“More Bedazzling, Please”; Sam Smith Revisits Their Life in Looks

Vogue

“More Bedazzling, Please”; Sam Smith Revisits Their Life in Looks  Director: Michael Brown Director of Photography: Frances Chen Editor: Michael Suyeda Producer: Kevyn Fairchild Producer, On Set: Gabrielle Reich Associate Producers: Lea Donenberg, Joe Walsh Assistant Camera: Kirsten Potts Gaffer: Julia Gowesky Audio: Amelia Palmer Production Assistant: Ziyne Abdo Production Coordinators: Ava Kashar, Tanía Jones Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Line Producer: Romeeka Powell Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier Assistant Editor: Andy Morell Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Images: Alasdair McLellan Photo Filmed at Gallery Penthouse at ModernHaus SoHo

Transcript

00:00I couldn't put my arms down and I couldn't put my legs together so I was walking like this.

00:06And I just remember my mum just sitting there looking at me like,

00:09what the f*** is going on?

00:11Hi Vogue, I'm Sam Smith and this is my life in looks.

00:20This is special to me.

00:21It's super special right now because I'm celebrating 10 years since my first album,

00:26so it's beautiful to see.

00:29I think for me in this picture this was the first time really since I was about 10 years old

00:35that I started really wearing mass clothing.

00:38All through school I wore dresses and leggings and makeup and quite wild clothes through my teens.

00:45And in this picture I was 20 years old and I'd just got a record deal and I'd released a few songs

00:51and I started to find a lot of comfort in just dressing down for the first time.

00:57I remember that time so vividly.

00:58Through 2014 to 2016 I was working like a dog.

01:02I was working really hard, travelling the world non-stop for three years really.

01:06So I didn't really have a lot of time to experiment, time to rejoice.

01:13When I was young I used to have so much fun.

01:15My clothes really used to be an armour for me.

01:18I used to dress up before I went into school because I'd be going to the school playground

01:23and be dealing with bullies and horrible things said to me.

01:26So clothing for me really was a safety.

01:31Oh my god.

01:33I remember this coat.

01:35It was a really nice coat.

01:37I remember it was the first coat I ever wore that was cashmere.

01:42And it felt so good.

01:43It felt really good.

01:44But it was fucking hot.

01:46And also I remember at the time there was this choice I made to not wear socks

01:49and now I regret that.

01:50I'm a big fan of socks now.

01:53This was a Gucci suit.

01:55I remember we went in store to fit it.

01:57This was I think one of the most amazing moments of my life and my career.

02:01I'd always dreamed of being on that stage.

02:04And I remember just before this moment I think it was Guns N' Roses or something

02:09performed and they had fire on the front of the stage.

02:12And I have rosacea so if my face gets hot I get really red.

02:17And I remember the fire just made my face really red.

02:20And then a minute after Stevie Wonder came on and Stevie Wonder gave me

02:24my first Grammy, this Grammy.

02:26I think even back then when I wasn't changing up my style that much

02:29I wanted to have a big wardrobe.

02:33For me it's all about intention.

02:35I think I had intention on this night wearing this suit.

02:38I wanted to look timeless and classic and I wanted the focus to be on me

02:43and what I was saying and what I was singing.

02:45And now in my life I have different intentions when I turn up to these things.

02:50Oh my gosh.

02:52So this suit, because I wore a lot of suits for like four years non-stop.

02:57Dunhill did three suits for me during the Oscars.

03:00For my performance, for my red carpet and then for the after party,

03:03the Vanity Fair.

03:04We did like five, six fittings in Dunhill in London.

03:08It's like this old gentleman's experience.

03:12And I really felt incredible on that night.

03:14The only way to explain it is with the waistcoat and the jacket

03:17it almost felt like a corset to me.

03:20And I wore socks.

03:21Thank God.

03:23Thank God I wore socks.

03:24You should feel like money in a good suit.

03:27I remember I was starting to push it now in my head because I was wearing

03:30like a red lace shirt underneath which for me was pushing it.

03:33We shot this in Lake Como in Italy during my second tour rehearsals.

03:40I remember I arrived to this video shoot on a boat in Lake Como.

03:44It felt fabulous.

03:45It felt like Mariah Carey.

03:46Next look.

03:48This, oh my gosh.

03:50This was a wild night in Paris.

03:52I didn't actually go to a lot of fashion shows and this was my second one.

03:55I remember I sat on the front row with Gal Gadot and Rebel Wilson

03:59sandwiched in between them, which was a beautiful sandwich.

04:02I love this outfit.

04:03I remember being fucking boiling.

04:05So hot.

04:06I think that what people don't realize about me is that I'm six foot two.

04:10I wish this coat was longer now looking at it because I like the drama.

04:14I love the drama of wearing long things and it feels good.

04:18It feels really good.

04:19But I remember actually one of the first men I ever fell in love with

04:22took me shopping when I was 19 and he put me in my first long coat.

04:28So maybe that's why I wore them so much because I wanted to impress him.

04:32Oh God.

04:33Do you remember the pink squid in Finding Nemo?

04:35I look at this image and I'm like, what the fuck?

04:39But then also, do you know what?

04:40Fuck everyone.

04:41If I ever see images of this, I actually look at myself here and I'm like,

04:45go you.

04:46Well done, babe.

04:47Because breaking out of six, seven years of suits and mass clothing,

04:53breaking out of that on the world stage is an incredibly hard thing to do.

04:59I love this picture so much.

05:02I got introduced to an amazing man during my album Love Goes, my third record.

05:08His name is Ben Reardon.

05:09He really came on board in my life with some amazing people are here today too.

05:14They picked me up and said to me and took me and said,

05:19who do you want to be?

05:21What do you want to wear?

05:22What do you want to look like?

05:24Because I needed help.

05:25Up until that point, I was just rummaging around clothes,

05:28working with amazing people.

05:30But my life was overtaking the messaging of the clothes.

05:33The bracelet on my wrist here says Love Goes to my album.

05:37And it's actually such a beautiful touch to have when you're creating an image

05:41for an album is to be wearing the words that you've written on your body.

05:47The Serpentine Gallery event.

05:49And I went with Harris Reid.

05:51This jacket is the same design as what I'm wearing now.

05:55It's Elena Dawson.

05:56And this shirt is Harris Reid.

05:58This belt is a vintage belt, the only belt that would fit me in my closet,

06:01but I love it.

06:02And then these are bespoke shoes I got made.

06:04This is a look that I now, I wear now.

06:08And it's something that I just want to stick with forever.

06:10I think what makes for a great Soundsweird outfit is a great pair of earrings

06:15and some good shoes.

06:16Shoes are hard to find for me.

06:18I'm six foot two and I have size 12 feet.

06:21So getting high heels for me is hard.

06:23First pair of heels were from a drag store in Australia called Priscilla's.

06:29And they were a pair of red sparkly stilettos.

06:33And I went and got them with my best friend.

06:35And we'd just dress up in skirts and heels and drag and just dance.

06:39So the first time I ever really wore heels were,

06:42I've actually got these heels tattooed on my arm,

06:45were these red kind of Dorothy whore shoes.

06:48They're fabulous.

06:49Okay.

06:50This was an amazing look.

06:51It was Ed Maynard and this whole experience with La Horde who did the choreo.

06:56It was just incredible.

06:57I wanted to turn myself into a compere and basically start to welcome people

07:01into this new chapter and this new show.

07:04I had all my best friends around me.

07:06So much amazing queer energy.

07:08Queer people were in control of my life for the first time in terms of my creativity.

07:13And I just felt so powerful.

07:14I felt so, so powerful.

07:16This is my first time I wore a corset.

07:18And it was a really long two days of shooting in a corset.

07:21The outer world, school and music business and all these things always wanted me

07:28to be small and little and to control those parts of myself.

07:35I did that for a long time.

07:37I did that for seven years.

07:39It started to make me sick.

07:40It started to make me ill and anxious and depressed.

07:45And so that was my promise to myself during that time that I would never

07:50make myself small again for anyone else.

07:53I've always wanted to work with Kim.

07:54She hit me up to work with me when I was like 21, 22.

07:57And we couldn't get it to work.

07:59And then I wanted this song to be two queer people joining forces.

08:04We walked with each other through what I think will be the most important part

08:08of my career and I hope one of the most important parts of her career.

08:13To get my first ever number one in America with Kim is an honor.

08:18I'm so happy that we did it together and I wasn't alone.

08:22This is Pia Paolo Valentino custom moment at the Grammys.

08:27It was so beautiful.

08:28I love wearing Valentino.

08:30I wore them for my first ever Royal Albert Hall performance.

08:33I went to their show in Paris, which is an incredible show.

08:38I met with Pia Paolo at the Valentino offices in Paris.

08:42And we had a beautiful conversation.

08:44They're such an inspiring and magical person to be around.

08:48I was just so happy they were up for sharing this moment with me.

08:52And so me, Kim and the dancers all got dressed and we all just walked

08:57and did no interviews and just slowly walked through all these press

09:01and then ended up on the red carpet.

09:03And it was just me, Violet Chachki as well and Gottmik who came

09:06and were part of it.

09:08And it just felt so good.

09:09I normally do all these things alone.

09:11I normally do all my, you know, my interviews alone.

09:14And it just felt so good to be with a team of queer icons

09:19and walking together.

09:22This is my favorite thing I've ever worn in my life.

09:25This was February and we had done so much in January and February

09:30leading up to the release of this album.

09:32We'd done SNL, we did the Grammys, we did everything

09:35and it was such a busy, mad time.

09:38And then about an hour before this photo was taken,

09:41we actually tried on the whole outfit.

09:44And I'll never forget it.

09:45It was me and my team and my mum was there.

09:48Once I was like blown up, we then had to lube the whole outfit.

09:53And I just remember my mum just sitting there looking at me like,

09:56what the fuck is going on?

09:58But I couldn't get in a car to get to the red carpet.

10:01So I had to walk in this outside of the O2 Arena

10:06all the way around past all the crew who'd built the stage.

10:09And I'm just like squeaking, walking outside in this latex outfit.

10:14And it was honestly, I felt so powerful,

10:17more powerful than I've ever felt in anything

10:20because it was the humor, the humor behind it.

10:23I couldn't put my arms down and I couldn't put my legs together.

10:27So I was walking like this.

10:29It was honestly amazing.

10:31I'll never forget this moment.

10:34And we did it in Hills. It was fabulous.

10:36One day I'll be blown up again.

10:38She will rise again one day.

10:40Oh my gosh.

10:41I hope to wear a wedding dress one day,

10:43but I think this is the most important dress I've ever worn.

10:46I've never experienced clothes like I did

10:49wearing Andreas and Vivienne's clothes.

10:52I can't express how incredible it feels

10:55to be in a Vivienne Westwood corset.

10:58I felt like I was going to battle.

11:01It felt really emotional to be,

11:04to actually have people mention me alongside the word fashion

11:09because fashion means a lot to me and it always has.

11:13And it's definitely felt at times like a club that I wasn't a part of.

11:17But it's something I never let go of.

11:20Sometimes I didn't have the courage to say the things I needed to.

11:24And clothes said the things that I needed to

11:26when I didn't have the courage.

11:28Same with some of my songs.

11:29Every day when I wake up, I decide who I want to be that day.

11:33And I now lean into the dynamics of it.

11:37I'm not just going to wear suits and have a quiff.

11:39I'm going to change things up.

11:41And it's so beautiful.

11:43You know, I feel like a kid in a dressing up box.

11:49Gandalf the They.

11:50Okay, what people don't understand

11:52is that three weeks before this,

11:54I had a ski accident and I ripped my ACL.

11:57But it was my first fashion show and I just broke my ACL.

12:00So thank God for my fabulous wizard stuff.

12:03And I remember seeing Andreas walking out to do his bow.

12:08And I'll never forget walking past him

12:10and I just had this amazing moment where I was like,

12:13lucky me.

12:15Like, oh my God.

12:16You know, as a kid, I remember working in a bar in London

12:20and I would buy Love magazine and I would buy Vogue's

12:23and I would sit on the train going to my job in the bar

12:26as like an overweight, queer, confused kid.

12:29And I remember seeing those Vivienne Westwood campaigns

12:32and dreaming of one day living in that world.

12:36And it was such an amazing show to be part of.

12:38The music was incredible.

12:40This was my first ever Met Gala.

12:42I'm wearing Christian Cowan and I'm with Christian Cowan.

12:45It was such a sensational night.

12:48I've never been to a more glamorous night in my life.

12:52It was everywhere you turned,

12:54everywhere you turned, it was just beauty and glamour

12:57and it was just so fun.

12:59It was so fun.

13:00And then, you know, when Ariana came out, I just died.

13:03I've never felt more beautiful in clothes than I did on this night.

13:06Christian Cowan is an incredible designer

13:09and I'm so excited to watch his star shine brighter and brighter.

13:14I wanted to wear a suit this time.

13:16It was the first time in a long time that I wanted to wear a suit.

13:20But I wanted to find a way for it to link into my gender identity now.

13:26And just with so fascinating what could be done

13:29with just a beautiful piece of material over the trouser.

13:33It just transformed the way I felt.

13:35I used to blame the suit.

13:37I used to blame the suit for the way that I felt.

13:41But now I realise that it wasn't the suit's fault.

13:43It was underneath.

13:45I hadn't done the work in here

13:47and I hadn't been educated enough

13:51and I had to grow.

13:54I had to grow into the suit.

13:56The main thing that I want for menswear and for fashion in general

14:03is for someone like me to be able to go into a store

14:07and actually be able to buy the clothes I want to buy

14:11because nothing fits me in stores.

14:14I just would love the opportunity to be able to go into the womenswear, menswear

14:18and just be able to play with everything.

14:22That's what I'd love the most.

14:24And just a bit more colour and bedazzling please.

14:28Bye Vogue.

14:29Thank you so much for walking down memory lane with me.

14:32This has been an absolute riot going through these pictures

14:36and I hope I get to fill up this book with you again.

14:44There you go.

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