By 
At the beginning of his senior year of high school, Khalid Robinson moved from New York to El Paso, Texas. He knew he'd have to move fast to make an impression. "These people have less than a year to find out who I am," he remembers thinking. "How can I use the way I dress to help them understand me?"
SHOP: Track jacket ($1,750) by Gucci, gucci.com; track pants ($1,200) by Gucci, gucci.com; sneakers ($100) by New Balance, newbalance.com.
It was good practice. A year and a half later, he would invite the world to get to know him with the release of his debut album, American Teen. (The world, for its part, has been more than receptive—his single "Location" has been streamed more than 289 million times on Spotify alone.)
So what's he saying with those clothes? Khalid's cozy knits, pops of color, and that inimitable, flattop-meets-Afro pouf of hair speak to a guy who's cool, comfortable, but never flashy. His music has that same mix of vulnerability and ease. It taps into feelings you haven't had in years—the rush and anguish of being eighteen.
Khalid's sound integrates R&B, soul, folk, and pop. And if you don't like it? Safe to say his attitude toward his clothing also applies to his music: "There are always gonna be people who don't like the shoes I'm wearing," he says. "I just say, 'Good thing they're on my feet, not yours.'"
