Lucas Junior Smith is a London-based stylist and art director. We spent a day with him in his hometown. We spoke about going from working at Nepenthes to styling Loyle Carner. His father sparking his fashion interest. Being a father himself. Jean-Michel Basquiat's invitation to feel before you understand. About weaving those influences into one.

[ORIGINALITY COMES FROM THE WAY INFLUENCES COME TOGETHER]

REFERENC: Lucas, how does one go from the shop floor to styling Loyle
Carner?

Lucas: I was thrown into retail the moment I came out of university. That comes from needing a job, basically. But in retail, you become a bit of a foot soldier. Hands on deck with clothing, being around clothes a lot. You learn the relationship between selling it, looking after it, knowing its qualities and its issues.

From there, it progressed naturally. I got an internship with Nicholas Daley, then a part-time sales and marketing role. Nicholas started leaning on me for my opinion. What do you think of this? When I saw that people had a value to my approach, it snowballed. You have a clear style. How about you apply that to styling someone?

At the same time, I was at Nepenthes London, since the opening. Shop floor first, then head office, then head of marketing. That gave me a say on certain directions. How things appear, how we push certain styles. My aim was never to be a stylist, but with my DIY approach I just ended up falling into it.

Last year, I set up my own creative agency. Production, consultancy, art direction, and styling. But styling, to me, is the most fulfilling. Because it’s about being trusted. When someone reaches out to you for a job, they can see you as a person and they’re like: we can trust him. Once you cross that line, they don’t see me as a stylist anymore. I’m more just a person. That’s key for maintaining relationships and enjoying the work more.

REFERENC: Trust from clients. But it also takes trusting your own taste.

Lucas: Absolutely. And you learn that as you go along in this industry, there are levels to it. I do commercial work and very one-on-one work. Some commercial clients don’t need the push. They just want someone who knows the customer and applies the right clothing to the customer’s taste. In other work, it’s about adding your own taste. A bit of fun, or identity. It can be something very simple. But doing that leaves your imprint on the work.

REFERENC: Any childhood memories that sparked your interest in fashion?

Lucas: My dad, for sure. I have several siblings, but he spoiled me. I look back at photos and how he dressed me. Whenever my dad went shopping he’d take me to the fancy shops: the designer stores, very menswear-focused. And I have an older brother who took on that same path. Those are my earliest memories: seeing someone older than me wear these clothes and wear them well. And I’m half Jamaican. There’s a lineage of men and women in my family who have great style and big character. People who can pull things off.

REFERENC: How do you get to know someone well enough to understand what they feel comfortable in?

Lucas: My relationship with Loyle Carner started from a conversation about identity. Everyone’s got stuff in their wardrobe where they’re like: today’s not the right day. Then there’s the one day you pull it on and it’s great. It’s all about confidence, ultimately. So, you compromise. You end up wearing a tracksuit, because you feel comfortable in it.

That’s what I said to Loyle when we first spoke. People see you on stage and they love your music. But there’s also an allure to how you look, which adds to the impression people leave with. And we’re both mixed heritage. I wouldn’t call it a superpower, but it’s a gift: being adaptable. Being able to wear certain things, clash certain things together. So, my conversation with him was we can lock into that.

I never want to feel like I’m applying a costume to someone. If the person wearing the clothing feels as comfortable as possible, the way they feel on set gets better, and the way the images end up looking gets better too.

REFERENC: And when it fits?

Lucas: You put on an outfit on someone. They’re not sure when they see it on the hanger. Then they put it on and it fits right, and you can see it in their body language. They want to put stuff on and just feel good. That’s my job. That’s 90% of the job done. The other 10% is returning it, ha! Although a lot of the time it’s gifted or bought. Loyle says it himself: if I can afford it, or if I think it’s worth it, I’ll buy it. I love that he wants to improve his own wardrobe rather than the wardrobe on set.

REFERENC: How do you make choices? How do you decide what’s right for someone?

Lucas: You never know exactly what’s right. But you can back it up with an opinion, with the idea you have for the person, and with other choices. You come forward with: here’s the shirt, and I think this shirt is great because of x, y and z. The client tries it on. Maybe he’s unsure on the cut. Then I turn around and say: I’ve also got this one. You’ve always got to have a backup, because what I think may not always land.

[YOU NEVER KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S RIGHT. BUT YOU CAN BACK IT UP WITH AN OPINION.]

REFERENC: What influences you today?

Lucas: My time at Nepenthes London and its varied range of brands under one umbrella. Predominantly workwear, military-inspired. Engineered garments, Needles, Western American wear, specific cuts, patterned shirts. South2 West8, outdoor performance gear. All different approaches, but the point of them being under the same umbrella is a type of playfulness. They come together and create this beautiful outfit.

Working there I realised it’s not linear. It’s okay to clash. It’s okay to layer. And not layering as in adding four layers on top. The small, low-key details. A contrast between two colours.

So yeah. If I must give one answer, it’s 100% my time at Nepenthes. It’s where it all started.

This portrait was captured in London this summer by Georg Mew Jensen. Words by Jan-Willem Wesselingh. Styling by Lucas himself.