TRANS WOMEN, TOO!
*Yves Mathieu

with Hannah Rose Prendergast

Yves Mathieu is a model in every sense of the word — even his designer namesake is saintly. Afro-Asian American independent musician-freestyle dancer-male model was born in Brooklyn but raised by his adoptive family in Florida. Growing up, Yves always knew that he was gay and he hated himself for it.

.artist talk
Yves Mathieu
speaks with
Hannah Rose Prendergast

AS A MULTIHYPHENATE, WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT ARTISTIC FOCUS?
My focus lately has been really driven by politics. To me, politics are such a good source of fuel for action. Everyone has their own interpretation of it, but it encourages me so much to know that I can pump my art heart and my political pulse all into a song or all into a look.

IN THE PAST, YOU HAVE DESCRIBED YOUR MUSIC AS “SAD POP YOU CAN DANCE TO”. WHAT HAS BEEN THE PROGRESSION OF YOUR SOUND FROM WHEN YOU STARTED UNTIL NOW?
My sound has definitely always had a more purposeful feel, but what I am proud of is how much more carefree my approach is now to what I am creating. It’s just fun, it feels fun, it sounds fun, it smells fun, but it’s also still me, it always will be, because I write it all.

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE WRITERS OR POETS?
Maya Angelou’s words impact me as if I’ve heard them before but in a different lifetime. It’s hard to explain thoroughly, but it’s just familiar to my soul like I’m related to her. Robert Frost’s ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ ends in "and miles to go before I sleep.” It’s a very famous line, people have gotten it tattooed and used it for weddings, funerals, you name it. It’s remarkable how one line, let alone one word, can have a designated intention but is interpreted to mean so many different things to so many different people. The words of Nayyirah Waheed make my heart cry and feel peace but in such a beautifully minimalistic way. They’re simple and to the point, which is something I like to do not just in my life but in my own writing. Matt Healy is someone whose music I’ve laughed to, danced to, cried to, and stared at the ceiling to. Everything he writes resonates with me, and as a singer/songwriter/writer myself, I can only hope that anything I create will make someone feel the way I’ve felt listening to his words. I personally know Jeremy O. Harris, so my opinion is slightly biased, but I must say, it is truly a privilege to be alive and exist at the same time as a black writer who is as unapologetic, purposeful, and impactful as Jeremy. His words cut, they bleed, they bandage you, and they also free you.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING A CHEERLEADER FOR THOM BROWNE’S THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL MATCH ALONGSIDE LIL UZI? WHAT IS IT ABOUT BROWNE’S ETHOS THAT RESONATES WITH YOU?
Thom Browne has a beautiful way of bringing people together in a fashionable way. Uzi is a homie. You know how you can be a part of a family all existing in the same universe, but you feel like everyone comes from a different world? That’s what it was like, the same universe but different worlds coming together. I am from my own damn world and in a skirt, of course ;)
Thom isn’t trying to change your style or who you are, he simply amplifies who you are. He reminds me of the color black — everyone looks good in it.

credits team

talent YVES MATHIEU
seen DIEGO BENDEZU
styled JAHULIE ELIZALDE
set design PILI WEEBER
production LOLO OSTIA
make up AI YOKOMIZO
hair SHINYA NAKAGAWA
set assistant CYRUS HOWLETT
photo assistants JUPITER JONES + CASANOVA CABRERA

first published in
issue 28, 01/2020

WHO IS ONE DESIGNER THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO WORK WITH?
Christopher John Rogers because I love his entire vision, the way his designs look like they make people feel, and, of course, because he’s a young black designer. Seeing POC designers being recognized and given a space to simply be is such a beautiful thing to witness as a POC creative.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?
With all due respect, I just don’t really give a fuck what people think, and I go for it. If I’m feeling it, I’m feeling it, but I ALWAYS have on jewelry, always.

WHAT IS YOUR MOST MEANINGFUL TATTOO?
The most meaningful tattoo I have right now would probably be the equality sign on the bridge of my nose. One of the toughest parts in the fight for equality is when your own people don’t treat you as an equal. Every tattoo I have is meaningful to me for its own reason, and certain tattoos stick out to me more during different seasons of my life.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HIDDEN TALENTS?
I’m a really good swimmer.

IN KEEPING WITH THIS THEME´S ISSUE, WHAT DOES A UTOPIA LOOK LIKE TO YOU? WHAT DOES A DYSTOPIA LOOK LIKE TO YOU?
Utopia = God, clean water, trans rights, all black lives are valued, there’s a block party every Friday with endless amounts of food, and music loud enough to make your ears bleed.

Dystopia = the world currently

WHAT MAKES YOU HOPEFUL FOR YOUR FUTURE AND YOUR COUNTRY’S?
The hope for my future is more than just my future, it’s the future of all those that I represent and carry with me. My hope is that I can pave our own sidewalk where we do things our way so that we don’t have to fight for space on a sidewalk that never wanted us there in the first place. I do a lot of work with kids and teens. Seeing how passionate and driven they are not only in their craft but about making their voice heard shows me that the future is in good hands; they’re so dangerous and in the most beautiful way.

YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTS AS A MONUMENT TO THOSE THAT HAVE LOST THEIR VOICE. IS THERE ANYONE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO REMEMBER HERE?
The underdogs, the forgotten, the ignored, the disrespected, the kids who sit at lunch by themselves, the kids who sit with other kids and still feel like they are by themselves, the misfits, the black kids who break the black box, the "nobodies", the Yves’ of the world.