dior.com - 800.929.dior (3467)
dior.com - 800.929.dior (3467)
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Stephen Gan ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Devin Barrett
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
Melissa Scragg ART DIRECTOR
Melise Katharine Senaydin
FEATURES EDITOR
CONSULTING CREATIVE AND DESIGN DIRECTION
Samuel Anderson
Greg Foley
PHOTO EDITOR
BEAUTY AND SPECIAL PROJECTS EDITOR
Goran Macura PRODUCER
Stella Pak MARKET EDITOR
Wojtek Szaulinki
Britta Briscoe
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, ENTERTAINMENT
ASSOCIATE MARKET EDITOR
Greg Krelenstein / Starworks DIGITAL EDITOR
Mathias Rosenzweig ASSOCIATE DIGITAL EDITOR
Brandon Tan CONTRIBUTING EDITOR-AT-LARGE
Derek Blasberg CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
James Franco COPY EDITOR
Svetlana Kitto MANAGING EDITOR
Nancy Gillen ASSISTANT TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Ross Conway
Sara Zaidane CONTRIBUTING FASHION DIRECTOR
Paul Cavaco CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITORS
Nicola Formichetti Jay Massacret Gro Curtis Tom Van Dorpe Jacob K Panos Yiapanis Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele Anna Trevelyan Tom Guinness Ilona Hamer Christian Stroble OFFICE COORDINATOR
Caroline Mason
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER AND ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
Nicola Bernardini de Pace nico@vmagazine.com ADVERTISING OFFICE, ITALY AND SWITZERLAND
Magazine International Luciano Bernardini de Pace luciano@bernardini.it +39.02.8724.3801 Olivia Pinto olivia@bernardini.it magazineinternational.it INTEGRATED ACCOUNT MANAGER
Jeff Greif 212.213.1155 BUSINESS MANAGER
Kelly Keegan kelly@vmagazine.com PRESS AND EVENTS
Remi Barbier remi@remibarbier.com COMMUNICATIONS
Jocelyn Mak Amy Choi Purple PR 212.858.9888 DISTRIBUTION
David Renard MANAGING DIRECTOR
Todd Kamelhar
CONTRIBUTORS
Chris Colls Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott Marcus Ohlsson Semra Russell Tim Richardson Blair Getz Mezibov RJ Rogenski Max Papendieck Britt Lloyd Brooklyn Beckham David Alexander Flinn Yukihide Harada Dogukan Nesanir Charlotte Hadden Andrew Jacobs Michael Darlington Carlotta Manaigo Haidee Findlay-Levin Heather Hazzan Yuiko Ikebata Rusty Beukes Luke Kuisis Doug Inglish Andrew Vottero Christian Oita Jeiroh Yanga Jenny Brough Liam Hess Davey Sutton Travis Chantar Alex Frank Trey Taylor Teppei Hoshida Miles Joris-Peyrafitte Jason Pietra Akihito Igarashi Alexandra Ilyashov Kristen Batemen Nick Barr Tony Cook Hadar Pitchon Shun Watanabe SPECIAL THANKS
IMG Kevin Apana Vanessa Gringer Leah Heyman IMG London Xenia Mclaughlin Next Models Gaspard Lukali-Lokote Samuel Zakuto Fusion Veronica Canto SOUL Lindsey LeGarrec Wilhelmina Alexa Renfroe NY Models Blake Woods PRM Patrick Egbon-Marshall Serlin Associates Philippa Serlin Carly Louison WYO Artst Karen Long CLM Jasmine Kharbanda Cassandra Maxwell Streeters Rayna Donatelli Jillian Graham The Wall Group Gregg Rudner Erin Kilfoy Mandy Smudlers Bryant Artists Brennan Casey Atelier Management Vonetta Baldwin Artlist NY Kristen Morehouse Ryan Bianchi Lowe and Co. Jerry Morrone D+V Management Sarah Clements Ian Milan Contact INC Jim Indorato WSM Kellie O’Bosky Clowell L’Atelier NYC Malena Holcomb Root Studios BK Wet Noodles Vita Ryo Shimura INTERNS
Anushka Patel Clare Ryan Eryk Jasinksi Adrian Davis Zoe Elefterin K.C. Amable Christopher Conners Czar Van Gaal Stephanie Ge Jasmine Clarke Gabby Eshgapour Charles Royle VMAN IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF VMAN LLC. COPYRIGHT © 2019 VMAN LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PRINTED IN U.S.A. VMAN (BIPAD 96492) IS PUBLISHED BIANNUALLY BY VMAN LLC. PRINCIPAL OFFICE: 11 MERCER STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013. POSTMASTER, SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: VMAN, 11 MERCER STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013. FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, SUBSCRIPTIONS, ADDRESS CHANGES, AND ADJUSTMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT: VMAN, 11 MERCER STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013, TEL: 212.274.8959, E-MAIL: SUBSCRIPTIONS@VMAGAZINE.COM. FOR BACK ISSUES, CONTACT: VMAN, 11 MERCER STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10013, TEL: 212.274.8959, VMAN.COM. FOR PRESS INQUIRIES PLEASE CONTACT PURPLE PR, TEL. 212.858.9888
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VMAN NEWS Kim Jones channels Galliano; Berluti’s French revolution; and a Factory alum recalls the time Halston and Saint Laurent walked into a (famous) bar. Today’s news is tomorrow’s history.
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FIGHT CLUB
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Luke James, Miss Lawrence, and Matthew Noszka, the multitalented men of the girl-group bio-drama Star, defy category on and offscreen.
Meet Marcus Galloway, the mixed-martial artist with modeling chops to boot.
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NEW ROUTINE
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ART After setting the Balenciaga SS19 runway ablaze with an LED- and URL-driven installation, Jon Rafman talks trolls and finding beauty in the dark web.
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DESIGN These interior tableaus, created specially for VMAN, provide fertile ground for Spring’s best looks.
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GEAR Timeless Spring/Summer essentials are today’s must-haves and tomorrow’s staples.
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MUSIC As gender norms fade, menswear makers turn up the volume on outré looks, rocked here by six musicians.
FORCES OF SPRING BY CHRIS COLLS Industry Oz Mark Ronson becomes a leading man of music. He’s joined by two stars on the rise: Hero Fiennes Tiffin, of Fifty Shades-esque YA adaptation After, and Stranger Things’s Charlie Heaton. Styled by Ilona Hamer.
TRAVEL A Brooklyn in L.A., a Muay Thai-fighting model in motion, and farm-to-table fashion in Tokyo.
OCEAN DRIVE Skip the yacht mixer: Emporio Armani’s aquatic gear are the season’s must-have luxury vessels.
The VMAN regimen is all about appreciating inner and outer beauty—from the face to high-brow fitness.
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STAR BOYS
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RAZOR SHARP BY MARCUS OHLSSON Established men’s houses returned to fine tailoring this season, as seen here in B&W juxtaposition. Styled by Gro Curtis.
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IT TAKES TWO BY MERT & MARCUS
116 WHITE NOISE BY RJ ROGENSKI Wearing white-hot statement-making pieces to the beach is the best way to show off that summer body. Styled by Christian Stroble.
126 PRIZE FIGHTER BY TIM RICHARDSON Don’t try this at home: Wonderboy reaches new heights in an exploration of martial artistry. Styled by Nicola Formichetti.
132 AVANT GUARD BY BRITT LLOYD Craig Green carries a torch for the menswear revolution sparked by Rei and Rick. The grass is greener in this nocturnal avant-garde survey. Styled by Gro Curtis.
136 KEEP IT BRIEF A worldwide survey of the best underwear and swim as curated by Nicola Formichetti.
In this study in high-contrast, the glam photoduo focuses on their own DSQUARED2 collaboration. Styled by Semra Russell.
104 SURF THE WAVE BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV Breezy beachwear meets grunge-like subculture. Come as you are but don’t forget the SPF. Styled by Gro Curtis.
ON COVER 1: HERO WEARS JACKET, TOP, PANTS DIOR MEN ON COVER 2: MARK WEARS JACKET LOUIS VUITTON ON COVER 3: CHARLIE WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, PANTS GIVENCHY
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The rebirth of men’s fashion is here, as the Spring 2019 collections proved by sounding a seismic change in the menswear landscape. With debuts by Hedi Slimane at Celine, Virgil Abloh at Louis Vuitton, Riccardo Tisci at Burberry, Kim Jones at Dior Men, and Kris Van Assche at Berluti, the influx of “new” was accompanied by overall shifts in the way men approach dressing. Gone is the monolithic “man”—an imagined ideal dictated by gender and societal norms—and in his place is the call to embrace art and experimentation, as the VMan has done since the beginning. Our cover stars are on their way to leading-man status, from the unstoppable starmaker Mark Ronson, who prepares to launch a new album in the wake of awards season, to prince of Hollywood’s heir apparent Hero Fiennes Tiffin, testing parental controls in the new Mpm {¢#Zohk l z–adjacent film Hm {l y, to bad-boy turned streaming sensation Charlie Heaton. Elsewhere in the issue, photographer Charlotte Hadden and stylist Dogukan Nesanir capture a rising crop of U.K. musicians in the most exciting emergent designers of today, ranging from Kelvin Bueno in
Mowalola to Lauren Auder in Stefan Cooke. With silhouettes that demanded attention and lines that cut clean, tailoring went edgy this season. Stylist Gro Curtis and photographer Marcus Ohlsson spotlight all the razorsharp highlights in stark gray-scale. At the other end of the spectrum, airy white standbys are seen in crisp monochrome—a perfect palate cleanser for summer styled by Christian Stroble and photographed in Miami by model and renaissance man RJ Rogenski. Speaking of a renaissance, Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott unveil their first capsule collection with Italian fashion house DSQUARED2, capturing model Louis Baines in their limited edition range dubbed “Mert and Marcus 1994 x DSQUARED2,” a reference to the year the photographic duo met. Shot by Blair Getz Mezibov and styled by Gro Curtis, “Surf the Wave” cranks up the volume on the era of grunge. When effortlessly layered, classic surfgear harks back to the street. Cementing the new era of menswear is Britt Lloyd and Gro Curtis’s survey of some of today’s most progressive designers, including Craig Green, Comme des Garçons, and Rick Owens. Go forth into 2019 with this knowledge: that the time for self-realization is now. MR. V
This Spring, what’s old is This new Spring, again, from what’s old distressed is new again, kicks to from vintage distressed guitars. Then kicksfast-forward to vintage guitars to our hot-offand saddle the-presses bags remixed Fall Preview. for men. STILL-LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY JASON PIETRA 26 VMAN.COM
first time for men, because of its universal ability to be repurposed in several ways, offering it in a cross-body, backpack and belt-bag version.” —Kim Jones
DIOR MEN’S SOUPED-UP SADDLE BAG MARKS 20TH ANNIVERSARY Following a floral Kaws teddy bear as a runway centerpiece and amped up men’s jewelry, Kim Jones defies the status quo for SS19, where the “iconic” Saddle Bag circa Dior by Galliano returned as a curvy cross-body. With a utilitarian upgrade, and Matthew Williams hardware, the 20-year-old silhouette is sharper than ever. DIOR MEN SADDLE BAG ($2,400, DIOR.COM)
SET DESIGN DAVID DE QUEVEDO
NEWS
VMAN
“I decided to work on the iconic Dior Saddle Bag, reimagined for the
ALTON MASDN
SHOT BY BRIANNA CAPOZZI SS19
STYLED BY ANNA TREVELYAN
GCDSWEAR.COM
@GCDSWEAR
FOR SS19, SAINT LAURENT RELIVED YVES’S NYC. BOB COLACELLO WAS THERE THE FIRST TIME AROUND. Last June, Anthony Vaccarello’s first menswear showing at Saint Laurent redefined the term “destination.” From the moonlit ferry ride to a spangly waterfront catwalk, to the finale’s Studio 54–like cavalcade of club-ready models, the show transported guests to a New York of another time. It was this New York that Yves Saint Laurent once lit up with his own destination showcase: his Opium fragrance’s U.S. launch in 1978, which brought his “dream of the Orient” to life for 800 of NYC’s brightest stars, from Cher to Warhol to Factory scribe Bob Colacello aboard a docked junk-ship. The designer tended to prefer his imagination to real-life travel, making visits to New York scarce. But what unfolded at his Opium afterparty at Studio 54, as told by Colacello, can only be described as a New York minute—from the star-studded spontaneity to the cosmically SS19-esque wardrobe. SAMUEL ANDERSON BOB COLACELLO A visit from Yves to New York was a big deal; he made very few appearances. I don’t think he really liked to travel, except to Morocco. His entourage, led by Pierre Bergé, was very protective. Marina Schiano, one of his muses, ran the American business. When he would come, she’d excitedly say, “Yves is coming, Yves is coming,” as he did to promote Opium. At Studio 54 there was a sort of secret door that led to the basement, which was like the VIP lounge, except it was only a series of storage rooms with cement floors and a couple folding chairs. You could hear people stomping above your head. But there was a security guard who knew who to send down. At some point that evening, I was in the basement with Truman Capote and a young English boy named Hugo Guinness—of the banking family, not the beer. Also in the room was Halston, who always wore a black cashmere turtleneck and black aberdeen trousers. Everything was black. Sometimes he’d have a very long cashmere scarf sort of falling down over the turtleneck. Suddenly Yves appeared with Marina Schiano. He was wearing a cream-colored Yves Saint Laurent suit, with a striped shirt and pants that were sort of bell-bottomed. At the time Saint Laurent was the biggest in Europe and Halston was the biggest in America. It wasn’t just any American and any French designer. Yves was a huge star; he caught the spirit of the times. He was just the number one designer [but] so was Halston. It was like the King of France and the King of England meeting in Normandy. Halston jumped up and moved towards Yves, and Yves moved towards Halston, and the two of them embraced. They talked a little: “Darling…mon cherie.” But it was more a flurry of kisses and hugs. Truman says to Hugo, as if he was talking to a pupil, “You have just witnessed one of the great moments in the history of fashion.” Then he paused and said, “That is, if you care about the history of fashion.” Then Marina whisked Yves off, and got him the hell out of the basement. 28 VMAN.COM
THIS SPREAD: SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO SPRING/SUMMER 2019, COURTESY SAINT LAURENT
Backstage at Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello Spring/Summer 2019 in New York City, June 2018.
NEON VUITTON Dive into a wave of brilliant hues this spring. Louis Vuitton’s signature Taïga leather and monogram canvas take a dip in jolts of neon as part of a limited-run collection dubbed Taïgarama. The range’s outdoor messenger bag (pictured here) is the ultimate bridge between luxury and utility. Its black canvas detailing is reminiscent of expedition gear, an ideal pairing for the puffer jackets of early spring, while the smooth durable leather will elevate the most casual wares at the height of sweltering summer heat. LOUIS VUITTON TAÏGARAMA OUTDOOR MESSEGNER BAGS
GUCCI GOES DAY TO NIGHTCLUB Why break in new kicks when Gucci’s come wih a readymade patina? Debuted at the Le Palace club, these “dirty” sneakers withstand any drink-spilling fancy footwork. GUCCI LEATHER SNEAKER WITH CRYSTAL CHAIN ($1,590, GUCCI.COM)
MAN’S NEW BEST FRIEND Go fetch! Merging Wall-E and Smart House, Vector is here to not only keep you company but also facilitate your day-to-day. Developed by home robotics company Anki, the domesticated AI-on-wheels takes house-trained tech to the next frontier, responding to human touch (petting relaxes him) and coming at your beck and call. Alexa, sit.
($1,840, AVAILABLE MARCH 22ND AT LOUISVUITTON.COM)
BERLUTI CROSSES OVER INTO A NEW CHAPTER
On March 13, Snarkitecture, a BK-based firm known for high-design “snark” (think jagged mirrors made to look like partial demolition jobs), will open Snark Park at Hudson Yards—a “modern enchanted forest” of immersive optical illusions, KITH merch and rotating exhibits.
ROCK THE BID This spring, Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour will auction a one-of-a-kind collection reflecting his decades of onstage shredding and quiet guitar collecting. The seminal prog-rock souvenirs include a trusty black Fender stratocaster, purchased five years after the band formed in London in 1965, expected to fetch around $100,000 at Christie’s in June. 30 VMAN.COM
French shades) as well as in slightly mutated black and green. Crisp white-leather briefcases, featuring a detachable strap and an updated “1895 Paris” logo, offer a cross-body spin on the business-casual standby. BERLUTI S4781 NEW SNEAKER AND PROFIL 3 GULLIVER BAG ( $1,090 AND $2,200, BERLUTI.COM)
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: PHOTOGRAPHY JASON PIETRA (4) SET DESIGN DAVID DE QUEVEDO; DAVID GILMOUR, PHOTOGRAPHY JILL FURMANOVSKY; COURTESY CHRISTIE’S; COURTESY SNARK PARK
SNARK PARK OPENS HUDSON YARDS
Welcome to the new republic. Kris Van Assche’s inaugural Berluti collection forecasts a reinvigorated blueprint for the 120-year-old French luxury goods house. Re-establishing the modern man’s essentials, the collection ranges from a two-button suit jacket, a white poplin shirt, and a razor-sharp tuxedo in black and white color-ways. Meanwhile chunky leather sneakers come in white, red, and blue (Berluti’s signature
The IMG rookie from Down Under prepares for his fashion debut. PHOTOGRAPHY MAX PAPENDIECK TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON 32 VMAN.COM
SHORTS GCDS
MARCUS GALLOWAY Growing up on the rugby-dominated island of Tasmania, Marcus Galloway’s strongest link to MMA fighting was his cable connection. A lifelong athlete IRL, Galloway was captivated by TV re-broadcasts of The Ultimate Fighter—an American UFC cable spinoff that predated the sport’s stateside cache: “I was so curious; it was almost like a primal instinct.” Since following his instincts to the more MMA-friendly Gold Coast, he’s trained six days a week—“nonstop,” says Galloway. In fights, he’s just in tune with his primal instincts: “I don’t think you ever get used to being punched in the face, but if you break down what you’re scared of, then you can avoid it. That’s how you win.” Instinct was also the driving force behind Galloway’s newly minted IMG contract; the modeling agency signed him last year after a brief FaceTime call. If his career can be attributed to seeing what others don’t, he returns the favor when it comes to his love of animals. “I watch where I step so I don’t kill any insects,” he says. Those who cross paths with Galloway in the ring may not be so lucky. SHORTS GUESS X J BALVIN
SHORTS DSQUARED2
GROOMING ALAN WHITE (MAP)
FIGHT CLUB
VMAN
baracuta.com
GROOMING
VMAN
PHOTOGRAPHY JEIROH YANGA STILL-LIFE PHOTOGRAPHY NICK BARR TEXT STELLA PAK 34 VMAN.COM
CHANEL BOY DE CHANEL EYEBROW PENCIL DIORSHOW BOLD BROW DIOR BACKSTAGE BROW PALETTE FENTY BEAUTY PRO FILT’R INSTANT RETOUCH CONCEALER SHISEIDO SPORTS HYDROBB COMPACT
THE GUYS HAVE IT Make-up knows no gender, a cue brands are taking by offering products both marketed and engineered to be gender-inclusive. Chanel led the pack last fall with their starter kit for budding beauty gurus. The Boy de Chanel range includes foundation, eyebrow pencil, and lip balm, eschewing
hypermasc marketing tricks in sleek, signature-black packaging. One-off products like Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Concealer offer low-maintenance coverage for acne and redness, while Shiseido’s Sports HydroBB Compact provides a UV veil that maintains
its charge in sweat. For brow and beard fixes, Chanel’s pencil darkens and shapes, while Dior’s Backstage Brow Palette and Diorshow Bold Brow adds two-step definition. And after so long without a touch-up, why shouldn’t men go the extra mile?
MODEL HARRY GOODWINS (SOUL)
Face it. Men’s beauty products are ready for their close-up.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT:
Stepping into Technogym’s Soho boutique is like visiting a fitness center from the future. Mounted on the wall like a crown jewel, the mirrored $20,000 Kinesis machine reflects back nearby models on display, like the high-performance, lowimpact Cross Personal, fetching north of $14k and equipped with noise cancellation and Dolby surround-sound. Nerio Alessandri, trained as an industrial designer, founded the brand in Cesena, Italy in 1983, and his impressive fleet can currently be found in 80,000 gyms and over 200,000 homes worldwide. Thanks to their sleek collapsable design, courtesy of Italian architect Antonio Citterio, the brand’s fitness products are tailor-made for elite home gyms and luxury yachts alike. “It’s really an interior design
concept,” says Alessandri. As visitors to cleared and calories burned into currency the Soho showroom can attest, the mir- units called “MOVEs,” which can be comrorlike pieces are hybrids between state- pared with friends and fellow users’ data. of-the-art equipment and home design Many of the machines also allow one to accents, whether in workout mode or hung train in real time with other users or on on the wall. In Cesana, Italy, an entire vil- VR-like tracks and hills perfectly mimicking famous trails around the world. lage is a monument to the brand’s futuristic legacy. “We need to have our team and For 2019, Technogym will be launchour customers immersed in a wellness vil- ing an all-new line of machines called lage,” explains Alessandri. Also important Skill Athletic. “It’s designed with different to the wellness center is sustainability. The sports in mind,” explains Alessandri. But heating and cooling systems are designed the brand is just as active on the design to reduce emissions and the restaurant front, working to debut a new, top-secret serves zero waste food. product at Milan Design Week in April. Further differentiating the brand is “Innovation has always been key to the the technology embedded in each of Technogym brand,” says Alessandri. “We its machines, in the cloud and beyond: don’t want to be just a machine or equipTechnogym’s Mywellness app tracks ment company. We want to be able to offer every physical activity, transforming miles experiences to people.”
VMAN
FITNESS
TECHNOGYM BURNS THE MUNDANE FROM FITNESS
Your body is a temple. These sculpted machines are the workout buddy to match. SHORTS RON DORFF
PHOTOGRAPHY JEIROH YANGA TEXT KRISTEN BATEMEN
TRAVEL
VMAN
Around the world in four pages. We roam from the West Coast to food and fighting meccas in Asia, as seen through the eyes of VMEN. 36 VMAN.COM
LOS ANGELES BROOKLYN BECKHAM THE SOCCER SCION DOCUMENTS HIS MOST RECENT TRIP TO TINSELTOWN.
THE FLATS OF BEVERLY HILLS
DOWNTOWN L.A.
Walking around the tree-lined streets of Beverly Hills is so beautiful. I love them all. I took this shot around San Ysidro Drive. NEAR SAN YSIDRO DR., BEVERLY HILLS, CA 90210
I took this from inside an abandoned building downtown that my mates and I were exploring. Walking around the halls was like being the last person on earth. 1340 E 6TH STREET, DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES
VENICE BEACH
JUNK YARDS
This photo was taken on Venice Beach using my Hasselblad 503. Everyone should make sure to walk down the Venice boardwalk when in L.A. VENICEBEACH.COM
I love visiting junk yards, and L.A. has some awesome ones. I always find small things and objects for my apartment or my car. MID-CITY, LOS ANGELES
THE GROVE
PHOTOGRAPHY BROOKLYN BECKHAM ON HASSELBLAD 503 AND IPHONE
The Grove is a very L.A. place to go if you’ve never been. I took this timed self-portrait there this December because the sunset was beautiful alongside the Christmas lights. THEGROVELA.COM
TATTOOS BY DR. WOO
MALIBU PIER
Brian Woo, aka Dr. Woo, is the best tattooist. His studio is in the Roosevelt hotel. Here’s me being inked by the man himself. DR. WOO’S HIDEAWAY AT SUITE X, HOLLYWOOD ROOSEVELT HOTEL (EXACT LOCATION UPON REQUEST)
It’s a great place to think and watch the world go by. Everyone should come to the Malibu Pier. I love sitting [on the benches]. 23000 PACIFIC COAST HWY, MALIBU
MALIBU BEACH
JON & VINNY’S
Taking long walks on Malibu beach at golden hour is one of my favorite things to do. That’s the best time of day to go—when its quiet and it feels like it’s just me there, alone with my headphones, watching the tide and listening to music. MALIBU BEACH, MALIBU
This is one of my favorite places to eat and has become an L.A. tradition of mine. I have a serious sweet tooth and they have the best desserts. JONANDVINNYS.COM
KO SAMUI, THAILAND DAVID ALEXANDER FLINN THE ARTIST, MODEL, AND MUAY THAI AFICIANADO GOES BEYOND THE RING IN THIS MMA CAPITAL.
TALINGNGAM MUAY THAI GYM
MARINE BEACH RESORT
MIT SAMUI
The Thai [gyms] brought me in. I was training seven hours a day, six days a week, with kids as young as four, and with 25-year-old pros. You’re just one of them here. KOHSAMUI-MUYTHAI.COM
[Reminds me of] summer camp; you get your own little cabin but eat together in a hut on the beach. I slept how they sleep and trained how they train. MARINESAMUI.COM
It’s like the Thai Cheers; the owner always remembers your name. I would just tell him, “Make whatever is best today.” There are no walls; you’re just in a kind of parking lot. MIT SAMUI AT CHAWENG SEAFOOD CENTER
HALFMOON FESTIVAL
NA MUEANG WATERFALLS
STARCAT TATTOO
It’s otherworldly; a speedboat drops you deep in the jungle, and you dance for hours under this huge mushroom. On the boat back, you’re like, yeah I am going to die again. HALFMOONFESTIVAL.COM
If you hike all the way, you can sit under this 70-foot waterfall in a cold pool that’s the cleanest water you’ve ever tasted, full of minerals. NA MUEANG WATERFALL 2, KO SAMUI
Ko learned [to tattoo] from a monk in a Buddhist temple before spending seven years in prison. He’s one of the best traditional artists and one of the nicest humans ever. CHAWENG BEACH, KO SAMUI
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KAGAWA, JAPAN YUKIHIDE HARADA
OPPOSITE PAGE: ALL IMAGES COURTESY DAVID ALEXANDER FINN; THIS PAGE: CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: IMAGES COURTESY YUKIHIDE HARADA (4); PHOTOGRAPHY: TEPPEI HOSHIDA; IMAGE COURTESY HARADA; Y. & SONS 17-18AW LOOKBOOK, COURTESY Y. & SONS
THE MODEL AND FIFTHGENERATION FOODIE SHARES HIS FRESHEST PICKS.
HARADA SHOTEN
SHOTEN TO-GO
WILD LIFE
Harada Shoten is our family grocery store in Kanonji City, Kagawa. My great-grandfather founded our store in 1907 and I’m the fifth-generation president. HARADA-SHOTEN-KANONJI.COM
We offer a mail order–based seasonal box of fruits and vegetables (available in Japan). I will choose the best ingredients to suit each client, suggest recipes and connect clients with our favorite farmers.
It’s tough to name a best date spot, but I love chilling outdoors. I go camping by the Shimanto River in Kochi and I fish at Hiuchi-Nada lake in Kagawa! HIUCHI-NADA SEA, KAGAWA
SPRING HARVEST
FARM TO TEMPURA
TATTOO TOURISM
I often travel to other cities’ farmers markets. I recommend them to my clients to prevent those local “foodie” cultures from fading away. Most recent city I visited Ohara, an ancient farming village north of Kyoto.
Toraya is my favorite place to eat out in Kagawa. My childhood friend is the chef/owner and it’s definitely my local soul food restaurant. [Otherwise] my mom and grandma’s home cooking is the best [laughs]. TORAYA, 3406 KANONJI-CHO, KAGAWA
I had to venture outside Kagawa for my tattoos, which I’ve had since 2013; they are by a Tokyo tattooist called Ryuji. He isn’t [very famous] but he draws so well, I think. @RYUJITATTOO
ART
VMAN
How Jon Rafman web-surfed his way to a Balenciaga collab and redefined the art of trolling. TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON 40 VMAN.COM
JON RAFMAN
DREAM JOURNAL 2016–2017 (2017), JON RAFMAN; INSTALLATION FROM “JON RAFMAN, THE MENTAL TRAVELLER” AT FONDAZIONE MODENA ARTI VISIVE
As the models marched into last fall’s Balenciaga show, a 360° video installation spun an artificial, Windows-98 blue sky overhead. The LED firmament, which coursed with multicolored techno-sludge throughout the show, left guests, as one writer put it, “stunned for a good few seconds” (an eternity for Fashion Week). It had taken Jon Rafman two sleepless months to build—starting that spring after he bumped into creative director Demna Gvasalia at Art Basel. The blue sky, Rafman says, symbolized the “blue screen of death,” a predecessor to Apple’s rainbow wheel. “I thought it would be funny and jarring to have this epic installation and start off with a [malfunctioning] computer,” says the Montreal native. His impulse to troll can be traced to so-called “pro-surfer” net culture. “We very seriously considered ourselves professional Internet surfers,” he says. Fashioning himself as a neo “flaneur,” Baudelaire’s term for one who wanders the streets for inspiration, Rafman would extract landscape fragments using Google Street View, clicking between the surreal (a buck running down the highway) and the cursed (a car crash). “I was always interested in the [web’s] darker underbelly,” he says. “I think artists have always explored the margins of society.” That outsider status informed his later branded work for Gvasalia. Of his kinship with fashion’s foremost troll, Rafman says, “I believe both Gvasalia and I share a disregard for the hierarchies of high and low culture. Our work collapses irony and romance into one...and [he] gave me complete and total creative control, literally.” For inspiration Rafman drew from his years plumbing the web’s vast repository of subcultures, from primitive instant messaging platforms called “multi-user dungeons” to LARPing, a combination of cosplay and live-action roleplay. “Partly what I liked about the Balenciaga installation, and a lot of the virtual spaces I’ve explored is that they’re more honest because they reveal their own simulatedness and artificiality.” Following his high-fashion debut, Rafman intends to wander more virtual worlds of his own creation. “In the past I’ve explored virtual worlds as an online voyager,” he says. “[Now] I’m trying to create my own vast virtual worlds from scratch.”
DESIGN
VMAN
Artist favorite furniture studio— Green River Project—opens its doors to the shades of Spring. PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREW JACOBS FASHION MICHAEL DARLINGTON SET DESIGN JULIA WAGNER TEXT DEVIN BARRETT
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MALLE WEARS SUIT GIVENCHY SOCKS MODEL’S OWN
SUIT ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA SHIRT KENT & CURWEN
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ONE PINE-BOARD CHAIR, 2018 GREEN RIVER PROJECT
SHIRT DAVI PARIS JACKET (AROUND WAIST) AND PANTS COACH 1941
GREEN RIVER PROJECT Founded by painter Aaron Aujla and sculptor Ben Bloomstein, Green River Project is a unique design-driven endeavor operating across varying creative planes. “We like not existing exclusively in any one industry,” explains Aujla. While the duo craft exceptionally beautiful furniture, their work is best characterized by their framing of collections. Similar to the way in which fashion designers incorporate storytelling into seasonal product lines, Aujla and Bloomstein weave a narrative thread throughout the pieces and their respective collections. “[Fashion and furniture] have similar interests and objectives to design. I think that’s the connection,” says Aujla. “They both serve the form of the body; one adorns and the other offers relief.” The various Green River Project collections range from waves of dreamy unfinished tropical hardwoods and lacquered bamboo to angular polished aluminum tables and sconces made from airplane parts. Textiles from New York label Bode decorate African mohagany stools. “We still consider ourselves as artists; we feel like outsiders in the design world,” says Aujla. “Which we like.” 44 VMAN.COM
GROOMING REI TAJIMA MODEL MALLE GUEYE (FUSION) SET DESIGN (FASHION IMAGES) JULIA WAGNER PHOTO ASSISTANT AUSTIN SANDHAUS
SHIRT N°21 SHORTS ROBYN LYNCH SHOES GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI
SHIRT AND PANTS LOUIS VUITTON
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Stay ahead of the curve. Unlock the essential items of the season. PHOTOGRAPHY CARLOTTA MANAIGO FASHION HAIDEE FINDLAY-LEVIN
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MUSIC
VMAN
Listen up! These rising musicians are making their voices heard, seen here rocking noisemaking emerging designers. PHOTOGRAPHY CHARLOTTE HADDEN FASHION DOGUKAN NESANIR TEXT LIAM HESS 50 VMAN.COM
POWELL IN Y/PROJECT In 2015, electronic producer Oscar Powell Powell’s journey to becoming one of (better known by his surname) emailed leg- London’s most highly regarded underground endary noise-rock producer Steve Albini dance producers has been as unconvento clear a sample of one of his songs, to tional as his approach to promo. Making which Albini replied with a rant about his music as a hobby since he was 15, Powell deep loathing of electronic dance music. eventually mustered up the courage to conPowell’s next move? Slapping the mes- tact one of his heroes, techno artist Regis, sage across billboards around London as who set him on the path to establishing his a means of promoting the record. “If you’re record label Diagonal—a breeding ground going to [promote] a record, you might as for some of London’s most ambitious elecwell try and do it in a fun way,” Powell says— tronica, from Blood Music to Handy. “I never before caveating: “Although even if I have really thought I was any good at it,” he adds. a sense of humor, it doesn’t mean I don’t “It just took somebody saying they liked it for take my music seriously. The next stuff I me to start.” do might not be so flamboyant. Let’s see,” Powell’s signature style can be described he laughs. as a computer music aesthetic laid over with
punk samples. As cacophanous as that sounds, Powell’s unlikely mashups always come together as post-punk, hypnotic thrashes. “Sometimes dance just needs a big fucking injection of energy, something to go against how boring, anodyne, and predictable Internet-era dance music can be,” he says. Now signed to XL Recordings, home to artists like Jamie XX and Adele, Powell’s recent releases include his EP with artist Wolfgang Tillmans, produced under the collaborative moniker Powell Tillmans. Next, he’ll try his hand at his first full-length album. “I still haven’t quite cracked the medium yet,” says Powell of LPs—a relative rarity in electronic. But for Powell, it seems, the rarer the better.
COSMO PYKE IN GMBH Menswear may be having a moment, but it’s worth Since bursting onto the music scene in 2017 with County and Raye. “We were always told that we were noting that much of that buzz can be traced to a freer his EP Just Cosmo, 20-year-old Pyke has become better off working behind the scenes,” he says of his exchange between masculine and feminine aesthetics South London’s very own pied piper, drawing a grow- schoolboy years, “but I was determined to give perform(including to that of Berlin-based label GmbH, which ing flock of like-minded fans with easy, breezy tunes ing a go. Earlier in the year, Rex and I were performing at Summer Sonic [Festival] in Japan and it felt like we draws inspiration from nightlife culture) as Cosmo informed by everything from his childhood love of Joni Pyke echoes when prompted for a fashion role-model. Mitchell and his teenage years spent knocking around proved ourselves to those teachers.” It’s been nearly “Erykah Badu,” he says, pushing his unruly dreads out Nunhead Reservoir smoking and making graffiti art. two years since Pyke dropped any new music, and of his eyes as he sprawls himself across an armchair. “My upbringing wasn’t mad,” he says, “but it was a bit his forthcoming EP comes with a new sound he calls “The way she presents herself is so powerful. She’s unorthodox: My mum was a feminist in Brixton back “rasta folk.” But for fans forecasting, after two years, just fucking cool, man.” Given Pyke’s relaxed nature— in the day and was in an all-female punk band called some kind of dramatic stylistic pivot, rest assured: he’s so laid-back he borders on horizontal—it figures Clapperclaw, but my dad is an architect from Jamaica.” Pyke is nothing if not consistent. “I was born in my room in Peckham and I still sleep there to this day,” that he’d worship a neo-soul goddess who’s known He later attended the BRIT School, where he was in he says. “I’m a creature of habit.” for her anything-goes ensembles. the same class as fellow up-and-comers Rex Orange
KELVIN BUENO IN MOWALOLA “Style can be misleading,” says Kelvin Bueno, the bassist for Outer Stella Overdrive and one-half of the music collective Saz. In lieu of “style,” Bueno seems to rock a preternatural, no-upkeep-required coolness—sometimes making his pop-cultural affiliations hard to read. “People see me dressed comfortably and they read it as street. They never guess that my main thing is rock music,” he says. But sporting a leather two-piece by Mowalola Ogunlesi— the breakout Lagos-born designer inspired by everything from Nigerian biker culture to psychedelic rock—there’s no mistaking Bueno’s capacity for experimentation.
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As in the case of the Central St. Martins–trained Ogunlesi, Bueno’s experimentalism is rooted in structure; he started piano at eight and performed in five jazz bands before studying music computing at Goldsmiths. Today, his two musical endeavors offer each style an outlet, with Saz, a partnership with friend Zane Morris, being more freeform, and Outer Stella Overdrive, “a lot more structured,” Bueno says. The Brit pop–inspired Outer Stella Overdrive, which Bueno shares with Rafferty Law, son of Jude and brother of Bueno’s girlfriend, Burberry-approved model Iris Law, released their first track, “State Your Name” back in
November, a millennial call to arms about wasted ambition and pulling yourself out of a creative rut. It’s something Bueno can relate to. “I struggled in school and the only thing that got me through were my music lessons: I ended up pretty depressed when I was about 14 or 15 and at that age you don’t know how to talk about it,” he says. Now balancing his two musical gigs, Bueno is relishing the workload. “I’m doing 12-hour shifts in the studio every day, and it doesn’t even feel like work,” he says. There might be guaranteed music in the pipeline, but given Bueno’s eclectic track record, what it will sound like is anyone’s guess.
COL3TRANE IN AFTERHOMEWORK PARIS “I think I was just walking around the house singing to myself, when my mum stopped me and said, ‘Cole, you can really sing,’” says Col3trane, the musical wunderkind who, at 19 years old, has been setting an ambitious new agenda for British R&B since the release of his first EP, Tsarina, in 2017. A contemporary take on Homer’s Odyssey set in present-day London, the record is just as likely a reference to popping Valium after leaving the rave as it is an ode to the mythical Spartan princess Penelope.
“There’s so much depth to something like The Odyssey, so many layers,” says Col3trane. “When a story like that has been retold so many times, there’s a lot of soul to it.” With crystal-clear vocals and a flair for storytelling that has drawn him comparisons to Frank Ocean, Col3trane takes the introspection up a notch with his latest release, 2018’s BOOT. With the single “Tyler,” BOOT aptly channels both the grit of Tyler the Creator with the smoother sounds of the Odd Future founder’s various spin-offs, from Ocean
to Syd tha Kyd. Weaving in throwback D’Angelo vibes, it’s a sonic cocktail that manages to be both undeniably of the moment and timeless. Born and raised in London, to Egyptian-American parents, Col3trane seems destined to become a global nomad. “Touring a lot means traveling a lot, so I’ve got no problem with that,” he says. “It’s crazy to me, going to all of these places I never thought I would.” Then again, a life on the road feels appropriate for a modern-day Odysseus.
LAUREN AUDER IN STEFAN COOKE “Where I grew up, there’s quite an interesting history with religion,” says the Anglo-French musician Lauren Auder, whose parents decamped to the town of Albi in the south of France when he was a child. “In the middle of the town there’s a huge looming cathedral, which has [stayed with me]. I think anyone who has been lost, even if they don’t believe in [religion], longs for that understanding.” It’s this grasp on universal themes mixed with Soundcloud savvy that earned the 21-year-old a cult fanbase. While his references aren’t religious,
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there’s a mythical all-knowingness to Auder. “I was exposed to a very broad range of music when I was young,” he says. “Growing up I thought I was going to be a designer or an artist.” The eureka moment came after listening to the Walker Brothers’s “The Electrician”—an influence still felt not just in Auder’s epic, cinematic sound but also his brooding vocals. The son of London-based music editors, who eventually relocated the family to his mother’s native France, Auder’s ethereal style and androgynous features have carried him most recently to Hedi
Slimane’s inaugural campaign for Celine. But his delicate exterior can be deceiving: On tracks he’s produced for a coterie of French rappers, the power of Auder’s deep, lilting voice shines through the chopped-and-screwed production and stuttering beats. Gearing up to release his second EP, he notes that his sound has changed since his return to London. “I’m still interested in contrasts, but my new music definitely feels more open to the world. I’ve grown a lot as a person,” he says. “Although really, I don’t think I’ve [ever] stopped growing.”
GROOMER MAKI TANAKA SET DESIGNER BEN CLARK PRODUCTION LENNART SCHLAGETER (BRACHFELD) PHOTO ASSISTANT JAKUB GESSLER LOCATION GAS WORKS STUDIO
TAMINO IN XANDER ZHOU For Tamino Moharam Fouad, music is woven into his very identity. The Belgian-Egyptian singer, better known as Tamino, was named by his opera-loving mother after the hero of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, while his surname comes from his grandfather, the legendary Arabic singer nicknamed “The Sound of the Nile.” Yet with his debut album, Amir, Tamino has crafted a sound all his own. Punctuated by traditional Arabic strings and sparse, languid beats, his voice, which has drawn comparisons to Jeff Buckley, seamlessly drifts between honeyed falsetto and deep baritone. Taking a break to recline on a sofa during a recent
shoot, Tamino is wearing an Ann Demeulemeester ensemble one might assume was part of the shoot’s wardrobe. Not so. As an Antwerp native, Tamino has a keen eye for style; he namechecks cult designers Jan-Jan van Essche and Cedric Jacquemyn as favorites, not to mention Demeulemeester’s Sébastien Meunier, who serviced the outfit Tamino is rocking on set before changing into a look by Chinese upand-comer Xander Zhou. In many ways, Tamino is an ideal fashion muse: with thick brows and deep brown eyes, his striking appearance lends him the airs of a mournful matinée
idol. But even if his music and facial features reflect the melancholy that informs much of Egyptian music, Tamino is remarkably affable. He is looking forward to a gig later that evening in London, and his upcoming collaboration with Nagham Zikrayat, a traditional Arabic orchestra made up of refugees from countries like Iraq and Syria. “Even though I love those antiheroes like Serge Gainsbourg or Tom Waits, I think Arabic music has a very different, more majestic sadness—the singer always has a straight back,” he says. “There’s a sense of pride that I think is just as important as the melancholy.”
BOYS
STAR
Lee Daniels’s soapy musical drama may follow the unlikely success story of a girl group, but the male cast’s path to Star-dom has just as many twists. PHOTOGRAPHY HEATHER HAZZAN FASHION YUIKO IKEBATA TEXT SAMUEL ANDERSON
LEFT TO RIGHT: MATTHEW NOSZKA, LUKE JAMES, MISS LAWRENCE WEAR CLOTHING BOSS JEWELRY STYLIST’S OWN
ALL CLOTHING AND SHOES SALVATORE FERRAGAMO
LUKE JAMES For Luke James, living in Atlanta, where Star is filmed, is like having five million chaperones—an IRL effect of his character Noah Brooks’s alcoholism storyline. “I can’t go [anywhere] with a bottle of water, even if it says ‘water,’” James says. “In all honesty, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into.” The decorated music producer got by with a little help from his Uber drivers (“They all watch the show.”) and now welcomes the surveillance. “[Fans] see him as a real person, which is dope,” he says. James is no stranger to living legends: Of producing Britney Spears’s “Kill the Lights,” James says, “That was awesome; I grew up watching her.”
MISS LAWRENCE
MATTHEW NOSZKA
Hair stylist-turned-actor Miss Lawrence has had a courtside seat to the modern LGBTQ revolution. Growing up, his nonconforming looks were “rarely accepted,” other than by his earliest clients: girls in high school. After going pro, Lawrence catered to several Atlanta Housewives cast members, and from there the gigs snowballed into a walk-on role on Empire. His role as Miss Bruce on Lee Daniels’s Star has mirrored larger cultural shifts: “Most people look at [stylists] as a ‘kiki’ and a cackle, but they have [more] to offer,” he says—as the third season demonstrates in the arc between Miss Bruce and Noah Brooks. “It’s almost nonexistent to see a heterosexual man befriend a black gay man,” he says. “I think [the show] will really aid in healing that.”
Former college baller and car mechanic Matthew Noszka’s professional track is a winding one. Before enrolling in a required acting class, the Penn native regarded performing arts warily: “I remember seeing guys in leotards on campus and thinking, what’s going on here?” But the applause his first-ever monologue elicited changed all that. His knack for Insta-connection has led to everything from a model agent (“He DM-ed me for shirtless photos. Only later did I realize that’s normal.“) to his ever-expanding role on Star as Jackson. “In our first scene together, Jude and I improv-ed this Bonnie and Clyde situation, when she slashes a tire,” he recalls. “I feel like they kind of saw a spark there.”
HAIR STYLIST JEROME CULTRERA (L’ATELIER) MAKEUP ARTIST ANGELA DAVIS DEACON (DEFACTONIC)
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STAR SCRIBE
Jordan E. Cooper leaps from TV drama to Trump-tackling theater.
By day, Jordan E. Cooper writes for Star, Fox’s juicy drama about an ambitious girl group’s rise to fame—a gig he landed after creator Lee Daniels read his unproduced play. Following an intimate reading this past September attended by Naomi Campbell, Lena Waithe, and Trevante Rhodes (to name a few) that play will finally open on March 12 at New York’s Public Theater. In Ain’t No Mo, all black Americans receive a mass email urging them to move to Africa. “[Everyone] has to decide whether or not to get on the plane,” Cooper says. The thought-provoking concept grew out of the fatal police shootings of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. “I was so shaken, I couldn’t do anything but walk,” says Cooper, a student at Columbia at the time. “I walked all the way from 14th to 165th. I was like, ‘Fuck this shit, we going to Africa.’”
If the seeming banality of police brutality this is so black; ain’t nobody gonna watch this!” inspired a kind of solitary rage in Cooper, the elec- says Cooper. Despite that show’s success, Cooper tion of Donald Trump jolted him back into writing— never thought he’d one day work alongside Daniels, not that the events of November 2016 surprised amplifying historically silenced voices like theirs. him. “[What] white women felt, America’s hangover, “[Lee] being black and gay, and me being black and was what black women have felt for the past 450 queer—[he’s] a mentor I never dreamed of having.” years: disappointed, sad, threatened, not heard.” Since getting Lee’s call (“He was like, ‘I want But he says the singular horror of Trump did come [you] to be a part of this; I want this young man with a silver lining: “I felt convicted to fight—to let to write on Star,’” recalls the young scribe) black presence be known, not forgotten, thrown Cooper’s life has become a kind of heightened away, or belittled,” he says. reality—just like one of his TV plots. Case in For Cooper, the process of writing Ain’t No point: the reading of Ain’t No Mo in September at Mo was cathartic. “I wasn’t writing it for anyone L.A.’s Hudson Theater. “It was insane!” Cooper else [but me]” he says. Even so, it ended up in the says of the turnout. “One of the main charachands of Daniels, whose work has inspired unprec- ters, Peaches, is a flight attendant and drag edented numbers of black and queer viewers— queen. RuPaul was in the audience, cackling including Cooper. “I remember watching Empire’s with laughter. That was a humbling experience premiere in 2014 in my dorm room and thinking, for me.” ALEXANDRA ILYASHOV
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VMAN 41 SPRING/ SUMMER A newly minted heartthrob, a musical master, and a punky eccentric embody the dynamism of the season, which saw Mert & Marcus on camera, directional menswear, and water-resistant grunge. 3, 2, 1‌ The forces of Spring prepare for lift-off.
FORCES OF SPRING Three men shaping culture—Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Mark Ronson, and Charlie Heaton—test-drive the season’s starring looks. PHOTOGRAPHY CHRIS COLLS FASHION ILONA HAMER
HERO FIENNES TIFFIN A smash-hit young-adult book series hits the big screens, launching a future leading man.
A semi-known actor being uploaded to insta-celebrity has only happened a handful of times in the history of fandom. It happened to Daniel Radcliffe and Robert Pattinson, Jamie Dornan and Ansel Elgort, and it’s all but guaranteed to happen to Hero Fiennes Tiffin this spring. The golden boy in-waiting plays the romantic lead in After, hitting theaters this April, a parental advisory–pushing YA adaptation being projected as Fifty Shades for the 1D generation. The model-turned-actor’s combo of leading-man looks and Hollywood pedigree (thanks to filmmaker mom Martha Fiennes and actor uncles Ralph and Joseph) is surefire kindling to ignite a bona-fide star that will only be fueled by After’s rabid teen following and salacious subject matter. But at present, bundled up in a Soho studio, the 21-year-old Londoner is still best known as young Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Like most Hogwarts alum, he has his lucky totems. Dipping into his hoodie, he pulls out his new gold chain and pendant—a miniature chimney sweep he picked up at a local jeweler in Brixton. “I used to wear only one chain that my sister gave me ages ago. I was never huge on jewelry. I just liked having my one chain,” he says in a disarming baritone that betrays his acting-royalty roots and posh Battersea postcode. But wearing a beanie, a black What We Wear hoodie, and black Madewell skinny jeans, he’s anything but posh. The 6’2” Scorpio looks as though he might hop on a Harley and speed away—which he probably could if he had to: “My brother had [a Harley],” he says, referring to Titan Fiennes Tiffin, 23. “I bought a motorbike when I was 16,” he says. “When we were younger [Titan and I] would ride wherever we could get away with it.” A Harley would be an ideal fit for the bad-boy image he portrays in After. The original e-book, uploaded as One Direction fan fiction by then-25-year-old author Anna Todd, would go on to be read one billion times on Wattpad— an online playground for Harlequin yarns. It soon landed Todd a six-figure publishing deal, a spot on the New York Times Best Seller List, and a lucrative option by Paramount. But to the uninitiated, the mega-cult of After often comes as a surprise, as it did for Fiennes Tiffin. “I had never heard of the book before,” he admits. “Hearing how many fans it has and the numbers that it did, I was shocked.” With After stans increasingly turning their fandom toward Fiennes Tiffin, one question might be: does he himself feel sexy? “I don’t think you’re allowed to judge yourself on that! I think you should have it in your head that you are, but I don’t think you should say it on record,” he offers. “But I guess ‘sexy’ is a word that can mean different things. I feel like everyone should see themselves as ‘sexy’ in their head, but I don’t think you should ever say it out loud.” Needless to say, he doesn’t have to say it. He has plenty of wordsmiths ready to write their own fan fictions about Fiennes Tiffin online. Since the announcement of Fiennes Tiffin’s casting last July, After fans have flooded the web with photos and praise, like one tweet reading, “Ladies, we’re done drunk texting our exes, we only drunk DM hero fiennes tiffin now.” Some have gone so far as to dissect the few paparazzi shots of Fiennes Tiffin, zooming in to his biceps or his V-cut abs. What does he make of all the attention? “What the fans do, the effort they put in, is so great,” he says with diplomacy. “There are definitely elements of it that are overwhelming, and elements of it that are so cool, but you have to take it with a pinch of salt.” It wasn’t the popularity of the book that appealed to Fiennes Tiffin so much as the complexity of his character, Hardin, whom the unsuspecting Tessa (Josephine Langford, sister of Katherine) encounters on her college campus. While he gleaned that Hardin walks the line between mysterious hunk and brutish jerk, he held off on reading the book, which is told entirely from Tessa’s perspective. Instead, to get into Hardin’s particular headspace, Fiennes Tiffin chatted daily, often for hours on end, with Todd, who was on set and coproduced the film. He’d worked hard to nail a leading-man role; Fiennes Tiffin can list off the projects he’s been up for but failed to secure: there’s Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, The Hate U Give, and Stranger Things’s second season. “I remember watching [them] and thinking, was that the part I auditioned for? And [one character] would start saying the lines from the audition, and I’m like, ‘Oh, I remember!’” he says. “[But] sometimes after a while you think, I must be doing something wrong.” Which is not to say he lacks confidence. “I’m definitely confident in myself,” he says. “I’m self-assured, but I wouldn’t think of myself as the most outgoing. I get my confidence through auditioning; even getting one audition builds you up as a person.” But there are at least a few projects in the offing for which no audition will be necessary: he’s already signed on for the planned sequels to After. While Fiennes Tiffin says many fans have yet to approach him IRL, he knows that may soon change. Whether he’s ready for fame is another story. “I don’t know if you can be ready for that kind of stuff,” he says. As for the Fifty Shades comparisons, this master-in-training is unfazed. “Obviously [Fifty Shades ] did really well,” he says. “So being compared to that isn’t a bad thing… [But] some scenes won’t be too fun to watch with the ’rents!” TREY TAYLOR
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“I’m self-assured, but I wouldn’t think of myself as the most outgoing. I get my confidence through auditioning; even getting one audition builds you up as a person.” —Hero Fiennes Tiffin
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MARK RONSON After conquering Hollywood, the power producer’s next act is his most triumphant to date.
It’s 10 degrees in New York—so bone-chilling outside that it’s even bone-chilling inside—and Mark Ronson is sitting in Studio C of the Electric Lady Studios in the West Village, putting the finishing touches on his fifth album, Late Night Feelings, his tall, lithe frame slumped in a chair and wrapped up in a heavy shearling. Frost be damned, he hunches over a mixing board and pulls up a song, staring off into the distance while listening for elements to change or get rid of. He is a producer and songwriter, not a singer or rapper, and so this part of the process—finding an album’s exact sound—is Ronson’s mastery. “I’d say the record was done, then think, is this bad? Am I just conning people?,” says Ronson, who, at 43, is angularly handsome with a wall of pompadoured hair. “But [you have to] be painstaking.” Late Night Feelings, in its aura of introspection, is something of a departure for Ronson. Though he has long been capable of creating deeply emotional work on other people’s albums—like Amy Winehouse’s 2006 masterpiece Back to Black, which he coproduced—he has generally stayed in party mode on his own projects, like 2015’s Uptown Special, which featured “Uptown Funk” with Bruno Mars, a winking and excitable funk throwback that has racked up 3.5 billion views on YouTube. Before hitting it big as a producer in his own right, he was known as a DJ, and has an instinct for keeping the mood elevated. Late Night Feelings has all the hallmarks of Ronson’s oeuvre, including an A-team of talent to perform the songs, in this case Miley Cyrus, Camila Cabello, Lykke Li, and Angel Olsen to name a few. Since going from the DJ booth to the recording studio in the early 2000s, Ronson has refined a glittering sweet spot that he says is “somewhere in between dance and R&B and pop.” The new track with Cabello, for instance, is a sugary slice of ’80s synth. But the album also has a truly tender touch. Since his divorce from ex-wife, the model Joséphine de la Baume, in 2017, everything he’s felt like creating has had a softer underbelly. “I was going through it. I was overwhelmingly melancholy,” he says. “Because of songs like ‘Uptown Funk,’ I’m always like, no, I’m a DJ, no one wants to hear [feelings] from me. Then the minute that I actually let my emotions into the music, it was the only thing that resonated.” Still, in keeping with his DJ’s intuition, he was as interested in reading the room as he was in analyzing his own psyche, and he wanted the “late night feelings” behind the album’s title to be less specific to his own life than emblematic of the stresses that keep most people awake at all hours. It’s an album that’s more empathic than strictly personal—a mirror as much as a diary, sung by a cast of characters who all bring their own experience to the mic. “You know that feeling when you are trying to get to sleep and then two, three AM rolls up, you start to see dawn cracking, and you’re like, how the fuck am I going to get through tomorrow?” he says. “It’s about anything that leaves you unable to sleep. Heartbreak, anxiety, lust, bills, disdain for the world, the state of America.” Which isn’t to say Late Night Feelings is maudlin. Many of the songs are, as he has labeled them, “sad bangers,” the kind to sweat out your pain to. “It still has to dance and move and be a tiny bit shiny,” he says. ”I’m not completely abandoning my box in the DJ section of the record store.” Take “Nothing Breaks Like a Heart,” the album’s first single, a beautiful ode to forlorn 1970s country sung by Miley Cyrus and done with a glitzy and contemporary disco twist. “The longing is there, the heart is in the voice, but there’s still killer basslines and drums,” he says. “I need to know that I’ve reinforced [a song] with everything that’ll give it a chance. What’s the point in getting Miley Cyrus to deliver this amazing vocal if you’re not going to ensure that it’s gonna fuckin’ bang?” He is finishing Late Night Feelings all while gearing up for the Academy Awards. His work on “Shallow,” performed by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper for A Star is Born is favored to win Best Original Song after snagging the Golden Globe (at press time, the Oscars had yet to air). He first worked with Gaga on her 2016 album Joanne, and those sessions turned into him writing on “Shallow,” but he’s known her—and that she’s the real deal—for about a decade. “[When we met], she was just starting to blow up, and I was like, ‘Do you want to come out with me and my friends in London?’ We ended up at a loft apartment in East London,” he remembers. “She instantly went to a piano. There’s 30 people [there], nobody knows who she is, she’s wearing this skin-colored latex outfit, playing some chords, and [we have] a jam session. I think five o’clock came around, and she was still there.” He is characteristically pragmatic about his Oscar nod. “I was in Terminal 5 about to take a JetBlue flight at eight in the morning when I found out I was nominated,” he says. “It’s an incredible accolade, but you still have to board a plane. Just get on with life, just keep doing the things that got you there to begin with.” Which is exactly what he’s up to here in this studio on this freezing cold Monday in January. “I think that continuing to care about the quality of the music, and working with incredibly talented people, is a good formula. I know I’m a 43-year-old dude making pop music. I’m aware my shelf life should maybe be over,” he says. “You have to prove yourself.” And with that, he queues up another track. ALEX FRANK
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“I think that continuing to care about the quality of the music...is a good formula. I know I’m a 43-year-old dude making pop music. I’m aware my shelf life should maybe be over. You have to prove yourself.” —Mark Ronson
MARK WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, TURTLENECK PRADA
MARK WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, PANTS JACQUEMUS SHOES GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI
CHARLIE HEATON The pro drummer-turned-streaming sensation brings a “stranger” sensibility to sci-fi blockbusters. Here, Heaton talks to director and pal Miles Joris-Peyrafitte.
The first time I saw Charlie Heaton was in a pile of audition tapes. He had a thick British accent and, if memory serves, a black eye. I was 22 and casting my first film, As You Are, and while I was initially wary of casting a Brit to play a part written to be me or one of my Albany friends, his take on the character of Mark assuaged my suspicions. If there was one thing As You Are succeeded in, it was the cast; the three leads (Charlie, Owen Campbell, and Amandla Stenberg) clicked immediately. We’d all met each other at a time in our lives when, like the characters, we needed each other. We were devastated when Charlie had to miss the wrap party (it overlapped with his first day on Stranger Things) but when he left there was no doubt that the friendships we had made were real and lasting. My most recent encounter with Charlie was at the Ace Hotel in New York, as he was preparing for the premiere of Stranger Things’s third season in July, and his upcoming role in The New Mutants. MILES JORIS-PEYRAFITTE MILES JORIS-PEYRAFITTE When did I see you last? CHARLIE HEATON We were shooting Season 3; it must’ve been when I played drums for Faye Webster in September. MJP That was the first time I got to see you play—right back where we started, too. Do you remember the first time we hung out, at Baby’s All Right [in Brooklyn]? CH Yeah, how could I forget? You took me to see that really cool band. I wasn’t impressed [laughs]. MJP I remember looking at your face, like, oh I lost him. Found this great kid and he fuckin’ hates this. Do you have your own drum kit in Atlanta? CH No, but I bought myself some music stuff last year—a guitar and keyboard. Because when you’re acting, you’re not in control of anything you do or say, so I still want to do music. Not to release an album—I’m literally coming home, emoting a bit, crying into the microphone... So sad! But it’s been nice. [Music] has always been a part of what I do. MJP You left for Atlanta to shoot Season 1 the day we wrapped As You Are. No one knew what the show was going to be. CH You wanted to hate it. MJP I wanted to so badly. I was furious at the show. They wouldn’t let me shave your head. And then I watched the whole season [in a] day and I just couldn’t believe it. I loved it so much. How has the show affected you as a person? CH It feels like a long time [has passed] since the first season. The characters have been on a journey, and all of us [as actors] have been on a journey. Sometimes I’ll get extremely nostalgic for the first season; there was innocence in not knowing what it would become... The trajectory of the last three years happened so quick; you don’t have time to think. And when you get a grip of things, you think, yeah I can be in control of my own destiny. MJP [That reminds me] of seeing you get out of the car for the As You Are premiere in San Sebastian. In my head, this is literally when Charlie realizes that he’s famous, but he also has food poisoning... But you insisted on [being there]. It seems like you’ve always just gone and done the work. What was going through your head, [when] all of a sudden there were people giving a shit about you? CH At first I thought they were screaming “Dalí,” but then I realized they were saying “Charlie.” I was really sick [but] you have that duty. It was new to me, so I [had to keep going]. MJP It’s kind of a drummer thing—your head is down, you’re keeping the beat, doing the work... Do you feel like your fanbase, which is a lot of young people, all on social media and who have opinions, puts a new responsibility on you? CH Everything is really instant in the world we live in now. Nothing is tangible, it’s all quickfire. Social media can feel quite toxic. It can connect us but I worry it’s pulling us more apart. MJP We’ve almost lost the ability to have a conversation. You’re not allowed to be wrong or make mistakes. CH No, you’re not. You post something and it’s instantly judged. So, yeah. It feels like a dark world. MJP When you’re on set, whether it’s Stranger Things or New Mutants, who to look to for guidance? CH It is the director’s vision, but as an actor I find it hard to walk away from any scene and be like, that was fucking great! Did you see me do that? You always walk away with self-doubt. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to please myself. The scene [in As You Are] when Mark and Jack kiss, we worked on that for quite a while, struggling in between takes, hands in hair... [Something] didn’t feel right. But it ended up being one of my favorite scenes in the movie. MJP None of us knew if we had it... I also remember the first time I asked you to do a series. You were so mad. CH I was more hurt than mad. It was my second day on set. It was like, “Great, Owen.” And then, “Okay, Charlie do that again. Say that line again.” I was like, I can’t act. I’m fucking it up. MJP And it was just because we had so little time... Does it make it easier having [girlfriend and co-star] Natalia [Dyer] there [on Stranger Things]? Does having someone there that you trust, not just work-wise, but that’s also like, “You’re my person,” make the process easier? CH Yeah, because there are times when you do get stressed. So to go home with someone you work with, and say, “I think they hate me...” They’ll say, “No they don’t.” You can break the walls down with your partner. Because we work in the same industry and have had similar trajectories, we’ve gone through it together. Sharing that does bring you closer. They understand something that maybe no one else would. You go into high pressure situations together but you can share those insecurities or whatever they are. The great, happy times, too... Really fucking sweet!
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CHARLIE WEARS SHIRT, TANK, PANTS GIVENCHY BRACELET (RIGHT ARM) DAVID YURMAN BRACELET (LEFT ARM) HEATON’S OWN BOOTS CLERGERIE
CHARLIE WEARS SWEATER GUCCI PANTS STELLA MCCARTNEY
MAKEUP MARIKO ARAI (THE WALL GROUP) HAIR TOMO JIDAI (STREETERS) PRODUCTION CARLY LOUISON (SERLIN ASSOCIATES) DIGITAL TECHNICIAN JEANINE ROBINSON PHOTO ASSISTANT DANIIL ZAIKIN STYLIST ASSISTANT MACKENZIE THIRY
“I find it hard to walk away from any scene and be like, that was fucking great! Did you see me do that? I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to please myself.” —Charlie Heaton
EFRAIM WEARS JACKET AND SHIRT CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE
RAZOR SHARP The Spring collections signaled a renaissance in prescise tailoring. Sharp silhouettes illustrate graphic lines, calling to mind early aughts minimalism with a contemporary twist. PHOTOGRAPHY MARCUS OHLSSON FASHION GRO CURTIS 84 VMAN.COM
SERGE WEARS COAT, JACKET, SHIRT, PANTS ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
ELISEU WEARS JACKET, BODYSUIT, PANTS, SHOES GUCCI
WELLINGTON WEARS JACKET, PANTS, SCARF TOM FORD
REILLY WEARS JACKET AND VEST GIORGIO ARMANI
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NIALL WEARS JACKET AND PANTS STELLA MCCARTNEY
OUMAR WEARS JACKET, PANTS, BOOTS MAISON MARGIELA ARTISANAL
JOAO WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, PANTS, RING GIVENCHY EARRING MODEL’S OWN
REILLY WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, PANTS, HAT SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
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NIALL WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, PANTS, BELT CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE
EFRAIM WEARS JACKET VERSACE
MAKEUP FREDRIK STAMBRO (CLM) HAIR EDWARD LAMPLEY (BRYANT ARTISTS) MODELS EFRAIM SCRODER (SOUL), SERGE SERGEEV (THE BRO MODELS), ELISEU ZIMMER (IMG), WELLINGTON GRANT (WILHELMINA), REILLY PATTON (FUSION), NIALL WALKER (SOUL), OUMAR DIOUF (WILHELMINA), JOAO KNORR (NEXT), GONG GOUHAO (IMG) PRODUCTION IAN MILAN (D+V MANAGEMENT) DIGITAL TECHNICIAN MAX ROVENKO PHOTO ASSISTANTS ROSS SINGER, ISSAC BEARMAN STYLIST ASSISTANT ZITA MEDVEDOVA LOCATION ROOT BROOKLYN
IT TAKES TWO Photography duo Mert and Marcus look to their formative years in the ’90s for a limited-edition capsule collection with DSQUARED2. PHOTOGRAPHY MERT ALAS AND MARCUS PIGGOTT FASHION SEMRA RUSSELL
LOUIS WEARS CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES (THROUGHOUT) MERT & MARCUS 1994 X DSQUARED2
MODEL LOUIS BAINES (KATE MOSS AGENCY) PRODUCTION DREAMER PRODUCTION
The saying “A jack of all trades is a master of fun-loving energy of the time. “At the same time, and sometimes we wish we never had them.” none,” despite its ubiquity, doesn’t quite hold up Mert adds, “it was the year of a lot of dressing up, Nor is the collection tied to a region, despite in the creative sphere. History supports that with a lot of partying, a lot of music, change of hair col- possible comparisons to the acid-house the right amount of good taste and determina- ors, and trying to express ourselves as differently streetwear aesthetic emerging—or reemergtion, talent is transferable. Case in point: Mert as we could from everybody else,” Mert adds. ing—in places like Russia and Berlin. “Quite Alas and Marcus Piggott, who, since pioneering The ’90s-inspired designs—metallic silver frankly, the [fashion] we are seeing in Russia digital manipulation in the ’90s, have created pants and pink mesh tops reminiscent of tech- and Berlin and so on are not too far off from some of the industry’s most beloved fashion no’s heyday and sweatpants begging to be worn what we were wearing in the ’90s,” says Mert. photography: Kate Moss drawing her foot to high-waisted and with a fanny pack—are ampli- “They could be the same clothes, maybe with her mouth to puff a cigarette cradled between fied by graphics drawn from early Mert & Marcus a different waistline or [paired with a different] accessory. Instead of branding the DNA of the her toes, or a ghostly Björk wading through a highlights. But 23 years later, the duo’s work is flooded house. Now, the pair is conquering still controversial. During the 1994 preview in collection with the ’90s, or Berlin or Russia, what fashion design, having released a capsule col- Milan last September, some sneered at a hoodie we were trying to create is streetwear that has lection with Italian powerhouse DSQUARED2 featuring two women kissing. “There is a certain our point of view, what we like, and what we called 1994. punk in me and Marcus,” Mert admits. want people to wear.” “It was the year we met,” Mert says of the colBut don’t call the collection “nostalgic.” And who better to re-envision ’90s nostallection’s name. It was also when DSQUARED2 “Fashion is, in one way or another, a repeat of gia than Mert & Marcus? After all, for finding a founders Dean and Dan Caten began planning memories, stories, history, and so on,” Mert fresh POV, two pairs of eyes are better than one. the launch of their brand, which reflected the says. “Sometimes we salute those moments MATHIAS ROSENZWEIG
ANDREW WEARS TURTLENECK PRADA T-SHIRT DANIEL PATRICK SHIRT (WORN AROUND WAIST) AMIRI PANTS AND BAG RICK OWENS JENTZ WEARS JACKET EMPORIO ARMANI VEST DSQUARED2 PANTS 1017 ALYX 9SM BACKPACK (THROUGHOUT) STYLIST’S OWN MATT WEARS SUNGLASSES PRADA JACKET EMPORIO ARMANI DENIM JACKET (WORN UNDERNEATH) VALENTINO SWEATER SATURDAY’S GLOVES ALEXANDER WANG
S U R F T H E WAV E Dive headfirst into the nu-grunge rip tide. The anti-establishment grit of the ’90s is alive and well—only this time it’s awash in durable and unexpected fabrics like neoprene and nylon, as seen in the beachy Spring collections. Sorry, flannel. PHOTOGRAPHY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV FASHION GRO CURTIS
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JENTZ WEARS SWEATER GUCCI VEST VERSACE SHORTS PRADA GLOVES ALEXANDER WANG BAG RICK OWENS NECKLACE SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
ANDREW WEARS HAT PRADA JACKET BARACUTA SWEATER AMIRI JEANS GUCCI ALL BAGS RICK OWENS GLOVES ALEXANDER WANG SHOES BIRKENSTOCK X RICK OWENS BRACELETS SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
MATT WEARS CAP GCDS COAT OFF-WHITE C/O VIRGIL ABLOH SWEATSHIRT FRAME SHORTS AND BELT AMIRI SHOES DSQUARED2 NECKLACE ALEXANDER WANG SOCKS MODEL’S OWN
MATT WEARS SUNGLASSES PRADA JACKET AND SPIKED BAG (THROUGHOUT) GUCCI T-SHIRT RAF SIMONS SHIRT (WORN UNDER) JEREMY SCOTT PANTS VERSACE SHORTS (WORN ON TOP) ALEXANDER WANG BOOTS ALEXANDER MCQUEEN VINTAGE BAG (THROUGHOUT) STYLIST’S OWN
JENTZ WEARS HAT VALENTINO SHIRT AND NECKLACES SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO TURTLENECK PRADA
MATT WEARS HAT, SUNGLASSES, T-SHIRT PRADA VEST AND PANTS GCDS JACKET (WORN UNDERNEATH) AND DENIM SHIRT (AROUND WAIST) SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO SNEAKERS VALENTINO BAG (AROUND WAIST) RICK OWENS SOCKS STYLIST’S OWN
JENTZ WEARS WETSUIT AND SWEATER CALVIN KLEIN 205W39NYC NECKLACE SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO BAG AND KEYCHAIN RICK OWENS SANDALS BIRKENSTOCK X RICK OWENS
JENTZ WEARS HAT GCDS T-SHIRT DANIEL PATRICK SHIRT (WORN UNDERNEATH) VALENTINO SHORTS AMIRI PANTS (WORN UNDERNEATH) 1017 ALYX 9SM SPIKED BAG GUCCI BAG AND KEY CHAIN RICK OWENS
ANDREW WEARS TOP RAF SIMONS T-SHIRT (WORN UNDERNEATH) STYLIST’S OWN SHORTS AND BAG RICK OWENS BRACELETS SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO MATT WEARS SWEATER ALEXANDER MCQUEEN SHORTS FRAME NECKLACE SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
MATT WEARS HAT PRADA PANTS GCDS NECKLACE SAINT LAURENT BY ANTHONY VACCARELLO
MAKEUP STEVEN CANAVAN (L’ATELIER NYC) HAIR RUDY MARTINS (THE WALL GROUP) MODELS JENTZ ZIRBEL (D1 MODELS), MATT PITT (FUSION MODELS NYC), ANDREW MUNS (RED MODEL MANAGEMENT) PRODUCTION REBEKAH MACKAY DIGITAL TECHNICIAN ANTHONY MILLER PHOTO ASSISTANTS ERIC BOUTHILLER, IAIN GOMEZ STYLIST ASSISTANT ZITA MEDVEDOVA ON-SET PRODUCER ANDREW MCMULLEN LOCATION SILVERY POINT BEACH CLUB
GARRETT WEARS SWEATSHIRT GUESS SUNGLASSES TOMMY HILFIGER
WHITE NOISE Turn up the dial on a summer standby. This season’s great whites, from crisp tailoring to embellished tanks, are anything but muted. PHOTOGRAPHY RJ ROGENSKI FASHION CHRISTIAN STROBLE
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XAVIER WEARS HAT AND SHORTS LACOSTE JACKET AND TOP Z ZEGNA WATCH OMEGA
JULES WEARS JACKET, SHIRT, BIB LOUIS VUITTON
ANDRES WEARS JACKET GIORGIO ARMANI
ANDRES WEARS SHIRT AND PANTS BALENCIAGA
XAVIER WEARS SUNGLASSES CELINE BY HEDI SLIMANE
GARRETT WEARS JACKET, SHORTS, WATCH BOSS
XAVIER WEARS SHIRT, PANTS, TIE BURBERRY SUNGLASSES OLIVER PEOPLES WATCH CARTIER
HAIR THOM PRIANO FOR R + CO HAIRCARE MODELS JULES HORN (IMG), GARRETT NEFF (IMG), ANDRES VELENCOSO (IMG), XAVIER SERRANO (IMG) DIGITAL TECHNICIAN JAVIER SANCHEZ PHOTO ASSISTANT TAYLOR FUCHS STYLIST ASSISTANT JULIA SCOUT CULLEN LOCATION MAPS BACKLOT
JULES WEARS TOP AND NECKLACE DIOR MEN
PRIZE FIGHTER With MMA gold and fashion bona fides under his belt, martial-arts warrior Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson kicks it into overdrive. PHOTOGRAPHY TIM RICHARDSON FASHION NICOLA FORMICHETTI
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HEADPIECE AND PANTS RICK OWENS
JACKET, PANTS, SHOES RAF SIMONS
AMERICAN GLADIATOR Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson packs a punch, no matter the arena. In the official announcement, he reveals, “I’m currently in training camp to his work as both a mixed-martial artist ranked top-five in his class and a prepare for this fight.” The battle is anticipated to be one for the books, model signed to IMG, Thompson demonstrates superhuman endurance. as both parties have a lot to prove. Pettis, a former UFC lightweight “[I’m] known for my knockout reel,” he says. While he’s dealt more than his champion, has packed on the pounds to qualify for the 170-lb. welterfair share of incapacitating blows (and, on rarer occassions, picked himself weight standard, making it his division debut. He comes off of a loss to back up off the octagon floor), Thompson remains one of the most formi- Tony Ferguson in October of last year, while Thompson hasn’t fought dable talents in his welterweight division, ranking first in perserverance by since injuring his knee in May. “It’s definitely going to be fireworks; the anyone’s count. “I have been working pretty much my entire life to be the fans are super excited about this fight and so am I,” he says best martial artist in the world,” he says. But even today, the fire under his With so much at stake, Thompson is the first to admit that the sport is feet continues to propel this 170-pound machine to greater heights. “This both mentally and physically taxing. “I know some of the toughest men in year is going to be my year,” Thompson professes. “I know I have to work the world are crying in the back before they step into the cage,” he says. my way back up the welterweight rankings to get that shot again, but that “It’s a very emotional sport, and very nerve-racking. You have all of these [determination] that drives me to do so is stronger and better than ever.” people in your life who make it [possible] for you to do what you want to do.” With a steady and unfaltering competitive spirit, the insatiable southpaw While the world of pro fighting may seem a league of lone warriors, refuses to accept anything but top-tier—a driving force that is reflected Thompson is quick to credit his community: “In the ring, you know, in Thompson’s impressive stats: He’s been ranked #1 by Chuck Norris’s everybody sees just me… [but] I’ve got a strength and conditioning World Combat League (yes, the same Chuck Norris whose persona as a coach, I’ve got a wrestling coach, I have a striking coach. I have all these death-defying strong-man was the subject of one of the Internet’s earliest people who sacrifice their time,” he says. And despite the bruising realimemes) and in his UFC match, against Justin Edwards in 2012, he deliv- ties of hand-to-hand combat, Thompson emphasizes that the struggle is mostly an internal one: “I’m basically competing against myself,” he ered a star-making KO after receiving a potent kick to the head. says. “I’m not mad, I’m not angry at my opponent. I do it mostly to test Raised in a kickboxing family, Thompson earned two of his three black-belts before going pro at 15. At his home studio in South Carolina, myself, to see what I’m capable of, to be honest with you.” Thompson serves as both sensei and pupil; it’s where he continues When prompted for what else to expect from him, Thompson quickly to train for his own competitions, and also coaches a fleet of aspiring volleys back: “That’s always what’s on my mind,” he says. “Whether it’s “wonderboys” who, in small-town Simpsonville, undoubtedly look up to with the UFC or modeling, I stay excited and fired up because I don’t him as their hometown hero. Thompson’s role as a mentor weighs just know what’s next and I’ve always been that way.” Whether on the frontas heavily on him as his desire for success, if not more so. “I’m doing it lines of a fight or a photo shoot, this American gladiator sees no limit for them, to be honest with you,” he says. “I’ve got 750 kids back home to his trajectory. “I’ve always kind of gone with the flow of things, and that watch every move I make in the octagon. I want to be an example that’s the way life is: You gotta go along with it,” he says. “So, I guess for them as well, in never giving up.” that’s the question: What’s next for me? Whatever it is, I’m excited for it, and I’m going to give it 100%. I’m just along for the ride, brother. I’m With his first fight in almost a year, against Anthony Pettis at UFC along for the ride.” BRANDON TAN Nashville, set for March 23, Thompson is wasting no time. Just following
MAKEUP MAKI ROYKE (STREETERS) USING TOM FORD MENS HAIR TOMO JIDAI (STREETERS) USING BLIND BARBER MODEL STEPHEN THOMPSON (IMG) SET DESIGN LAUREN BAHR GRIP TOM VANDERWALL GAFFER JESSE NEWTON PRODUCTION ZIGGY LEVIN (NEW LIGHT FILMS) ASSISTANT CAMERA TOMEK GYRZ STYLIST ASSISTANT MARTA DEL RIO MAKEUP ASSISTANT CHISA TAKAHASHI HAIR ASSISTANT KAYO FUJITA SET DESIGN ASSISTANTS RYLAN BAILEY, SOFIJA KAS, TOM HENRY LOCATION ROOT BROOKLYN
COAT SANKUANZ PANTS RICK OWENS
TRENT WEARS CLOTHING, SHOES, ACCESSORIES RICK OWENS
AVA N T G U A R D As menswear trends dip into the experimental, these luminary founders of radical men's fashion continue to light the way. PHOTOGRAPHY BRITT LLOYD FASHION GRO CURTIS TEXT LIAM HESS
TRENT WEARS CLOTHING, SHOES, ACCESSORIES CRAIG GREEN
Men’s trends have mostly cycled between tailoring and sportswear. If this narrow spectrum can be attributed to a lack of experimentation at the top, the dam seems to be breaking. While the likes of Rick Owens and Comme Des Garçons have long proven exceptions to the rule, newer names like Craig Green show that fashion at large, and menswear in particular, are making room for more. Pitti Uomo, the annual men’s trade show–turned-Fashion Week–adjacent incubator, offers a front-row seat to these shifts. Last year, Green's SS19 showcase at Palazzo Pitti quite literally colored outside the lines. His looks, which spun together neon color-blocking, futuristic bodices, and floor-sweeping muslin, were at times partially obscured by life-size geometric armor. Green has linked his taste in spectacle to his avant-garde foremothers and fathers. Asked about which runways excite him, Green has cited both
Comme and Owens—two case studies in fully inhabiting one's own fashionfantasy empire. Rick Owens’s SS19 showing in Paris’ Palais de Tokyo defined spectacle. His Babel collection, a reference to the doomed biblical city of Babylon, unfolded in a mise-en-scène of funeral pyres blasting tufts of colored smoke. Against a soundtrack of heavy techno, models marched through the apocalyptic haze by way of Burning Man. Long a reliable source for experimentalism, Comme des Garçons Homme Plus set the bar in the season’s collective rulebook-toss. If the foundation of men's fashion, tailoring, prioritizes cookie-cutter masculinity, Rei Kawakubo's SS19 showcase, dubbed Crazy Suits, seemed determined to upend that notion altogether, with a mixture of camouflage paillettes, waxy Ken Doll headpieces, and suits that puckered and ruched to the brink of tearing. VMAN.COM 133
XU WEARS CLOTHING, SHOES, ACCESSORIES COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME PLUS TRENT WEARS CLOTHING, ACCESSORIES COMME DES GARÇONS HOMME PLUS SHOES MODEL'S OWN
MODELS XU (IMG), TRENT (IMG) CASTING TROY FEARN DIGITAL TECHNICIAN LAIMONAS PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANTS BARNEY CURRAN, DAN GURTON
XU WEARS CLOTHING, ACCESSORIES CRAIG GREEN
Owens's and Kawakubo's commercial staples allow them to indulge in wild flights of fancy within their shows—black separates and sneakers for Owens, the googly-eyed hearts of Comme des Garçons PLAY for Kawakubo. But while their more eye-popping looks have in the past seemed to be runway-only, these pieces are increasingly actually going into production. One might chalk this newfound interest in the avant-garde redefinition of gender and masculinity to the #MeToo era, or to broader distrust in normie culture—something Craig Green seems to stoke. His AW13 show's black plywood face-covers were skewered as “oak couture” by Murdoch-owned Daily Mail, and one campaign involved a Banksy-like stunt—wrapping windmills in fabric sourced from the collection.
Though he may exist in his own self-fashioned creative bubble, Green's artful Pitti show also complemented its historical outdoor setting—the Palazzo's Boboli Gardens, once owned by the Medici art-collecting dynasty. Green's rich use of materials also called to mind Florence's Ponte Vecchio, a shoplined bridge once considered the center of the city's textile industry. Green proves an apt link between the Medicis' mythical arts patronage and Florence's past life as a fabrics hub: while his idiosyncratic runways bring art to the masses, he is as much a showman as a savvy businessman, flattering various body shapes with his highly covetable pieces. In other words, an architectural Craig Green jacket will look just as good on your Italian grandfather as it will on your Supreme-clad cousin. VMAN.COM 135
KEEP IT BRIEF The bare essentials—briefs, shorts, swimwear—as curated by globe-trotting super-stylist Nicola Formichetti. For more in-depth coverage, head to VMAN.com.
EMPORIO ARMANI IN CAPE TOWN PHOTOGRAPHY LUKE KUISIS FASHION RUSTY BEUKES SAMI WEARS SUNGLASSES, TOP, BRIEFS, SCARF, NECKLACE EMPORIO ARMANI MODEL SAMI CHUKWUEBUKA (BOSS MODELS)
GUESS IN LOS ANGELES PHOTOGRAPHY DOUG INGLISH FASHION ANDREW VOTTERO RAPHAEL WEARS SWIMSUIT GUESS UMBRELLA STYLIST’S OWN SHOES AND SOCKS MODEL’S OWN GROOMER MIRA CHAI HYDE (THE WALL GROUP) USING LEONOR GREYL AND TATCHA MODEL RAPHAEL DIOGO (DT MODEL MANAGEMENT)
UNIQLO IN TOKYO PHOTOGRAPHY AKIHITO BARASHI FASHION SHUN WATANABE KAMIL WEARS SWEATER AND UNDERWEAR UNIQLO SOCKS MODEL’S OWN MODEL KAMIL NATSUAKI (BARK IN STYLE)
TOM FORD IN BROOKLYN PHOTOGRAPHY HADAR PITCHON FASHION MARTA DEL RIO RICARDO WEARS UNDERWEAR TOM FORD MODEL RICARDO RODRIGUEZ (NEXT)
RON DORFF IN NEW YORK CITY PHOTOGRAPHY JEIROH YANGA FASHION NICOLA FORMICHETTI DANIEL WEARS SWIMSUIT RON DORFF NECKLACE MODEL’S OWN GROOMING LAUREN CITERA MODEL DANIEL ANGULO (SOUL)
TOMMY HILFIGER IN LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY CHRISTIAN OITA FASHION TONY COOK STEVE WEARS SWEATER, UNDERWEAR TOMMY HILFIGER EARRINGS, NECKLACE MODEL’S OWN MODEL STEVE SWISH (IMG)
BALENCIAGA AND SUPREME IN LONDON PHOTOGRAPHY JENNY BROUGH FASHION DAVEY SUTTON ANDREJ WEARS JACKET BALENCIAGA UNDERWEAR SUPREME NECKLACE MODEL’S OWN MAKEUP JIMMY OWENS (ART FACTORY) HAIR YUSUKE MORIOKA (COFFIN INC) MODEL ANDREJ VALENTINCIC (NEXT) MOVEMENT DIRECTOR JAMIE NEALE (UNITED AGENTS & MTA) SET DESIGN ALUN DAVIES
DSQUARED2 IN MILAN PHOTOGRAPHY TRAVIS CHANTAR FASHION NICOLA FORMICHETTI IONUT WEARS SWIMSUIT DSQUARED2 GROOMING LAUREN CITERA MODEL IONUT RADU (PRM)
