VMAN 53: MEN AT WORK WITH CHARLES MELTON, JONATHAN BAILEY, TOM BLYTH, & MORE

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FALL / WINTER 2024

TAKING THE STAGE TOM BLYTH

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV STYLED BY GRO CURTIS INTERVIEWED BY MATHIAS ROSENZWEIG

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FALL / WINTER 2024

TAKING THE STAGE CHARLES MELTON PHOTOGRAPHED BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV STYLED BY GRO CURTIS INTERVIEWED BY GRETA LEE

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FALL / WINTER 2024

TAKING THE STAGE JONATHAN BAILEY PHOTOGRAPHED BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV STYLED BY GRO CURTIS INTERVIEWED BY ARIANA GRANDE

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FALL / WINTER 2024

TAKING THE STAGE

DOMINIC SESSA

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV STYLED BY GRO CURTIS INTERVIEWED BY LIZZY GOODMAN

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FALL / WINTER 2024

TAKING THE STAGE LIL YACHTY

PHOTOGRAPHED BY BLAIR GETZ MEZIBOV STYLED BY GRO CURTIS INTERVIEWED BY DANIEL LEE

dior.com – 800.929.dior(3467)

omegawatches.com

T H E M O O N WAT C H I N W H I T E Inspired by its history of space exploration, the most iconic chronograph on Earth now has a white dial. The Speedmaster Moonwatch has borrowed its latest look from the colours of astronaut spacesuits, while adding a glossy lacquered finish for the very first time. The white dial and red touches are also a tribute to the ALASKA I prototype that OMEGA produced in 1969, creating an authentic link to the Speedmaster’s pioneering past.

Worn on a comfortable and vintage-style bracelet, this stainless steel Moonwatch shines the spotlight on a new era of adventure.

Table of Contents

In This Issue Not His First Rodeo, 20 VMAN News, 22 VMAN Trends, 24 VMEN, 26 Melton for You, 30 Your Bailey Dose, 36 Dominic Dominates, 42 Life of the Yachty, 48 Like There’s No Tom-orrow, 54 Whoopsie-Daisy, 62 Men at Work, 74 Raise the Barre, 84 Man’s Best Friend, 94 Scent from Above, 98 Code Red, 104 What VMen Want, 112

MADE YA LOOK Photography Charles Billot 14

Tom wears sunglasses CELINE HOMME by Hedi Slimane Triomphe Metal 03 Sunglasses in metal ($550, available at Celine boutiques worldwide)

Editor’s Letter

Brandon wears sunglasses AKONI EYEWEAR Hercules in crystal clear ($775, available at akoni.com)

MAKE A SPECTACLE The fall and winter seasons of 2024 are poised to make history. We are not only witnessing a new generation of designers make their marks on storied maisons, we are also going to see the results of the US presidential election, which will influence decision-makers worldwide—stylish or not. As a print magazine, downtown grit and perseverance are in our DNA. When times are unpredictable we move forward and dream. Interestingly, this commitment to movement was present in some of our favorite collections this past season. Designers meditated on the idea of momentum in an ever-changing fashion landscape where they continue to push forward underrepresented narratives via art. We’re so proud to give fresh faces like Charles Melton, Jonathan Bailey, Lil Yachty, Dominic Sessa, and Tom Blyth a place in print. They are the cinematic and musical heroes of a new generation. Our message with this issue is to encourage our readers to stay punk and to question the status quo when it does not serve them. Free yourself from trends and stay true to your original, independent style. MR. V 16

Masthead

EDITORIAL Stephen Gan Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director

Julien wears sunglasses BRUNELLO CUCINELLI In Cognac Vintage with Polar Brown lenses ($883, available at Brunello Cucinelli boutiques worldwide)

Gro Curtis Editorial / Fashion Director Mathias Rosenzweig GEN V Editor-in-Chief / Digital Director Lizzy Goodman Senior Contributing Editor Savannah Sobrevilla Editor Greg Krelenstein Entertainment Editor PHOTO / ART Goran Macura Photo Director Tobias Holzmann Art Director Alyson Cox Creative Producer / Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief FASHION Liv Vitale Fashion Coordinator DIGITAL Kevin Ponce Digital Managing Editor

ADMINISTRATION Todd Kamelhar Managing Director Crystal McGhee Financial Office Manager David Renard Distribution CONTRIBUTORS Ariana Grande Blair Getz Mezibov Sølve Sundsbø Luke Gilford Greta Lee Daniel Lee Drew Jarrett Peghah Meleknejad Michael Avedon Luca Campri Roberto Piu Pieter Hugo Charles Billot Johannes Bauer Pauline Caranton Georgia Thompson Tim Barber Anna Henderson Sam Falb Kayla Curtis-Evans Katherine Maria Rojas CONTRIBUTING FASHION EDITORS Nicola Formichetti Anastasia Barbieri Patti Wilson Anna Trevelyan George Cortina Amanda Harlech Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele Derek Blasberg Contributing Editor-at-Large Annie Copy and Research Editor ADVERTISTING / FINANCE Mediaberna S.r.l.

(Advertising Office for Italy and Switzerland) Luciano Bernardini de Pace luciano@bernardini.it Grazia Mortari mortari@bernardini.it Mariolina Siclari mariolina@bernardini.it Eleni Gatsou Bureau (Advertising Office for France and America) Eleni Gatsou eleni@elenigatsou.com Marie-Loup Faggioli marie-loup@elenigatsou.com PRESS AND EVENTS Purple PR Andrew Lister andrew.lister@purplepr.com Shiana Madray shiana.madray@purplepr.com Remi Jiang remi.jiang@purplepr.com SPECIAL THANKS WYO Artists Karen Long Art + Commerce Annemiek Ter Linden, Christopher Miles Supervision NY Tina Michelle Chen Walter Schupfer Management Susanne Kuuskman Talent and Partner Ingrid Janowski Kramer + Kramer Jay Sternberg A-Frame Isela Peña L’Atelier Malena Holcomb VNY Models Lana Winters NEXT Samuel Zakuto Ford Models Sam Doefler Heroes Jonathon Reis IMG Ian Stone Kate Moss Agency Joe Brotheron Select Paris Pauline Panzani Maven Models Alexandra Moise Wilhelmina Lauren Farrelly NEXT Milan Mattéa Mariani NEXT London Sarah Vickery 16 Men Eric Sposiuto Unsigned Frankie Pizzolon New Madison Clément Eiras M Management Guillaume Dosante Streeters Rachel Clark Home Agency Christine Lavigne The Wall Group Oliver James Bullen, Cydney Psarolis-Stannard SEE Management Leigh Sikorski, Laura Groudine Tomlinson Mgmt Group Kelly Tomlinson Pollack Blend Management Claudia Piazzolla Born Artists Briana Castro Interns AJ Grove, Nevaeh Chludzinski, Sophia Robertsmark, Hadley Susa, Elissa Dziersk, Joyce McFarland, Clément Condat, Alice Almeida

HAPPY TO SEE YOU

Cover 1 Charles wears all clothing VALENTINO All jewelry talent’s own Cover 2 Jonathan wears top GIVENCHY Cover 3 Dominic wears all clothing and shoes SAINT LAURENT Cover 4 Lil Yachty wears all clothing BURBERRY All jewelry talent’s own Cover 5 Tom wears all clothing COURRÈGES Earring talent’s own

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Makeup Yui Oiwa Hair Erin Piper Herschleb (L’Atelier) Models Tom Huges (IMG), Brandon Lee (Heroes), Julien Trowe (NEXT) Digital technician Justin Conly Photo assistant Thom Sanchez Location Porter Studio

Meng Ji Weibo and Chinese Editor

NOT HIS FIRST RODEO

Upon the release of his latest and highly-celebrated film, National Anthem, director, writer, and imagemaker Luke Gilford shared some BTS imagery with us and wrote about meeting his muse and the film’s star, the mesmerizing Charlie Plummer

Photography Luke Gilford

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“I first met Charlie Plummer in 2018 on the set of a photo shoot I was doing for VMAN. His calm, soulful energy inspired me—he seemed wise beyond his 18 years. We bonded over a mutual love for cinema as the sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean. That same year, I had started writing my first feature film screenplay, National Anthem. As I was writing, I wanted to offer up a more modern and nuanced version of the classic American cowboy for today’s world. Cowboys have always symbolized virility and dominance through violence. But I believe there’s also power and strength in vulnerability and softness. I wanted to create a cowboy character who is tough as well as tender; brave enough to try riding a bull, and brave enough to try drag. I think exploring these dimensions is a beautiful and normal part of the process of uncovering ourselves and our many layers. On that photo shoot with Charlie back in 2018, the stylist put him into a silk cowboy shirt as the final look. As his shaggy hair barely revealed his piercing eyes, I thought to myself, ‘There he is—that’s Dylan.’”

—Luke Gilford 21

VMAN NEWS

Photography Johannes Bauer Text Katherine Maria Rojas

Watch LOUIS VUITTON

Shoes GUCCI

Time Travel with Louis Vuitton

Gucci’s Monogram Mania

Being late is out. Louis Vuitton’s Escale Collection debuts four watch models, crafted with ever luxurious bits and bobs; 18-carat rose gold, sapphire crystal, platinum, onyx, baguette-cut diamonds, and meteorite, paired with richly textured calf leather straps. The collection evokes a bygone era, piquing our desire to go back in time and pay it a visit.

A no-brainer backdrop for the house’s infamous horsebit hardware, Gucci’s AW 2024 collection features monogrammed versions of their beloved loafer with modern edits—namely, an elevated creeper-style platform and a metal plaque with the house’s logo helming the toe box. These updated classics call for an updated attitude. Wear with caution.

Backpack DIOR

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Scarf BURBERRY

Dior Defies Gravity

Burberry’s Instant Classics

Just as Pollock’s art was born in the action of its creation, Dior’s latest leather designs come as a result of an innovative embossing technique, coined: Gravity Leather. The Dior oblique motif makes its mark in 3 different colorways and can be found on backpacks, belts and sneakers, encouraging wearers to create as well, via their own styling methods.

Crucial to building a dynamic wardrobe is a strong base of, well, basics. Enter Burberry’s latest line, aptly named Burberry Classics. Filled with essentials like timeless scarves, cotton poplin shirts tailored to perfection, and reversible trench coats, investment pieces finally feel experimental and fun.

Note: Burberry’s iconic Nova Check is a known neutral!

VMAN News

Though the change of seasons inevitably catalyzes the filling up of schedules both personal and professional, our round-up of recent releases compete to prove that style mustn’t be overlooked, be it in leisure, play, or the daily grind

Bag LOEWE

Pick Your Loewe Player

Deviate from the Norm with Fendi × Devialet

Loewe’s FW 2024 men’s collection seeks to recreate the experience of dressing your avatar in a video game. Offerings from the powerhouse run the gamut of masculine expression, from fluorescently colored and patterned knits to reimagined tailored button downs. Is your character’s name Stavros, who lives in Las Vegas, hiding stolen poker chips in a neon, textured, graphic print hobo bag? If you’re not sure where to start with this collection, we think that could be it.

How could we trust any ordinary speaker with our meticulously curated playlist after hearing Fendi and Devialet’s latest collaboration? An effortlessly portable speaker with a leather handle, wholly covered in the iconically repetitious Fendi monogram logo, this small but mighty sonic sphere boasts Devialet’s expert sound engineering, made to blend both analog and digital amplification. Don’t worry, Janet Jackson and Nancy Sinatra are next in the queue.

Shoes GIVENCHY

Location Studio Johannes Bauer

Speaker FENDI

Top POLO RALPH LAUREN

Givenchy and Bogs Stomp Out the Competition

Going for Gold with Ralph Lauren

It’s rarely the case that the shoe du jour is one of extreme comfort and functionality, but Givenchy has made strides in combining the practical with the pretty. Collaborating with Portland, Oregon-based brand Bogs, these are constructed to be 100% waterproof and warm—with vulcanized rubber and a sock lining for an ultra lightweight feel.

It’s only fitting that a founding father of American fashion dresses Team USA for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics, as he has nine times over. Where the ceremonial uniforms feature wool and leather blazers on top and denim on bottom, the collection features what Ralph does best—archival favorites and plenty of stars and stripes.

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VMAN TRENDS

Photography Tim Barber Fashion Liv Vitale

Skate don’t hate. Collared shirts, pants that are so oversized their hems have ripped from scraping against the city pavement, and low-soled shoes are what’s coasting down catwalks around major cities and, as always, the streets of New York’s Lower East Side

Matthias wears vest, jeans, boxers ISABEL MARANT Top stylist’s own Necklace model’s own

Mathiss wears all clothing MCM All jewelry and shoes model’s own

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Curraun wears all clothing KENZO Shoes MCM Earrings model’s own

VMAN Trends

Grooming Kiyonori Sudo (L’Atelier) Models Mathiss Delagree (Maven Models), Curraun (Ford), Matthias El Koulali (Heroes)

All clothing BENETTON Earrings model’s own

All jacket and jeans GOLDEN GOOSE Top stylist’s own Necklace model’s own

All clothing KIDSUPER Shoes GOLDEN GOOSE Earrings model’s own

Top KIDSUPER Pants GUESS Sunglasses BRUNELLO CUCINELLI Shoes and ring model’s own

All clothing CELINE HOMME by Hedi Slimane

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VMEN MAZURBATE THE MASTERMIND MIXING MODA WITH PERREO Matthew Mazur, an NYC-based stylist and DJ affectionately and professionally known as Mazurbate, carries a sweetness that feels notably authentic, like he would treat you and Beyoncé with the same level of attentiveness. On a scorching June afternoon, concerned that I might burn in the sun, Mazur situated us in a shady spot outside of an Upper East Side café to chat.

Part Peruvian, part Polish, Mazur grew up in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, which, in the late ‘90s and early aughts, was homogeneously blonde and blueeyed. At home with his Peruvian mom and extended family, he would listen to Donna Summer and other disco darlings, with reggaeton radio hits also on frequent rotation. As we reminisce about family parties in the living room, he affirms that, for many Latinx people, gathering and celebrating life are ingrained interests.

Over a bridge, across town, and then further uptown, stands the famed Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, a haven for young, creative, and queer New Yorkers. Mazur’s attendance there piqued his interest in fine art, musical and cultural exchange, curiosities he took to college at Parsons thereafter.

His ever-expanding iTunes library and beloved aux-cord antics at college parties later awarded him a resident DJ spot at Avenue, a now defunct nightclub in Chelsea, which he was connected to by a friend who was a host there at the time. “I started DJing faking it till I made it. I didn’t know how to set up, how to use the buttons. I would watch people, have my notes app,” recounts Mazur. “I was scrappy like that. People who are marginalized in any way have that sensibility.”

If you were to attend one of his sets, you’d be abundantly stimulated by an energizing collage of genres spanning neo perreo, hip hop, bubblegum pop, Brazilian funk, and disco. “I was playing Latin music from the start; it wasn’t really the moment back then.

I would have people cut my set short, or tell me that I shouldn’t play so much ‘urban’ music.” In the early 2010s, the Latin music scene was more established uptown and further out in the boroughs. Mazur sought to move those sounds into the more exclusive fashion spaces he began to occupy.

A styling internship with Jeremy Scott and his Moschino team helped jumpstart Mazur’s styling career. Two of his first notable clients were the Hilton sisters, some of his biggest fashion influences growing up in the ‘00s. Mazur now boasts a starstudded styling portfolio, from Ice Spice, to Kim Petras, to dressing Lil Nas X in 50,000 Swarovski 26

Club culture is in full swing—on the runways, in our playlists, and in obscure warehouses across the world. Here are some DJ acts saving our lives, night after night

Mazurbate wears all clothing and shoes DOLCE & GABBANA On skin LANEIGE Water Bank Blue Hyaluronic Cream Moisturizer

crystals for the 2024 Met Gala, alongside Luar designer, Raul Lopez, a long-time friend. Mazur’s parallel styling and DJ careers feed each other, by the inevitable networking that happens in both worlds.

Mazur continues to foster community and inclusive spaces. He’s been collaborating with Papi Juice, a Brooklyn-based art and DJ collective that throws parties to celebrate and support queer and trans people of color, for the past few years. “Collectives are where it’s at. They’re the ones keeping the pulse alive. For so long I was looking for a kind of family within the niches of nightlife, the right people with the right sounds. Every time I play for them it gets better and better.”

When asked about particular pinch-me career moments, Mazur wants to avoid sounding jaded for needing to consult his Instagram feed. “So much has happened! Rihanna’s done my makeup for Halloween!”

Mazur humbly shares. After imparting personal life and career advice off-record, Mazur discussed New York City’s influence on his work and why it’s important to him to be here. “I’m happy to have come up when I did. The New York sensibility is so great to have. Girls here are doing things that the rest of the world will in 10 years. The lens is on New York.”

KATHERINE MARIA ROJAS

VMEN

Photography Anna Henderson Fashion Liv Vitale

JOHN SUMMIT THE INTERNET’S FAVORITE DJ HITS THE GROUND RUNNING Coming off a high from continuous jet-setting, internet virality, and headlining EDC and Coachella, John Summit was enjoying a rare moment of calm. “Being in different cities every single night is chaos,” the DJ and producer says, as we discuss his whirlwind summer. Since leaving his accounting job in 2019 to pursue DJing full-time, Summit has won the hearts—and playlists—of many. But underneath it all, the 29-yearold is still just a goofy, fun-loving guy from Chicago.

“I’m a very practical person. If I have my laptop and USBs, some water, and some tequila, I’m a happy man [laughs].”

Last month, Summit dropped his debut album, Comfort in Chaos, an ode to the ups and downs of his career thus far. The project will include his hit single “Where You Are” (feat. Hayla)—an infectious, bass-pulsing track you’ve probably heard in one of your favorite clubs, but the internet’s favorite DJ says that this upcoming project signals a new era in which he’s reaching the proverbial summit and is taking a moment to soak it all in.

There’s a lot for the new star to revel in. Opening my TikTok app the other day, my algorithm fed me a series of videos that showed Summit doing what he does best—just vibing out behind the booth. In an industry that can be tough to break into and even tougher to maintain your position, his talent and true-to-self personality shine through.

“Telling your parents you quit your job to pursue DJing is tough,” he says, “I had to move in with the parents during Covid. At that time, I just made music all day, every day. Then I signed with Defected Records in June 2020. From there, I released a single every month for three years and toured nonstop. I did over 200 shows a year leading up to this year. And then I decided to stop doing all of that this year and I started doing bigger shows and working on this album. So this year, I’m in a new phase of my career.”

Last December, Summit sold out his first-ever headline show at LA’s BMO Stadium, a set that he says, “Turned my dreams to reality,” and which prepared him for a series of show-stopping sets at some of the summer’s hottest festivals. “I unveiled the Comfort in Chaos production stage in the Sahara tent at Coachella. It was 32,000 people. I mean, no DJ has ever headlined that stage—ever. That’s where Radiohead, Kanye, and every big artist has performed,” he excitedly reflects.

As Summit prepares for his album release, he dives into the elements of the project that allowed him to expand artistically, and personally. “I’ve been so go, go, go, so finding that comfort is definitely the main concept of the album,” he explains. “It starts pretty introspective. ‘Tears’ with Paige Cavell, it’s about heartbreak and highs and lows. Then it goes all the way to the outro, ‘palm of my hands,’ with venbee, where it ends on a high note about self-confidence. But the whole project is really about self-discovery. By the end, it’s a full-on party. That really shows the yin and yang in my life.”

Summit was about to log off to head to rehearsals for his sold-out show at MSG, but before doing so, I had to ask a question for the people. Ahead of the release of the album, the internet has already deemed this a Summit Summer—but for the man himself, what characterizes a Summit Summer?

“Well, parties, of course,” he chuckles, “I used to do these parties on those big architectural tour boats. We’d take all the chairs off the top and I’d DJ there. That was actually how I got my start in Chicago because no club would wanna book me. I feel like every weekend just gets bigger and bigger and bigger, especially with MSG coming up. But I’m finding my comfort in it all, that’s for sure.”

KAYLA CURTIS-EVANS

John wears all clothing and shoes CELINE HOMME by Hedi Slimane Necklace CARTIER Watch OMEGA Bracelet and ring talent’s own On skin DR. JART+ Vital Hydra Solution™ Water Cream Glow Moisturizer

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VMEN

JONAH ALMOST THE CITY SLICKER UPGRADES TO FIRST CLASS With a flirty jock facade that makes gym bros nervous, musician Jonah Almost (born Jonah Daniel Rollins) has noticed the lines increasingly blurring between himself and his stage persona. Sitting in the V Magazine conference room, wearing a t-shirt that says “pervert,” he nods naughtily when I tell him that he reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk’s devilish, homoerotic character Tyler Durden from the novel Fight Club. “I like sleazy, criminal aesthetics, [but] I think it gives people a limited perspective of who I am.” Rollins admits that offscreen he’s actually a thoughtful romantic.

In the gay lexicon, there’s a word for men like Rollins: trade.

“Trade “typically refers to a DL guy,” meaning someone who is down-low or discreet about their sexual identity, “or a blue collar dude who’s maybe not out. Or, if he is out, he’s very masc or straightacting,” Rollins explains. His chthonic swagger, in other words, functions as a sort of macho Trojan horse for queer narratives. As he puts it: “What we get served in the queer community is often so onenote, we need more bro representation.”

Rollins’ persona isn’t simply meathead cosplay.

The musician grew up in between New York and Texas, and, at the age of 18, found himself spending a memorable 16 hours in the infamous Berlin club, Berghain. It changed his life. When Rollins returned to New York, he was intent on recreating this revelatory rave experience, so he bought a synthesizer.

“I was like: I want to find the scene, I want to find the underground, I want to meet people, I want to start making music.” But it wasn’t that easy. “People were so mean to me at the beginning, they thought I was just this basic little twink—which in some ways I was.”

Eventually, though, he made his way, and soon Jonah Almost, musician and DJ, was born Jonah Almost “is the qualities that I already have as a person, but turned up to a 10,” he says. “It’s a bit.”

One to which Rollins has committed whole-heartedly. In 2022, Rollins walked for Vetements at Paris Fashion Week. At the end of the runway, in front of the fashion world’s elite, as if to frame his slackjawed, vacant-eyed, himbo expression, he stuck up his middle fingers. “They didn’t tell me to do it, but I was just like, this is iconic. Sorry.” Peak Jonah Almost faux-douchery.

He mentions the runway moment in his hit single, “World Trade,” which is a play on the concept of “trade” and his love for New York City and its skyline.

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(“My dick big like the Empire State,” he sings in a hushed, sex operator voice.) Though the song is filled with this kind of not-so-subtle innuendo, at its core it’s a profession of love. “All my music is horny, but romantic,” Rollins says.

Last summer, Jonah Almost began to supersede Jonah Rollins. This was a problem. “I’m going through my first evolution as an artist,” Rollins reflects. “How do I catch Jonah Almost up with who Jonah Rollins actually is?” In the time Rollins has also been Jonah Almost, he’s tried on a number of different side-personalities like Rave Star, Future DILF, and the Man with the Biggest Dick in NYC. Now, Rollins has settled on an official new persona: JD Class.

“JD is Jonah Daniel. Class is supposed to be representing my classy evolution,” he explains. “Jonah Almost was of the streets and now he’s graduating, he’s becoming a young boss.” On the mood board for JD Class is Christopher Moltisanti from The Sopranos and young Goldie. “Suave, badass, but also still, like, swaggy.” Ultimately, Rollins is having fun and collecting memories. He plans to become a father one day—his Catholic parents are happily married.

He wants to give his kids something to look at and say, “Woah. My dad was a total stud back in the day.”

SAVANNAH SOBREVILLA

Jonah wears all clothing and shoes LOUIS VUITTON All jewelry CARTIER On skin CHARLOTTE TILBURY Magic Water Cream Gel Moisturizer

VMEN

TAMA GUCCI

Makeup Kevin Cheah (Kramer + Kramer) Hair Andrew Chen (Kramer + Kramer) Digital technician Takashi Soehl Photo assistants Jarod Polakoff, Lamar Kendrick-Dial Location 16 Beaver Studio

THE MIAMI NATIVE MAKES HIS ALBUM DEBUT Tama Gucci calls in from the Chelsea studio he shares with, among others, his partner—stylist and DJ Matthew Mazur. The space is built out in an organized selection of production ephemera, including lofty shelving and bright rolls of background paper, with the artist in the center, ready for a line of questioning about his album Notes to Self.

Tama Gucci, or Kymani Floyd, as he’s known offstage, was born and raised in Miami, Florida. As his upbringing progressed, he was introduced to the infamous South Florida rave scene—intertwining his Jamaican roots with electronic music’s foundations in dub reggae. Moving to New York catalyzed his entry into the nightlife and artistic communities that had previously been locked behind the alluring screen of social media.

The artist’s current portfolio is quite diverse: projects range from his solo music career, to scoring New York and Milan fashion shows for Mirror Palais, Prabal Gurung, and Moschino alongside his partner.

He has also modeled for Telfar, and produces his own ready-to-wear line of handmade, delightfully whimsical pieces via Tama’s Corner. This resume makes consuming his music an even more rewarding experience, given the breadth of background that he sources from, including gathered noise from the environment around him.

“With DJing, anything can be a sample at the hands of the turntable. You can press loop and play the sound over and over again, or blend it into something else. There are so many ways to go about it. It’s kind of incredible,” he explained. From the adrenaline-charged track “Stalk Me 151 To 170,” to the sunrise that “Goodmorning Babe” presents, Tama Gucci’s versatility of communication through music is on resplendent display in this project, a follow-up to several strong, multi-song releases including “Out of Order,” “Yours Truly,” “Fantasy,” and “Almost Blue.”

“I’ve downloaded so many sounds on my computer, and I can’t even tell you where I got some of them from,” Floyd laughs. “For ‘Goodmorning Babe,’ I started with the bird sounds. Then, as I was building the song, it all began to paint this picture of morning time.” This attention to detail is an emerging trademark of the artist’s work, where anything-goes references might range from his Miami childhood, to Brandy or Ray J, to the latest spat on 90 Day Fiancé.

Tama wears all clothing DSQUARED2 Shoe CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN Earrings talent’s own On skin GLOSSIER Futuredew Facial Oil-Serum Hybrid

A strong team is central to any creative’s output, and the musician rallied a close circle of peers to build the world of this album. His creative director and friend Jonathan Qualtere, for instance, introduced him to photographer Emilio Tamez. Tamez clicked into the vision of the album and shot the cover art—a darklycinematic shot of the musician absolutely enveloped in a downpour of skin-hugging water, with a single, gem-covered white cross earring (from Tama’s Corner) standing out in the foreground.

“I had an idea in my head, but it’s been fulfilling to have people I respect give input and come up with things that I would have never envisioned,” the musician said.

The video for lead single “Runaway Pup” is meticulous in design, from the uppercrust country home setting and thoughtful costuming, to an eerie plotline that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats until a darkly twisted ending. This album marks a pivotal moment in the artist’s trajectory, a bold statement of his growth and—if his enviable list of upcoming projects is any indication—boundless potential. Notes to Self contains a track for every personality and setting—for us, we’ll bid you adieu with the album’s “See You Later,” and encourage a full listening experience to jump on the train of Tama Gucci’s creative evolution. SAM FALB 29

Following the success of May December, actor Charles Melton hopped on Zoom with fellow Korean American actor Greta Lee to chat about kimchi parties, their massively successful projects last year, and mustn’t-be-talked-about upcoming films

MELTON FOR YOU

Charles wears all clothing VALENTINO All jewelry talent’s own 30

Photography Blair Getz Mezibov Fashion Gro Curtis Interview Greta Lee

All clothing VALENTINO All jewelry talent’s own

All clothing VALENTINO All jewelry talent’s own

All clothing VALENTINO All jewelry talent’s own

A “kimjang” is a gathering of friends, family, and loved ones, one with the express purpose of making kimchi, a delicious Korean side dish consisting of fermented and spiced vegetables. Last year, in the midst of award season, actor Greta Lee hosted a kimjang and invited VMAN cover star, Charles Melton, who brought his mom and sister. The two talents saw a meteoric rise in industry recognition, as a result of their incredible projects—Past Lives and May December, respectively—and found that a cultural return to self was much needed in their dizzying ascent to A-list status.

Calling in from a chic, book-filled Parisian Airbnb, Melton shares a bit more on how he’s moving through his current projects, which include the upcoming A24 film Warfare and the second season of the critically acclaimed show Beef. With Lee, he’s developed an almost sibling-like dynamic over the course of their parallel press tours. Calling in from her car— which she notes was fully parked—Lee reminds Melton of the importance of grounding oneself with fast food, prods him on whether or not he’s taking enough time for himself, and expresses general excitement for his career trajectory.

GRETA LEE: Charles! There you are.

CHARLES MELTON: Give me the tea, nobody is here listening to us.

GL: This is completely private. I’ll tell you everything, all the gossip… It’s so good to see you. I don’t know if you’ve had a moment to process what the last year has been for you. I’m excited to check in (post award season) and see how you’re feeling about everything.

CM: I’m doing pretty good. Going to London to film (“Warfare,” Melton’s forthcoming film) for three months was probably the best thing for me. The whole experience with Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza (co-directors of “Warfare”), it was very grounding. Probably one of the best experiences for me as an actor, to be part of something like that.

GL: So you weren’t just sitting around with those guys like talking about awards season?

CM: [Laughs] It was more like: When are we going to work out? What movie are we watching at dinner? What are the weekend plans? We stayed in a town called Tring at this place called the Pendley Manor. There were just peacocks everywhere, like 100 peacocks.

GL: Peacocks are aggressive.

CM: Very aggressive. But, you know, today, I got up, worked out, had coffee, rode the Lime bike around Paris, had Burger King for lunch. I’m feeling great.

GL: Well-balanced. Just coffee and a little bit of trans fat.

I love that. Before we get into current projects and things— it was so great to see you during that whole experience of the absolutely well-deserved attention that you got from your performance in May, December. It really helped me, too, because our projects were different, but we had the same producers.

It was nice to feel like we had a little family.

CM: It was always so grounding whenever I saw you because we saw each other at almost every awards thing, we’re both just blacked out like, ‘What’s up?! How’s it going?!’ When we made kimchi that one night, that was amazing.

GL: Yes! Oh my god, in the middle of all of that I randomly had the kimjang on the books. I was like, you know what, I’m gonna invite Charles, and you came! I love that you came with your mom and one of your sisters. It was like one of my most favorite days during that whole run of things.

CM: My mom showed up like a little gangster in her matching purple sweatsuit, and I remember everyone was making kimchi, and I think she may have been one of the oldest people there. She was just like— GL: Schooling everyone?

CM: Yeah! I think it was one of your friends that was there, he was a chef.

GL: David Cheng!

CM: Him and my mom kind of had a little feud [laughs], like a back and forth.

GL: Oh my God. CM: But it was amazing. I think settling in and processing everything from these past few months… It’s been good to gather all my senses and be in my body and focus on the things that matter, like making sure I eat Burger King wherever I am in the world.

GL: I totally get what you mean. I don’t know if you see it this way, but for me, that’s kind of an immigrant thing. Like when I need to check myself, I go to McDonald’s. You know what I mean? Because I get it. You’re an actor and there’s that whole “your body is a temple” thing and you have to take care of yourself, but every once in a while, you need to step off the green juice stuff and just go have a Big Mac. CM: Yeah.

GL: Do you feel like you had an unconventional ride based on how you grew up? You grew up in Alaska, right?

CM: I was born in Alaska, my dad was in the army. I lived in Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee for a year, Korea for five years, Texas for two years, Kansas for four years and then moved out to LA, lived in New York for two years, pursuing the dream of being an actor. It’s a very unconventional story, but it feels normal to me.

GL: I think it’s fascinating that you’ve had to move so much.

You have this deep sense of who you are and it’s really apparent no matter where you go. That comes from that practice of having to keep finding yourself in different worlds.

CM: That’s very sweet. Code switching, I don’t think it’s a bad thing. That’s why I love doing what we get to do. Whenever it comes to a role, I see it as an opportunity to experience a revelation of a version of myself. When I was in Korea a few months ago, I felt something in me come to the surface and it made me very emotional. It was my grandma’s 90th birthday— I speak Korean but not as well as I would like to—and I felt this connection with her and my whole Korean family. And I wished I could’ve expressed it [beyond] just hugging them, it was interesting. I feel like I’m off on a tangent right now.

GL: You’re not, you’re so not. You’re making me want to ask about Joe-Yoo (Melton’s character in May December).You were incredible. It was so shocking to see you expose a vulnerability within yourself through a character. I could see all the work that you put into building this person. Is there anything you can say about that process?

CM: I was a big geek about the whole process. If I was looking at one element of the many layers of Joe that I found, I would say that there’s this sense of being afraid. And I think that, internally, I have a part of that. Being a military kid, travelling from one place to the next, I had this: Can I fit in? Am I doing the right thing? Am I abiding by societal norms? There’s a version of myself that, through the role of Joe, kind of came to the surface. And that was this element of him being afraid, but not knowing he’s afraid.

GL: That’s so beautiful, I completely understand. Do you feel differently about how you move into a role?

CM: The process for this (“Warfare”) role was just completely different. The story was based on a true story written

by Ray Mendoza so his best friend’s kids can see what happened to their father back in 2006. It was very intense, but one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever done.

Head to VMAN.com to read the extended interview.

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Grooming Candice Birns (A-Frame) Executive producer Vivian Song (The Production Factory) Producer Jenna Pfefferle (The Production Factory) Production coordinator Arlene Trejo Location scout Ella Bourne (Image Locations) Digital technician Nate Leal Lighting director Christian “Bummy” Koepenick Stylist assistant Evelyn Cristobal Production assistant Mike Casucci

Something wicked this way comes… and it’s the film adaptation of the Broadway behemoth, Wicked, starring Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and, our cover star, Jonathan Bailey. Tuning in from Thailand, Bailey caught up with Grande about all things Oz and his upcoming project Jurassic Park

YOUR BAILEY DOSE

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Jonathan Bailey’s acting career began at the age of eight, when the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company cast him in a role coveted by all little boys who like musicals: Gavroche in Les Miserables. Since then, he’s starred in contemporary plays, refined his iambic pentameter flow via several Shakespearian productions, and, in 2019, won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his work in the gender-swapped revival of Company. In other words, Bailey is a theater nerd.

It’s made his upcoming role as Fiyero Tigelaar in the movie adaptation of the Broadway hit, Wicked, all the more unbelievable to him. Over Zoom, with co-star Ariana Grande, he admits that he’s only recently had the space to fangirl over the reality that he’s playing the lead in a musical that rocked his world when he first saw it at the age of 15. Tuning in from Thailand, he and Grande chat about his upcoming project, another adaptation, Jurassic Park, and the memories of Oz that he (reportedly) carries in his pocket.

ARIANA GRANDE: Hi, good morning. What time is it for you?

JONATHAN BAILEY: It’s 8 a.m. Feeling pretty fresh.

AG: You look beautifully fresh. Just for context, for people reading, Johnny, you’re currently in Thailand. What are you up to over there?

JB: I’m on a really long holiday in the jungle, pretending to run away from fake dinosaurs… Um, no, I’m filming Jurassic Park. And there are massive links between it and Wicked because it’s got so many of the same crew.

AG: Yes! JB: The bereavement of leaving “Wicked” behind has been sort of solved by the fact that so many of them are still here.

So, I’m keeping the Wicked dream alive, but with dinosaurs.

AG: That’s so beautiful. You’re so lucky to have a little piece of Oz with you still every day.

JB: I carry Oz in my pocket.

AG: Yes. How is it going?

JB: I am loving it. We’re doing a whole new version of the Jurassic Park franchise.

AG: What can you say about your character, about this new franchise?

JB: I can say it’s written by David Koepp, who wrote the original. It feels like it’s in ultimate hands to bring it back to what the original achieved. [Jurassic Park] was the first film I went to see with my whole family, and I was way too young, and I was terrified.

AG: I would love to touch on Fellow Travelers, which was such an emotional and expansive project. What was the process of taking on a character like Tim, whose story is told over several decades?

JB: Fellow Travelers will always be something that I’m incredibly proud of. For me it [was] the most fulfilling creative, emotional, and spiritual thing I’ve done. Tim and Hawke (leads in Fellow Travelers) are allegories. So many men lost their lives.

It’s never lost on me, all the other actors that couldn’t come out or were vilified for being caught having sex in toilets. All the horrific ways in which a pure thing like man-on-man love has been misconstrued.

AG: It was absolutely palpable.

JB: I had this amazing weekend in Bangkok and I met this group of Malaysian dudes who were just so brilliant. They were doctors and they were really bright, intelligent, kind, sweet men who were having such a brilliant time. We ended up having dinner and, after a few drinks, they were telling me that they come over from Malaysia to Bangkok because they can’t be out to their families.

AG: My God. JB: It’s so painful.

AG: I was gonna say, this leads us beautifully into the Shameless Fund, your foundation that you launched actually this week, congratulations. How does it feel that it’s finally out there in the world?

JB: It’s been a labor of love for about two years. When the second series of Bridgerton came out, I was suddenly aware of an increased platform; “Bridgerton” is viewed in multiple territories where being gay is different. So, I just sort of fused the two together— AG: It’s a beautiful way of making sense of it all.

JB: Thank you for being an icon and an ambassador for the Shameless Fund.

AG: I’m so proud of you and I love you and your heart so much. Okay, moving on. I was wondering what things have helped you recharge your human battery?

JB: I’ve adapted my life slightly. I don’t live in a city anymore, I do a lot of swimming and gymnastics, which is something that I’ve done [since] I was younger. I think it’s friends, which I know is such a sort of eye-roll. I’ve got amazing friends, they’ve always been there and I’ve been friends with them for so long.

AG: And me, for 2 years.

JB: I’ve spiritually known you for 20 years.

AG: Yeah, 100. Let’s move on to Wicked. How did you prepare for the role of Fiyero?

JB: I mean, it’s a complete dream come true. The preparation started when I listened to the soundtrack when I was like 15. And I remember viscerally; it sent ripples through culture Also, I remember hearing the orchestration. I hadn’t really heard the synth-meets-full-orchestra-meets-syncopation.

Something about it just completely grabbed me. I think the themes of Wicked have probably expanded, and that’s what I’m really excited about with the film.

AG: Yeah, it feels like it needs to be now more than ever before, perhaps.

JB: I went to go meet Jon (Chu, director of Wicked) we chatted for about two and a half hours and it was really emotional.

The one thing that we talked about with Fiyero: everything is so easy to him. What’s he frustrated by? We discussed it and found quite a human thing, I think. And, obviously, with our film, it represents extreme privilege and it’s about his bubble needing to pop.

AG: I think our characters share that in a big way, Elphaba comes along and pops both of our bubbles. Perhaps for the first time we both are able to look at things differently. And it’s not that we’re not loving, heartful people. It’s just that we’ve never had to look outside of what affects us until we meet her.

JB: Exactly. And anyway, it was Jon. Basically, the answer to every question about Wicked is Jon Chu. Don’t you think?

AG: I do. We were very spoiled to have done this with him.

It felt like a teeny, little secret student thing—its intimacy.

AG: Was your experience filming Wicked at all what you expected it to be?

JB: There were certain elements of it that I was incredibly impressed by and I think that is because of the love and care of Mark Platt and Jon Chu. Obviously, we’ve grown up loving theater and musical theater, I always felt attached to that wonderment. I think my expectation might have been that somehow in the making of something, you lose that. But we were on those incredible sets.

AG: Oh my gosh. Best in the world.

JB: I think I was in Wicked fan survival mode for the last 18 months. I’m starting to really get excited about it.

AG: It takes a certain amount of time to grieve something like that. I mean you’re already in Thailand and a whole different person, but it’s interesting how it takes a while and then it hits you.

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Grooming Coco Ullrich (Tomilson Mgmt Group) Executive producer Vivian Song (The Production Factory) Producer Jenna Pfefferle (The Production Factory) Production coordinator Arlene Trejo Location scout Ella Bourne (Image Locations) Digital technician Nate Leal Lighting director Christian “Bummy” Koepenick Stylist assistant Evelyn Cristobal Production assistant Mike Casucci

Actor Dominic Sessa’s first movie, The Holdovers received five Oscar nominations; now he’s figuring out his next moves and first big boy purchase

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Photography Blair Getz Mezibov Fashion Gro Curtis Interview Lizzy Goodman

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When twenty-one-year-old actor Dominic Sessa was in middle school, he broke his femur right before hockey season started.

This could have been devastating. In the Northeast, where Sessa attended the famed Massachusetts boarding school Deerfield Academy, hockey is “like Texas football,” he says over the phone. But the experience wound up changing his life for the better. “The only thing I could do really was do the musical,” he recalls. “So I did that and I actually enjoyed it.” Sessa did go back to hockey but by his senior year he was already planning to skip sports in favor of performing in the winter show, until word went around that auditions would be held on campus for a role in an upcoming Alexander Payne film. The Holdovers, which was shot at Deerfield, explores the relationship between a lonely, angry student (Sessa) and his disgruntled sad sack teacher (Paul Giamatti) who find themselves stuck on campus together over the winter 1970 holiday break. Sessa auditioned, was cast, and while most of his friends were slogging it out on campus in the cold, dark of winter 2024, he was enjoying award season in Los Angeles, where The Holdovers was nominated for five Oscars including best picture. We sat down with Sessa to hear about what he’s been up to since and asked him how it feels to settle into his career as a young actor after such a fairy tale entrance.

DOMINIC SESSA: Hi. LIZZY GOODMAN: Hi, how are you? Thank you so much for making time to do this today. I know it’s a busy time and we really appreciate it.

DS: Yeah, of course.

LG: So where and what are you shooting right now?

DS: Right now I’m in Atlanta, and I’m about to finish a movie called Oh. What. Fun. It’s a comedy. Stars Michelle Pfeiffer.

Michael Showalter is directing it.

LG: Oh, amazing.

DS: Yeah it’s been really great.

LG: Your story is amazing—kind of a dream scenario. You were a student actor one day and then auditioned for this role, got it, and then you find yourself on the set of an Alexander Payne film with actors Paul Giamatti and Da’vine Joy Randolph. And that’s before the film gets nominated for five Oscars. The upsides of a fast rise are obvious but is there a sense of whiplash? How are you doing with the zero to sixty of it all?

DS: I don’t think my life has changed that much. I mean, I still live with my mom and it’s not like I’ve bought anything cool.

LG: What? Not even one cool thing? Come on!

DS: I’m just really obsessed with the fact that I’m able to be acting all the time. I understood that a lot of people really liked The Holdovers and it’s really overwhelming, flattering in so many ways but it was a question on my mind, like, how fast after that am I gonna be able to get back on set and be doing another movie? And then I was able to do another movie. And now I’m on set for another thing. Those worries went away, but then there’s also that pressure of coming out so hot with something that everybody loves so much, I want to continue to do a good job and be successful but I also am self aware enough to like, not put too much pressure on myself, because I’m just starting out and I still don’t really totally know what I’m doing. I’m just having fun.

LG: You told me you’re still living at home for the moment, but do you want to live in New York eventually? Do you want to buy, you know, even one expensive thing? If you let yourself go down the fantasy path, where does it take you?

DS: Yeah, I want to find a place to live in the city for a little bit, and experience that. At a certain point I would really like to have a house out of the city. I would love to have a farm and grow my own food.

LG: Did you grow up with a connection to the land? Or is that something that you do independently feel drawn to?

DS: I grew up being outdoors a lot. I grew up in Ocean City, New Jersey, right on the beach. But the farm idea—I would like to maybe go back to school. I’m in Georgia right now and the University of Georgia they have one of the best agriculture programs in the country, so I’d love to go to a school like that one day to get a degree in farming and take five years off of acting to cultivate my farm.

LG: That’s amazing. Romantic and practical at the same time. So, this is a very strange transition, given that we’re talking about back-to-the-earth stuff but I do want to ask you—I heard that you wore a tuxedo shirt to your prom…

DS: That is a funny story. You could probably find a picture on, like, Deerfield’s prom archives, but I have a goatee and really funny glasses and mutton chops, of course, and my tuxedo t-shirt. I didn’t ask anyone to the prom because I didn’t really expect anyone to want to go with me like that but there was a girl that reached out and asked me to go with her. I was like, yeah, totally, we can go but just so you know, this is this is the plan. This is the idea. This is what I’m doing. And she shut it down immediately. It was the funniest thing ever.

LG: She’s like, just kidding. I’m disinviting you, that’s funny.

DS: Me and my friends thought it was so funny.

LG: You were like, I have to be me and wear my tuxedo shirt? Or did you go with her?

DS: No! I said that’s fine, I’m not changing for this, so I’ll go alone. I’m very stubborn.

LG: Hilarious. The last thing I was just going to ask you is you did this amazing shoot for us that’s really stylish and beautiful and I wanted to know, especially given that tuxedo T-shirt story, are you having fun with the dress up part? Is your sense of style changing and expanding?

DS: I think it’s cool. Like, I mean, it’s definitely not a part of this that I anticipated—getting to, you know, wear and take pictures, some of these brands and clothes and stuff. But I think it hasn’t really affected my style or way of dressing.

Some of these brands are really generous, and they’ll give you some stuff that you can wear and just have, but I’ll still eat Doritos in like a $300 T-shirt. I still will walk in the mud in these cool sneakers or whatever that they give me. I still wear the clothes the same way.

LG: Given your life plans, maybe very expensive boots on your farm is the ultimate look for you.

DS: I’d love to do a line of farming clothing.

LG: Yeah, Carhartt Work in Progress is going to call you after we publish this and be like, hey, let’s do this.

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Grooming Fernando Torrent (L’Atelier) Executive producer Anastasia Suchkov (Noted Collective) Production manager Lauren Beck (Noted Collective) Digital technician Jamie O’Brien Lighting director Corey Danieli Stylist assistant Liv Vitale Production assistant Ohene Okera (Noted Collective)

You’re either born with good taste or you’re not. Fortunately, for our cover star Lil Yachty and creative director of Burberry Daniel Lee, style is something they can talk about for hours on end

LIFE OF THE YACHTY

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Lil Yachty is best known as one of the most creative, outspoken, genre-allergic artists in hip-hop. After establishing himself as a purveyor of what he’s called “bubblegum trap,” in the last few years the rapper has gone in a trippier, more psychedelic direction. His latest release, Bad Cameo, which came out this summer, is a moody collaboration with the esteemed English musician James Blake. Style is a moving target for Yachty in music, and, as he explains in this conversation with Burberry chief creative officer Daniel Lee, in fashion. From altering people’s sweats for extra cash as a kid growing up in Atlanta, to serving a look for his latest music video, Yachty is always trying on new ideas of self through dynamic creative expression.

DANIEL LEE: What is the earliest memory you have of wearing a good outfit?

LIL YACHTY: In middle and high school, I used to wear uniforms. We could go with white, blue, or maroon, and my mom would go to TJ Maxx or Marshalls to get me polo uniforms.

I’d have a polo shirt and could get a polo sweater to wrap around my neck. I thought that was sick, like, I thought that was hot.

I remember getting one dress-down day in sixth grade. The outfits were awful. This was before skinny jeans came back.

Before then, they didn’t sell skinny jeans in stores. I remember going to see my grandma in North Carolina, and on the way home, we stopped at an outlet with a Rue 21 store. For months I had been trying to find skinny jeans before Hot Topic and Spencer’s were selling them. I couldn’t find them anywhere.

I had a pair before they became popular.

The first outfit I thought was good was on my first day of high school. I’ll never forget wearing a Hundreds shirt. I loved Bobby Hundreds. It was The Hundreds’ collaboration with Lil B, the “Thank You BasedGod” shirt, with Abercrombie and Fitch camo shorts. I still have the picture. And Vans. That was my idea of a good outfit.

Then in 9th and 10th grade, I really started learning fashion.

I won best dressed senior year.

DL: What was your style like as a teenager growing up in Mableton, Georgia?

LY: Hundreds, Diamond Supply, Supreme, and vintage clothes. I was shopping at thrift stores and there was a lot of 1996 Olympics gear. I love throwback jerseys, I still wear them.

I wear 90s all over print shorts, like 90s swim trunks. They just had crazy tribal patterns. I loved hockey jerseys. I had a fake pair of Cartiers. I always had a grill; I’ve been wearing a grill since the ninth grade. I used to wear a 16-piece grill, eight top, eight bottom.

I think I was one of the first people in my town to wear skinny sweats. You could get skinny sweats from Zara but Adidas didn’t make soccer pants yet so I used to take a sewing machine—my mom taught me how to sew—and I would alter them to make them tighter. I made a job out of it, sewing people’s sweats to make them tighter and that’s how I started making money.

DL: What were some of the first musicians you remember being influenced by, in terms of what they wear?

LY: 100% Kris Kross. When I was a child, my dad gave me a Kris Kross tape. They wore their clothes backwards. I never wore my clothes backwards but I did love the style, the fashion, the baseball jerseys, the big jeans, and then the hair.

As soon as I got to high school, I started copying the swag.

I started doing my hair like that. I grew out my locks. I started braiding it.

DL: Where do you go, or what do you do, to find new ideas?

LY: I’m just on the internet, I’m outside, I watch movies.

You just have to live. I find ideas by just living life and indulging in all life has to offer, good and bad.

DL: When do you feel at your most creative?

LY: While getting dressed or when recording music. It feels super creative when I’m filming. When I’m shooting a video, I honestly feel like a character. I feel creative in so many different spaces, whether it’s with fashion, music, filming.

DL: What makes you feel confident?

LY: A fresh haircut and working on my appearance helps.

I believe in myself and I believe in everything I say and stand on, so confidence comes from within—without worrying too much about how anyone else feels, you know? I wear what I want to wear, I say what I want to say, I walk how I want to walk.

DL: What is the most inspiring city you’ve been to?

LY: It’s between Tokyo and New York when it comes to fashion. If we’re talking just inspiring in general, probably Tokyo.

Tokyo was really amazing and really different. Switzerland is also really beautiful. The scenery was really inspiring to me.

It gives off really trippy and peaceful vibes.

DL: Having a supportive community is important. Who are some of your biggest mentors?

LY: Drake, Tyler, the Creator, Lil Baby, and Coach K, my manager. I’d say those are the people that I trust and can talk to and respect and really look up to.

DL: So far, what are you most proud of in your career?

LY: I’m proud of everything, you know? I’m proud of writing songs. I’m proud of the respect from guys in the fashion industry. I did so much at a young age, and have so much more to do.

DL: You have collaborated with Drake, A$AP Rocky, and Tyler, the Creator and, in June, released the album Bad Cameo with James Blake. What is next for Lil Yachty?

LY: I never stopped doing music and I think getting into the fashion spaces, that’s what’s next for me. I’m starting my brand this year. That’s really important for me and I’m really excited.

DL: So much of life is online now. How important are reallife exchanges to you?

LY: I can’t stress enough how extremely important real life experiences are between friends, family, loved ones, people you’re trying to get to know. Virtual reality can be so fabricated…it’s important to indulge in real life experiences. I think what I was saying earlier about just living life, so much emotion gets lost in virtuality. Seeing real life reactions, experiences, facial expressions, all that just means so much more.

DL: What is currently on your playlist?

LY: I’m making an album right now, so… Sister Nancy, Luther Vandross, Antonio Adolfo, Con Funk Shun, Mazzy Star, Ben Flocks. I mean so much. Piero Piccioni. I’ve been listening to a bunch of jazz. Royel Otis. Cocteau Twins, PARTYNEXTDOOR, The Cranberries, Beach House. I love Beach House. Faye Webster of course, Nightlight, Ready for the World, Sampha. Definitely Sampha. I listen to DJ Screw. Seal, Frank Ocean, Bon Iver, Mark Fry, Oasis, BADBADNOTGOOD. I can literally keep going—you know John Carroll Kirby? Heavy. Elton John. Mel McDaniel. Michael Levy. So much, man.

DL: What do you enjoy most about performing live?

LY: It’s a free feeling. It’s all just so real, you know? You can’t fake it. I love that.

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Grooming Fernando Torrent (L’Atelier) Manicure Pika (SEE Management) Executive producer Anastasia Suchkov (Noted Collective) Production manager Lauren Beck (Noted Collective) On set producer Oli McAvoy (Noted Collective) Prop stylist Alex Polanco (Born Artists) Digital technician Jamie O’Brien Lighting director Corey Danieli Stylist assistant Liv Vitale Production assistant Nick Grady (Noted Collective)

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LIKE THERE’S NO TOMORROW

After swiftly achieving Hollywood’s much-coveted “leading man” status, British actor Tom Blyth is working harder than ever 54

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Though Tom Blyth fits snugly into the category of “overnight superstar,” his success was anything but overnight. Rather, it took well over a decade for the 29-year-old’s career luck to turn around, despite heaps of blood, sweat, and tears shed along the way. While the Birmingham native’s most visible role as a young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes made him an instant household name, it’s his performances from some of his lesser-known projects that truly make Blyth one to watch, both on-screen and off. In MGM+’s Billie the Kid, he plays the titular role of an American outlaw from the late 19th century. In contrast, the forthcoming feature film Plainclothes will see Blythe in a plot revolving around New York City cops entrapping gay men in the 1990s, all based on a true story.

A Juilliard-trained actor, Blyth spent over half a decade auditioning without getting call backs in New York City, nearly 3,500 miles from home. His “down-to-earth” nature makes him more endearing than other “stars”—a moniker quite literally placing such celebrities as “out of this world.” That said, his work ethic appears to be beyond that of mere mortals. VMAN caught up with our dashing cover star while he was on the set of his latest project, Watch Dogs, in Sofia, Bulgaria.

MATHIAS ROSENZWEIG: Actors often have mixed feelings about acting school. You graduated from Juilliard. What was that experience like?

TOM BLYTH: I was already kind of trying to be an actor without much success, just auditioning a lot and not getting many jobs. I knew I wanted to go to drama school, and Juilliard had always been top of the list, but it kind of felt like a pipe dream.

So then I decided to audition for a drama school one more time, a “go big or go home” kind of thing. And then I wound up going to New York, and I haven’t looked back since.

I had overall a massively net positive experience. It’s exhausting and you are super self-conscious the whole time because the whole purpose of drama school is to point out everything about you to yourself and neutralize it so you can have control over it. If you can battle with your ego and not let that get in your head too much, it can be a really transformative experience.

MR: So you moved to New York as a student, and now you’re living there as a booked and busy actor. How has your relationship with New York changed?

TB: I’m kind of joking but also not joking—the one big thing that comes to mind is that I can now afford to live there. I’ve been there for eight years and only in the past year could I really afford it. It’s crazy to think that for six and a half or seven years, I was just scraping by…I’m coming out on the other side, I can see how much it toughened me up. Like, if I can do 40 hours a week at drama school while also going and working my little administrative school job from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m., and have no money and still survive, then doing a hundred auditions and not getting any in a year will be a breeze.

I went through times of having six roommates and mice in my apartment. I don’t think I would be so grateful now if it wasn’t for those years.

MR: You’ve played two characters now who are typically depicted as “bad guys”—the fictional Coriolanus Snow from The Hunger Games franchise, and Billy the Kid, a real historical figure. However, you portray them as relatable, moral people.

Can you speak about that?

TB: I’m really drawn to bad guys for some reason, or to morally complex characters. I think that’s because I see the world that way. I look at people and think, no one’s really good or bad.

Everyone’s this huge mix of ambitions and objectives, and they’re all kind of clashing every day. I’m fascinated by the gradients between the two. Like, what is the psychology behind

people who maybe start off with good intentions and then wind up giving up on them? We see them in politics, right? Whatever your political beliefs may be, everyone on one side or the other looks at the other side and thinks they’re morally wrong.

So it’s really the ultimate exercise in empathy, trying to understand the other. I could never really pull the trigger like Billy the Kid does, you know? I could never do what Coriolanus does in that movie.

With that one, I was really keen because when I got that job, everyone thought they knew who the character was to an extent, because the late and great Donald Sutherland did such an amazing job portraying him as a villain. But I got to play him 60 years before. And I went down a rabbit hole of reading about Vladimir Putin when he was a young man, before he joined the KGB. As a young man in school, he probably didn’t know he was going to be who he is now, you know? And I did the same with Benito Mussolini, just like all these dictators.

MR: They all have these sort of sick and twisted coming-ofage stories wherein they become grown men, but evil ones.

That’s rarely the story that gets told.

TB: You know that feeling when you’re a kid and you have that feeling that all adults are good and know best? I had this distinct moment when I realized that they don’t always know what they’re doing. I actually got into a minor car crash when I was a kid with my mom, and I just saw the panic in her eyes. I think it was the first time as a kid that I’d seen that loss of control in her. I remember thinking, Oh, she’s an adult and she actually doesn’t know what to do in this moment. And I don’t know what to do. I remember holding onto that thought and thinking: No one’s really driving the ship.

MR: This attraction to those characters—the ones that best highlight the flaws in our human nature—is that something you’re still pursuing?

TB: I actually recently discussed with my agent that maybe it’s time to play some nice guys for a bit. Just because the last two films I’ve done, including the one I’m doing right now, they’re very morally complex characters, if not verging on evil.

It’s so much fun getting to do stuff that you would never do in real life, and I try to find what’s so delicious about it. But it does take a toll. I get more tired playing those guys. At the end of the day, I’m emotionally taxed.

MR: I know some actors have trouble letting their characters go at the end of the day. Is that the case for you?

TB: It’s a fine line because if I don’t take the characters home a little bit, I find that I’m not going deep enough. I do let it come home with me because I want to ruminate on them and almost think the character’s thoughts. But the one I’m doing right now—Watch Dogs—I don’t want to give too much away, but the character’s very morally complex. I had to draw a line in the sand and say that when I finished at 7 p.m., he would not be coming home with me. I don’t want him in my room at night.

All clothing COURRÈGES Meisterstück Messenger with mountain closure MONTBLANC

Grooming Lucy Halperin (The Wall Group) using products by ENVIRON SKINCARE Executive producer Anastasia Suchkov (Noted Collective) Producer Jenny Day (Noted Collective) Set design Julia Dias Digital technician Lawrence Atkin Lighting director Corey Danieli Stylist assistants Keeley Dawson, Maia Burt Set design assistant Vanessa Lunn Location 45 Park Lane Hotel

WHOOPSIEDAISY

62

Louis wears shorts and scarf CELINE by Hedi Slimane Boots MONCLER

Hot take: the adult version of the safety blanket is the go-to knit accessory. Your favorite hoodie, wooly scarf, or worn-in cardi— doesn’t the world feel a little colder without them by your side?

Photography Luca Campri Fashion Roberto Piu

Sweater and pants EMPORIO ARMANI Gloves DRIES VAN NOTEN Shoes HERMÈS

Jacket LOUIS VUITTON

All clothing PRADA

All clothing LOEWE

All clothing GUCCI

Sweaters GIVENCHY Necklace PASCALE MONVOISIN Pendants MELLERIO Ring model’s own Underwear WAYEROB Socks FALKE

All clothing DOLCE & GABBANA

Top DIOR Necklace PASCALE MONVOISN On skin DIOR BEAUTY Dior Forever Glow Star Filter in #2

Sweater MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr Hand warmer SEAN SUEN

Hair Marco Braca (Blend Management) Model Louis Baines (Kate Moss Agency) Executive producer Riccardo Barone Senior producer Luca Varriale Line producer Pieraldo Zecca Studio manager Guglielmo Fibrosi Casting director Julia Asaro Lighting technicians Alex Cacciabue, Alex Garelli Stylist assistant Simone Morelli Production assistants Davide Dicorato, Lorenzo Barone

Photography Sølve Sundsbø Fashion Gro Curtis

Aaron wears all clothing and shoes GUCCI

MEN AT WORK Aaron, 30, Fashion designer 74

Bobby wears all clothing and shoes DSQUARED2 Necklace model’s own

Bobby, 26, Theatre producer and dancer

We’re putting our favorite menswear pieces of the season to the test by bringing them to life on street-cast models—Loewe in the lab, anyone?

Frances wears all clothing FENDI All jewelry model’s own

Frances, 21, Skateboarder and bartender

Ze wears all clothing and shoes RICK OWENS

Ze, 22, Designer

Edwins wears all clothing and shoes YOHJI YAMAMOTO

Edwins, 23, Entrepreneur

Daniel, 61, Musician

Daniel wears all clothing and accessories AMIRI

Nile wears all clothing and accessories EMPORIO ARMANI

Nile, 28, Landscaper

She-Lan, 24, Researcher and artist

She-Lan wears all clothing, accessories, shoe LOEWE

Arthur, 20, Surfer

Arthur wears all clothing and shoes DOLCE & GABBANA

Louis, 19, Rocker

Louis wears all clothing and shoes PRADA

Makeup Miranda Joyce (Streeters) Hair Syd Hayes (Art + Commerce) Models Arthur del Beato (The Milk Collective), Louis (The Milk Collective), Aaron (W Model), Bobby (Crumb Agency), Frances (Blue Agency), Ze (W Model), Edwins (W Model), Daniel (James Mitchell Scouting), Nile (Brother Models), She-Lan (W Model) Production Paula Ekenger Casting Kyra Sophie Digital technician Lucie Rowan Photo assistants Michael O Williams, Matt Davies, Felix Walton Stylist assistants Keeley Dawson, Ella Knez, Alvaro Merino Makeup assistant Hannah Maestranzi Hair assistants Miles Twist, Ryan Wood Production assistant Giulia Brescianini Retouching Digital Light Ltd

Yuto wears all clothing, accessories, shoes DIOR MEN

RAISE THE BARRE

In an exclusive interview, Kim Jones tells VMAN he has yet to reach his best. Inspired by his uncle—ballet dancer and photographer Colin Jones and the photos took of ballet prodigy Rudolf Nureyev—Kim Jones’ latest Dior men’s collection raised the bar for himself and peers 84

Kamil wears all clothing and jewelry DIOR MEN

Photography Pieter Hugo Fashion/Interview Gro Curtis

Yuto and Laurie wear all clothing and accessories DIOR MEN

Alexander wears all clothing DIOR MEN

Akeem wears top and earring DIOR MEN

Keanu wears all clothing, accessories, shoes DIOR MEN

All clothing, accessories, shoes DIOR MEN

All clothing, accessories, shoes DIOR MEN

Kim Jones is the spiritual father of our era’s signature combo: double-breasted jackets and wide-legged trousers. This alone earns him a prime spot in the pantheon of contemporary menswear. But Jones is more than an iconic designer. He is a man of varied taste and eternal curiosity, a prolific collector of books, a lover of fine art, and a connoisseur of sneaker culture. Just like his fellow Virgos, Karl Lagerfeld and Tom Ford, Jones is a renaissance man. But don’t think for a second that makes him some sort of intellectual snob (the worst kind of fashion stereotype). This is the guy who brought Supreme to Louis Vuitton and Nike to Dior.

If you want to send a thank you note to someone who made tailoring and sneakers part of your daily style vocabulary, now would be a good time to sharpen your pencils and begin your letter to Mr. Jones. But enough about past accomplishments. Jones is presently responsible for creating more than 25 collections a year while commuting between London, Paris, and Rome. From Dunhill to Louis Vuitton and, finally, to Dior, he has changed how we feel about suits and broadened and deepened our sense of what’s possible in terms of collaboration. The way Jones pins his OBE on a distressed denim jacket makes him my personal style icon.

On a hot summer day in July, we decided to catch up and talk about fashion, life and everything in between, as well, of course, as his terrific fall/winter menswear collection for Dior.

GRO CURTIS: We share a connection with two amazing people: Melanie Ward and Shelley Durkan. When I asked them to use one word to describe you, they both said the same thing, loyalty. That’s such an amazing virtue and very rare in today’s business.

KIM JONES: This is not the easiest business and knowing that you have your friend’s back is really important.

GC: This ties to the topic of collaborations, because I know you love sharing your stage, season after season, with different designers and different artists. You tend to ignore your ego, which is also a virtue.

KJ: I do probably about 30 collections a year and maybe collaborate on three or four of those simply because it allows you to think in a different way. It’s really thinking about what’s right with the brand. Looking at FENDI x SKIMS and Fendace, which were two massive hits, and then working with designers like Marc Jacobs and Stefano Pilati, the people that I looked up to when I was growing up—I like to play around.

GC: What would you say is the biggest challenge when you’re collaborating with someone?

KJ: Generally they’re pretty smooth. We take them to the archive, first and foremost, to understand what Dior is and where it comes from, which helps. I think people see how hard we really work and how it’s got to be really structured and on time—we never miss deadlines. Fashion’s changed a lot and even ordering fabrics, now, you have such long lead times. So you have to find ways of making

yourself excited about what you do because what used to be quite a flexible process is now very rigid.

GC: I have to ask you, because Mr. Dior was obsessed with astrology and mysticism, are you like a typical male Virgo?

KJ: Yeah, I’m very Virgo. I work in a very similar way to Karl (Lagerfeld), who has a very similar star chart to mine, almost identical.

GC: So it’s always striving for perfection, always the next one.

KJ: You’re never 100% happy with anything, because if you were, you’d stop doing it. I don’t think that’s a bad way to be. Onwards and upwards, always. I don’t think I’ve done my best work yet, because I’d be bored if I had.

GC: I want to talk about Dior’s fall/winter collection, which was an homage to your uncle.

Why did you decide to do a collection inspired by his work, now?

KJ: He died maybe a year and a half ago. I’ve been looking at his work quite a lot recently and there was a series of (Rudolf) Nureyev that I really liked. Things have to have an authentic link. If not, I don’t want to do them.

GC: Nureyev was always so effortlessly chic, especially in the series of Colin (Jones’) photos. I mean, he’s working that turtleneck.

It looks like the chicest item ever. When you think about the modern guy, what do you think he is lacking when it comes to style?

KJ: Things get homogenized a lot more.

When I was young, you could tell which club you would go to or what music you were into by what you wore—it’s not like that anymore.

There’s a few subcultures, you see them in Tokyo, you see them in a few cities around the world, but they’ve sort of disappeared. I think it’s because people look too much at their phones and not enough at real life.

GC: How much time do you spend on Instagram? Do you do TikTok? KJ: I do have the odd look now and again, but in terms of inspiring fashion, I don’t know if it does. I think it can produce a bit of a lemming situation where people all do the same thing, and I don’t think that’s particularly healthy.

GC: I also think we are like lacking great music, because so much amazing fashion came through music.

KJ: The impact of music is so important. I’ve been reading a Sly Stone book because I was always fascinated by him, his style was incredible. I wanted to be in fashion when I saw a copy of The Face and they had all the different clubs in London and how people dressed. I just thought, wow, that’s exciting.

GC: Returning to the theme of collaborations. You did Supreme at Vuitton, you did Nike and Dior—how difficult is it to make those things happen?

KJ: I’m lucky because I’ve had CEOs that believed in me. Supreme actually was quite a brave thing to do. It was initiated by Michael Burke, who was my CEO (at Louis Vuitton).

He wanted to get James Jebbia’s number and I said, ‘You can have his number if I can do

a collection with him.’ And that started the conversation. It was really nice working with James because he’s someone I’ve always admired. I always have young people on my team, I’m always interested in what’s new and what’s good and what’s not. And I think James is the same. And I think that’s why (Louis Vuitton × Supreme) was so successful.

GC: I think that was one of the biggest social-media-meets-fashion explosions. I was at that show, and I know how shocked I was looking at it.

KJ: Some people hated it. Some people thought it was selling out, but for me it was two things I love put together. I used to work in the warehouse that Supreme was delivered to in the UK, I was aware of it from an early age, it was part of my life. Louis Vuitton was my dream job at the time; it was the combination of putting two things together and just making it as exciting as possible. It was all based on Jean-Michel Basquiat. I loved the frivolity of when he made loads of money, he would go buy the most expensive clothes he possibly could.

GC: That brings me to your personal style.

Do you shop online or do you go to the stores?

Stylist? How does it work?

KJ: I wear lots of Miu Miu, I mix it with vintage. I bought a cargo Birkin the other day, which was kind of fun. I thought it was quite ridiculous. I mix it with Hermès, Ralph Lauren, Dior. I go through phases, I’ll wear a wardrobe, I have a repetition of clothing. When you’re this busy, it’s hard to think [about what you’re wearing], but you also want to feel like you’re cool enough to be in the room.

GC: You live so fast, you do so much—what’s the retirement plan? Are you going to be sipping cocktails on a beach? There must be a plan.

You’re a Virgo.

KJ: I do lots of conservation work, that’s my real passion. I’m building a library for my book collection next to Virginia Woolf’s house in Sussex so everyone can see it because it’s the largest private collection of Woolf in the world.

I’m giving it to the Charleston Trust to look after. My art, my books, and my things that are important to me, the strategic placing of where they’ll go in the future. Whether it’s [Francis] Bacon or [Sigmund] Freud, I want them to be seen. It’s great to be able to be a custodian, but you have to think about the responsibility of where they go. There’s lots of different things going on and we’re nearly at our summer holidays now, so I get a nice break and go away and recharge.

GC: Where are you going?

KJ: We’re going to Mozambique and Zimbabwe to go and see dugongs, which is an animal I’ve always wanted to see. And then we’re going on safari after that. It’s all quite good.

Kim wears all clothing DIOR MEN

Makeup Kristin Piggott (Julian Watson Agency) using CLARINS Hair Kei Terada (Julian Watson Agency) using Bed Head by TIGI Models Yuto Ebihara (NEXT), Kamil Kobierski (New Madison), Laurie Fletcher (Unsigned), Alexander Acquah (16 Men), Akeem Koya (Wilhelmina), Keanu Pauli (NEXT) Set design Paulina Piipponen Executive producer Jean-Baptiste Martin (Western Promises) Photo agency producer Juliette Mouton (Talent and Partner) Casting director Shelley Durkan Digital technician Glen Travis Photo assistant Pablo Gallego Stylist assistant Keeley Dawson Makeup assistant Francesca Leach Hair assistant Takumi Horiwaki Set design assistant Eunice Cheung Location Lilian House

MAN’S BEST FRIEND

Photography Pauline Caranton Fashion Georgia Thompson 94

Teo wears bag CARTIER Cartier Losange tote bag (larger model) in black calfskin with palladium finish (Available at Cartier boutiques nationwide)

Elliot wears bag CARTIER Cartier Losange shoulder bag in black calfskin with palladium finish (Available at Cartier boutiques nationwide)

When a leather bag sticks with you through thick and thin—from the Parisian metro to a fabulous Cartier launch party—that’s when you know you’ve found a keeper

Razak wears bag CARTIER Cartier Losange shoulder bag in black calfskin with palladium finish (Available at Cartier boutiques nationwide)

Sacha wears bag CARTIER Cartier Losange slim document holder in black calfskin with palladium finish (Available at Cartier boutiques nationwide)

Models Teo Fortin (M Management), Elliot Tipp (Select Paris), Razak Salifou (Select Paris), Sasha Bilal (Select Paris) Casting director Anton Mebraki

SCENT FROM ABOVE

With a new water-based rendition of Sauvage, Dior’s classic men’s fragrance, on the horizon, the house’s perfume creation director and sultan of scent Francis Kurkdjian details how he managed a fresh take on the world’s #1 best-selling men’s fragrance Photography Michael Avedon Interview Kevin Ponce 98

Francis wears top DIOR MEN

Location Fasano Fifth Avenue

Fragrance DIOR Dior Sauvage Eau Forte ($180, 100ml/3.4oz, available at dior.com)

Photography Charles Billot

“But to me, creation is about repetition and working in a constant way. People think that being creative means you can be disheveled and do things in a very disorganized way simply because it’s creative, you know? I think it’s totally the opposite.”

—Francis Kurkdjian

In the beauty industry, it’s widely known that Francis Kurkdjian is a perfume prodigy. An icon in his own right, Kurkdjian has been making noise for our noses since the ‘90s (Remember Le Male by Jean Paul Gaultier? Everyone say “Thank you, Francis!”) But when the news broke back in October of 2021 that Christian Dior Parfums appointed the Armenian fragrance phenom as its new perfume creation director, the partnership was met with great fanfare and anticipation. Reporting for duty straight away, Kurkdjian has been part of reinterpreting some of the maison’s most beloved fragrances such as J’Adore and Miss Dior while also putting his take on some of the Collection Privée scents (and even trying his hand at scents for babies with the Baby Dior Bonne Étoile fragrance).

But when the time came for Kurkdjian to reimagine Sauvage, the classic men’s scent that your father, brother, or (more likely) a naughty ex-boyfriend has in their cabinet, the perfumer wasted no time in propelling the scent into the future via an alcohol-free, water-based update called Sauvage Eau Forte. In a formula that’s exclusive to Dior—and the first highconcentration men’s composition that sits somewhere between an eau de toilette and an eau de parfum—the newly remixed Sauvage formula accentuates the fragrance’s signature spicy and woody notes, while packing a punch of freshness. Ahead of the fragrance’s launch, I met up with Francis on a hot summer day in upper Manhattan to discuss how he was able to tackle the savage that is Sauvage.

FRANCIS KURKDJIAN: For me at work, I am rather constant. You have to be in a state of mind where you make sure that everything rolls out smoothly. Otherwise, it takes a lot of energy to fix things. I try to be very organized and on time, and [somehow], I was a bit late with this fragrance.

VMAN: Oh, is that right?

FK: Yeah. But to me, creation is about repetition and working in a constant way. People think that being creative means you can be disheveled, and do things in a very disorganized way simply because it’s creative, you know? I think it’s totally the opposite.

You have to create things in a very secure way. It’s like you’re on a highway, and it’s super safe because everything is aligned, and within the highway, you can do whatever you want because the borders help create a super smooth environment. It means that I can afford to step out of the lanes a bit. I’ll be happy when the fragrance is out and is a success.

VMAN: It will be a success. Sauvage has a legacy and a loyal following, that will make it a success.

FK: [Next spring] will be important. One will buy it in September, use it, and refill it by March. Or you buy it for Christmas and then in June, Father’s day. By then, I’m already anxious about the next fragrance [laughs].

VMAN: Do you ever get nervous when you see someone’s first reaction to the scent? I’m quite curious about the water-based element of the scent.

FK: You should [spray] it.

VMAN: Okay! Don’t get nervous on me.

FK: I won’t.

VMAN: (Sniffs) You know, it’s actually better than I anticipated because I remember the many times I’ve smelled Sauvage on the men in my life, and I always found it to be as intense as they were. This version feels like a lighter and sweeter version of that type of Sauvage man.

FK: (Laughs) I should hire you for my PR. The water element that you are noticing is what I think is the best part. I had to think about how I can smell Sauvage without alcohol, because now it is water-based, meaning alcohol-free. We wanted to translate the idea of water, wetness, and freshness: the wildlife concept. When you cut plants, you take life from them, and the idea of [introducing] water to Sauvage was a way to bring life back into it.

VMAN: Almost like a revival. You can smell the difference instantly. If anything, I feel like I can probably smell the notes a little bit more, whereas the alcohol brings the intensity.

FK: You can feel what water brings versus what alcohol takes away and makes sharper, spiky. When you use a water-based perfume, the notes evaporate, but in a very delicate way. They’re not in a rush, they don’t hurry in the way that alcohol pushes things. The idea was to have that kind of blurring effect and do something softer, almost like a mist.

VMAN: Mission accomplished. And now a year after putting your own spin on the classic scent, what has been the most rewarding part of the creation process and how have you seen it evolve into the beast it is today?

FK: Honestly, there is none for now, as the reward comes from the public. The audience is never wrong when it comes to beauty. Art, it is a bit different, since it’s meant to push boundaries and be provocative.

Beauty products are not about being provocative, you

know? Even if you create a trend, it’s like surfing. If the wave is too far away and you miss the wave, you miss the trend. If you’re right on the edge of the wave, it takes you up to the shore. Launching a perfume is exactly the same, you need the trendsetters to push you enough to jump on the other level. For the past 10 years, I think Sauvage was nurtured in many ways to keep up the success. We launched with Johnny Depp, and I think we needed that, but you also need a good perfume to carry it, with disruptiveness and innovation. When we created Sauvage Elixir, which was even more concentrated than the Parfum and Eau de Parfum, and the Sauvage beauty line— VMAN: Then it becomes something like a brand within the brand.

FK: We also had Jean-Baptiste Mondino on our side to maintain the legacy and the legendary movies. You have to be on the edge of popularity. It’s like with music when all of a sudden the world sings the same song. It’s like when everyone heard “Happy” by Pharrell Williams, you know? It went everywhere.

VMAN: Totally! But there’s also reasoning because “Happy” by Pharrell was just a damn good song, you know? Same with Sauvage.

FK: And I believe that people recognized that.

It doesn’t mean that something more niche won’t make it at that level of fame, with the size of the audience that you have to reach. It becomes so big that there is a kind of magic behind that.

VMAN: You know, you are now at two and a half years with your title at Dior Beauty.

FK: I’ve got gray hair now that I didn’t have before, some wrinkles now. I’ll speak to Peter (Philips) to do something about it.

VMAN: With all those years, and now with the gray hair and wrinkles that you wear so well, were you ever scared to take on this beast that is Sauvage? I found it impressive that you would want to take a stab at that.

FK: No, no. If you go there, you can’t be scared.

If you are scared, it’s like diluting your energy into something that is not productive. I’m all about efficiency. You have to be efficient within yourself because with the amount of work that you have to do, and the number of things that you have to provide, you can’t be scared. It doesn’t make sense to me.

VMAN: To you.

FK: To me, because maybe some other perfumers could tell you this is a big challenge and it’s a lot of weight on one’s shoulder, so okay then—don’t do it.

VMAN: (Laughs) Exactly, go be somewhere else.

FK: I did give it a lot of thinking. I didn’t say yes, I said ‘I want to do it,’ which is very different. They had to say yes [to bringing me on]. It was kind of a proposal, and I did the proposal. It’s like an engagement.

When I went and said, ‘I feel like I can do it, I believe I can do it,’ I put examples on the table of what I would do and how I would do things...if it was pretentious for me and if I could handle it and how I would handle it…in terms of being able to live with the pressure of what it might supposedly provoke. And so far, so good, I think.

VMAN: Taking on your interpretation of a classic… does this excite you more than creating something entirely new?

FK: The excitement is different because when it’s entirely new, the excitement comes from a totally

blank page, and the territory is virgin. But what is exciting overall, and it works in both cases, is when you do an iteration. What is interesting is how you are going to be able to twist the thing with your own vision. I think that’s exciting in a way. When you start from scratch, it’s like creating your own movie, you know? You decide on the cast, the director, the set designer, the costumer, and so on. When there’s an already existing portfolio, like a heritage fragrance, the storyboard is more or less there.

Within the tiny room of what’s left, what’s going to be added is my added value. Creating the perfume is just as important but I think it’s interesting as a perfumer to have access to everything. When I was telling you about happiness, I am more blessed that I have my own brand that I work with the most, and then I work for the most powerful brand in the world. Within that, I can play and create with iconic perfumes, and I have my own brand to play with, so there is no room to be unhappy.

VMAN: You’re like, ‘I’m good. I can live like that.’

FK: Exactly. As a perfumer, there is nothing else I can expect, which is cool. It gives no room for stress because I’m a happy perfumer. I’m going to use that as a hashtag with my friends, #HappyPerfumer.

VMAN: Some might say they’re fulfilled with that, happiness.

FK: I wasn’t even expecting this. It’s more than I was able to imagine when I started 30, 35 years ago at the perfume school, (ISIPCA). My dream was to work for high couture brands. I wasn’t thinking about having my own company. Working as the perfume creation director for Dior Beauty was beyond what I could imagine. I have reached even higher than what I could have dreamt about, which is kind of a surreal situation.

VMAN: That’s something that I think a lot of people can relate to. Everyone has their own dreams of what they imagine their life to be, but no one ever discusses what happens when those dreams actually come true. Then you have to go on in life finding new dreams to create and then accomplish.

FK: But with the dreams that you mentioned, my motto in life is, ‘Dreams are meant to come true in order to leave room for new ones.’

Fragrance DIOR Dior Sauvage Eau Forte ($180, 100ml/3.4oz, available at dior.com)

Photo assistant Thom Sanchez Location Porter Studio

When McQueen brought on designer Seán McGirr as its new creative director, alarms went off in the fashion community. But, with his highly-talked-about debut collection, McGirr established a new language for McQueen, one that harkens back to its founder’s punk spirit and signature disruptiveness

CODE RED Photography Drew Jarrett Fashion Peghah Maleknejad 104

Mathieu wears all clothing and accessories MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

Pants and accessories MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

Pants and choker (on arm) MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

All clothing and shoes MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

All clothing, shoes, accessories MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

All clothing and shoes MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

All clothing and accessories MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

All clothing and accessories MCQUEEN by Seán McGirr

Grooming Peter Grey (Home Agency) Model Mathieu Simoneau (VNY Models) Producer Leslieann Santiano (Supervision) Photo assistant Filip Hanning Stylist assistant Alexa Levine

WHAT

Bag GUCCI Gucci B Large Shoulder Bag ($4,800, Available at gucci.com)

To paraphrase Charli XCX’s summertime banger, Gucci’s B bag is one with which you can fall in love ancora e ancora

Suppose you’ve been looking for a bag that exudes Italian allure while handling your American hustle.

Look no further than the Gucci B bag. It is the reincarnation of an archival piece that has been re-envisioned by Gucci’s creative director, Sabato De Sarno.

It offers the charm of the past updated with the practicality of the present.

Initially presented as part of Gucci’s Fall Winter 2024 collection, the bag comes in three flavors: Ancora red (an eye-catching, now-signature hue); black leather (a timeless choice); and an Ancora red monogram (a playful touch). The house’s latest motif—inspired by one of De Sarno’s bordeaux fertility sculptures, important in prehistoric Sardinian culture—has been applied to everything from bags and shoes to skirts and jackets. Its name, Ancora, comes from the Italian word “again”, inspired by the feeling of can’t-getenough when making out with someone hot. De Santo wants Gucci to give you the same addictive rush, a high on fashion that keeps you wanting more.

Created with soft grain leather and silver-toned hardware, the B bag isn’t just another accessory—this piece transitions from laid-back to polished to match your spirit. It will give you an effortlessly cool look with a relaxed silhouette that contours to your body and carrying style over time. It’s the perfect size to carry what you need during the day and transforms into an accomplice at night. Gucci has done it ancora, re-envisioned a bag that’s as versatile as it is badass.

ALICE ALMEIDA 112

Photography Charles Billot

Location Porter Studio

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