By Ellie Baker
Remember when sandy toes and flip flops were summer's greatest love affair? Well forget everything you know, because this year we’re swapping our sandals for a more unlikely choice of footwear thanks to our latest style inspiration TJ Sawyerr . At just 19, the model, creative director and activist is the latest talent to solidify his practice in the world of fashion. Enlisted by Dr. Martens themselves, TJ features both in front and behind the lens in the footwear giant's new 1461 campaign, capturing the essence of friendship, comfort and being young.
Sitting down with MSM, TJ discusses how putting his ideas into practice has curated a story that tells footwear's greatest summer romance to date.
Why DM, what does the brand mean to you?
Who wouldn’t want to work for Dr. Martens when presented with the opportunity? When I got the call from Yasu at DM to curate this, I instantly knew it would be a special one for me personally. It was really a full circle moment - DMs were some of the first shoes my parents put me in as a kid - so to be able to both direct and feature in a campaign for them all these years later is naturally a huge blessing.
Tell us a bit about your creative process.
In the broader context of the campaign, the two main ploys were simple - to bring a youthful flair to a brand like DMs, that is often associated with previous, older generations, and to, in doing so, encourage young people to get active this summer. I didn’t deem there being any better way to do so than to present 3 of my most exemplary and versatile young creative counterparts (Ayrtn, Hass an Rio) individually, in their local areas, telling their own stories, before they join forces to embark upon an idealistic summer’s day, with a captivating, ethereal twist. That way a young consumer builds a connection to each of the talents in their own right, before seeing them come together, powered by this DMs product to embark upon the sort of explorational and energetic summer’s day that they themselves, as young people, ought to sought after in their own lives. It’s a pretty straight forward formula and considering the reception of the campaign so far, a successful one also.
What’s it like fulfilling the role of both talent and director on a campaign of this scale?
It can’t be understated how much work goes into projects like this when one is enlisted to fulfil multiple primary roles. In this case, DMs came to me in March with the proposal of a campaign where I act as both the lead talent and director, so to be given such autonomy from the jump is always a nice show of faith. Having provided the footwear for my Reuben Selby show a month prior, where I both walked and directed, there was obviously a lot of confidence from the DMs side when it came to this project which also meant I felt very strongly about delivering a super strong campaign.
In working both roles, the pre-production process is really no different. Being responsible for enlisting and accommodating a whole team of creators and producers to fulfil a vision that I came up with in my bedroom is the natural challenge of being a director, however it’s really on the shoot day, or in this case, the 3 shoot days, where it is most tasking. Having to be concerned about my own personal appearance throughout, while coordinating the shoot from both in front and behind the camera is the biggest challenge, especially with a slightly more out there concept such as this - but it’s a process that I have become increasingly comfortable with and plan to continue to upscale on the back of the success of this campaign.
Describe the campaign in a few words.
Energising, imaginative and familiar.
How does the city of London influence your work?
Having lived in London for 15+ years, there’s no doubt that anything and everything I work on is inevitably influenced by what I see in this city every day. The entire foundation for my creative outlook and process has been built here, and there’s honestly nowhere else that I’d rather come up as a young creative.
The campaign tells a story of being young and free - is this emblematic of what creativity means to you?
For me, the easiest way to describe what creativity actually is, in simple terms, is as a less conventional means by which someone may express who they are and what they believe in. For me, I am literally young and free, so it goes without saying that my creative angle will channel such energy.
Where will you be wearing your DMs this summer?
All over the internet apparently lol.