, garment production, and denim while traveling to manufacturing hubs and researching designers and fashion history. He even slept in factories and spoke directly with manufacturers to better understand how clothing is made.
Rather than treating VIVET as another celebrity clothing line, the young entrepreneur wanted to understand the work behind building a collection. He assembled a team to teach him how collections are developed and traveled to fashion capitals, including Paris and Italy, to study the industry firsthand.
He also wanted the runway to exist within the world that gained him recognition. In an interview with The New York Times, Cenat explained his vision, saying, “I want to do my own fashion show and debut it in my world of streaming, Twitch, YouTube, everything.”
He followed through. The presentation drew names from across music, fashion, and the creator space, including Lauryn Hill and fashion stylist Law Roach. Fellow AMP creator Duke Dennis also walked the runway. The show was also livestreamed through Cenat’s channels, bringing the NYFW debut directly to the audience that helped build his career.
Cenat additionally made the decision to retain full ownership of VIVET, turning down outside interest because he wanted to build the company himself.
Following the debut, he reflected on the process and what he wanted people to understand about the collection. “I actually tried, and I actually committed,” he said.
For Cenat, VIVET represents more than a new business venture. It is the result of stepping into an unfamiliar industry, learning its language, and bringing that knowledge back to the audience that watched him build his career in the first place.
Na’ilah Burston
