LONDON — Skepta has craved fashion ever since he was a kid and his mother was dressing him in all the wrong clothes that came secondhand from vintage shops — and not the cool ones.
“I was so embarrassed,” said the DJ, rapper and record producer, who remembers his mother dressing him and his brother in tweed jackets, trousers and “nice” collared shirts and shoes that weren’t sneakers.
“My mom was the biggest fan of Princess Diana, so she used to dress me and my brother like [Princes] William and Harry. We were close to them in age,” said the British Nigerian musician, whose real name is Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr.
The outfits were particularly painful to wear on “home clothes” days when kids got to cast off their uniforms and flash their style.
“My anxiety used to go through the roof. I used to freak out in the non-school uniform day because I knew people were gonna see what we actually wore — clothes my mom salvaged together from the vintage store,” Skepta said during a walk-through of his upcoming Mains collection.
On those special school days, all that Skepta, who is from Tottentham in north London, ever wanted to wear were Moschino shirts, Patrick Cox shoes and maybe some Prada. It was the ’90s, after all.
Now in his early 40s, he’s indulging his passion with his clothing and accessories line Mains. He relaunched it last September and will put it into production and start selling it direct-to-consumer in the coming months.
A double denim look from Mains.
He plans to stage one show a year, with the next one taking place off-schedule on Saturday during London Fashion Week. He’s serious about the business, works closely with his head designer Mikey Pearce, and is involved in everything from the conception of the collection to the castings, marketing and celebrity wrangling.
At last Septmeber’s show, guests included Naomi Campbell, Stormzy, Maisie Williams, Louis Theroux and fellow creators Ozwald Boateng and Matthew M. Williams.
Mains was born in 2017, but Skepta put it on hold two years later and revived it in 2023 with the support of partner Puma.
Although he might not have much experience in fashion, he is under no illusions about the difficulties of the business. This time, he’s in it for the long haul and is ready to apply all that he’s learned in the music to the fashion business.
“I’m so blessed. I started my music from my bedroom and I’ve gone on to make songs with Mick Jagger, and play Coachella and Glastonbury. I’ve seen how to make a business work. I’ve got the understanding.
“Fashion is a really long game. It could take you years, and it could also be one shot that makes your brand popular. You have to be in it to win it, and you have to figure it out,” he said, adding that it’s important to understand the importance of cash flow, collaborations and how to bring in money to support a brands.
That’s the reason why he wants to keep Mains lean, do one collection a year, and build the brand up slowly. He said Puma has helped with sourcing, but his contract is up soon and he’s not sure whether he’ll renew.
The collection he’ll be showing on Saturday channels those early days of craving fashion and wanting dress up and show off at school. He’s also brought in references from ’90s raves, anime and “Matilda.”
He took his now five-year-old daughter River to see the play in the West End. She fell in love and he couldn’t resist capturing the spirit of the magical little girl for the upcoming collection.
Skepta at Burberry.
Noor-u-Nisa Khan/WWD
The collection features white shirts with black rulers, protractors and scissors floating across them, tailored pinstripe suits, boxy leather gym shorts, photo-printed denim and a natty white leather trench. It’s bold and statement-making.
His colorful faux fur hats look like wacky wigs. They’re cozy, Muppet-y and should put a smile on the grouchiest of faces. He’s also done a footwear collaboration with Kickers, with boots and mules in bright colors and lots of fluffy lining.
Skepta said he’s designing for people who want to dress up for a night on the town.
“Streetwear [stopped] people from dressing up to go out. People now want to wear their tracksuits to clubs and the promoters give in because these are affluent people, who’ll spend money on drinks.
“What I want to do is take fashion back to music. I want to start doing raves where you’re only allowed in with shoes so that people will start dressing up again. Not getting dressed was what killed the rave.”
Skepta said one of his favorite moments is when he sees his friends come in the studio and try on the clothes and say, “‘Where are we going?’ I want people to feel that soon as they put these clothes on, they’ll want to go out and express themselves.”
Dereck Chisora, Naomi Campbell and Ozwald Boateng attend the Mains show by Skepta last September.
Getty Images
Asked about the relaunch of Mains, Skepta said he’s approached it with a different mentality.
“I’m having more fun, I’m actually tapping into my first love of fashion and that makes it more authentic for me. There’s more passion when you’re designing from something that you know, and care about. In fashion it takes time to find your language,” he said.
He’s committed to the collection and so is his daughter, River. She’s still reeling from the high of last season when she walked down the runway dressed in a pink snakeskin suit and posed with her father for the cameras.
Skepta’s right. There’s nothing like dressing up for a big night on the town, or on the runway with dad.