Even if this is a fashion interview, it proves impossible to resist discussing Elba’s main line of work. I mention that I am currently rewatching The Wire’s first season, released in 2002, with a 16-year-old first-time viewer who is very curious about the clothes. Elba says: “I remember at the time there had been this upsurge in Black-owned fashion brands — Akademics, Sean John, Fubu, to name just a few — there were all the sweatshirts, and all this velour, and that is the era that the clothing came from.”
The Wire spoke about a specifically US cultural context, in which the prevalent weapon with which people damage each other is the gun. Does Elba think the DSYF ethos can translate? “There is definitely an international ambition with DSYF,” he replies: “And I think it represents an ethos that goes across many territories.”
The brand and its precursor, 2hr Set, are not Elba’s only ventures in the fashion industry. Along with his wife, Sabrina, he has co-created two collaborative collections with Christian Louboutin, which Elba says has raised over €3 million for charities.
“I don’t consider myself as a Virgil, or a designer, or anything like that,” said Elba. “But, as an actor, I understand that these tools can be useful. Our aim is to build a fashion-purpose brand.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
More from this author:
“There’s no one that’s not welcome”: Kanye West on YZY, Paris and his three phases in fashion
Paris and profits: Victoria Beckham and CEO Marie Leblanc plot a new direction
Moncler CEO Remo Ruffini on fortune, the future — and why he doesn’t want to be defined by fashion
