Getting Ready For Fashion Month With Salomon DuBois
Words, Delanique Millwood
Photography, Nate Cook + Outtake + Alessandro Michelazzi & Silvestru Popescu
Fashion month is an exciting playing field for both style enthusiasts, and street style photographers alike. The enthusiast is eager to be spotted, and rewarded with a badge of honor for his riveting style, while the photographer’s taste for eccentricity searches for satisfaction in documenting said style. Leading up to Fashion Month, creatives diligently embark on tasks that will set them up for a successful month in the heart of chaos. These tasks may include pulling pieces for street style, scheduling their calendars for presentations they are looking forward to, grooming their skin and hair to ensure they are looking camera-ready, and sometimes, planning collaborations amidst fashion week to stay atop of relevancy.
To really understand what it means to “get ready” for fashion month, I wanted to step into the shoes of an influencer in the menswear space. One that is relevant, and street style savvy. After much given thought, the decision to profile sought-after Salomon Dubois on his steps to prepare for fashion month was an effortless one. Salomon is a creative artistic director from the Ivory Coast in West Africa who has graced the street style round ups of Vogue, GQ France, and the New York Times. Salomon moved to Paris when he was only fifteen years old, and his gateway into the industry began when he started working as a catalog model in London.
On preparing styles for fashion month:
“For the past few seasons my strategy has been different because of the multi-faceted opportunities I had. For the most recent seasons during the months leading up to fashion month, what I did was have my agency reach out to brands I wanted to work with. I had them help me with securing partnerships with clothing brands in Milan, and London to work on a value-based opportunity where I was able to style myself in different pieces provided by each brand for the week.
I also have a lot of clothes because I do shop very often, so I use my wardrobe for basics too. Even though I steer away from pulling pieces from showrooms because it’s clothing you have to return, I still encourage people who are starting out in the space as influencers to reach out to showrooms for pulling especially if they only want to wear those outfits once.”
His thoughts on trends:
“Trends only really last for about 2-3 months, and it gets overwhelming because you never quite know what is going to be a trend. If you are always trying to figure out what is hot, and what is going to be hot, it can be too much. Honestly, most of the pieces I wear during fashion month are pieces that get me excited by just looking at, and wearing them. I choose to wear pieces that feels like second nature to me.”
On his grooming tactics before the main events:
“Luckily, I don’t require a lot of grooming because I don’t really have much hair, but I just make sure to trim my beard, and facial hair as low as possible. I use cocoa butter for moisture. For my skin, I go to my Dermatologist at Just Ageless located at the 11 Howard Hotel in New York for a dermal-infusion, or silk peel facial.”
Deciding which shows to attend:
“When I first started 5 years ago I wanted to attend all the shows. I was running from show to show, but after two years of doing that it got really exhausting. I wasn’t able to maintain consistency, and quality in my work. So now, I decide which shows to attend based on my intuition, and knowing which shows are definitely going to be the biggest.”
Style tip on being featured for street style:
“It’s about being one-of-a-kind, and wearing something that is unique to you that no-one else will be wearing. I have realized that most people that standout in street style are people who are making their own clothes look like art. You don’t have to overdo your style just to be featured.”
The story behind his Vogue feature during Pitti Uomo:
“I ended up meeting the photographer who was on the road for Vogue on the first day of Pitti Uomo when I was wearing a simple velvet jacket outfit, but he didn’t photograph me then. On the second day, I bumped into him again while running late to a morning show. That day, I had styled myself in an orange over-sized turtleneck sweater with an over-sized trench coat. I was feeling really confident in that look. I guess he liked my outfit too because he asked me if he could shoot me for Vogue. It all happened so fast!”
Advice on steps to take for people whom would like to get involved during fashion month:
“My best advice to attend the most shows, and to receive the most experience during fashion month is to work with one of the following three organizations: agency, magazine, or showroom. If you are at one of those established organizations then you will have a better chance to receive extended invitations.
If you are new in the space, showrooms will be reluctant to extend invitations because you might not be what they consider “the right people.” Majority of the time, most luxury brands are represented by the same agency, so you do end up sending emails to the same team of people if you are doing it on your own and a bit unaware of the circumstances. If working at an agency, magazine, or showroom doesn’t work out for you, your last resort could be to boldly show up at the venue assuming you know where the show is being held, and ask for an extended seat, and hopefully you can get lucky if the show isn’t fully seated.”
How he de-stress during the fashion month chaos:
“The key to de-stressing for me is to disconnect from the chaos, breathe in breathe out, and center my thoughts before getting back into work mode.”
Follow Salomon’s fashion journey, here.