How's your day been?
It's been good, it's been good. It's been great.
When did you get in?
Australian time or American time [laughs]?
I'm from Australia, so you can give me both.
For real?
Yeah I grew up in Perth.
We just left Australia. We landed like two days ago and then we came out here. I think I got here today maybe? Yeah, today 5:00 am.
Damn, the early flight.
The no sleep flight.
Who'd you grow up listening to?
Well from zero to eleven I grew up listening to whatever I had to listen to make my mama happy. But when I was able to listen to music, I went backwards and I listened to, vocally for Stevie Wonder because I admire his voice. I listened and watched a lot of Michael Jackson because I admired the way he could entertain. I felt like D’Angelo was sexy and all of that so I was watching him and Ginuwine. I just felt I liked anything that… I don't want to say 'simple', but when I was little I was always looking for something that made me feel alive or made me feel anything.
So you took different parts from different artists, like the entertainment of Michael Jackson, the sound of Stevie Wonder, that sort of thing?
Yeah, his vocal ability, the tone of D’Angelo, Bill Withers. Even to this day, I'm still learning. I listen to Usher, I'm one of Usher's biggest fans. When he got into the Super Bowl was crazy. But I listen to everybody, but the main person I would say is probably Stevie Wonder.
How do you feel like growing up in New Orleans affected your sound?
Well, New Orleans is a jazz place. So when you think jazz, you just think a gumbo pot of stuff, just a jumble of all types of stuff. And down there it's not too many rules because the rules are kind of misconstrued and mixed up. So my sound is basically that. I'm big on not being conformed into a box and using everything that I have to make a mixture or potion of who Lucky Daye is every time I do an album. And this one is a whole new vibe.
Did growing up there affect your style, the way you dress, the way you present yourself, carry yourself?
Definitely. Being in New Orleans, we was poor, so I had a lot of hand-me-downs and I think that definitely affected, it taught me how to put stuff together that people that knew how to buy expensive stuff couldn't see. So I was able to wear whatever and figure out how to make that look good or wear shoes that was too big, and then wear a jacket that's too big too to make it look like it fit.
Was there anyone you looked up to style-wise for inspiration?
Nah, I just got all my big brother’s clothes.
There wasn't someone that had you like, ‘damn, I want to dress like that'?
Nah. I couldn't get that stuff.
What about moving to Atlanta? Did that affect your sound and the way you dressed or was that already established by the time you moved there?
Nah, pretty much in Atlanta, I didn't really care about fashion too much. I never cared about being attractive. I never thought I was attractive until my music came out and people were like, “oh, you sexy.” So in my mind still, I don't grasp the idea of it, but I do grasp the idea of beauty and art as far as the clothes. And Atlanta, it showed me a different expression. Everybody was just doing what they wanted to do.
Everything would be kind of baggy and then you'll go over here and everything is kind of tight. Then you'll go over here and this dude will make a girl shirt look masculine. And then that became something else like, okay, I don't have to use the hand-me-downs to mix stuff up. I can mix all types of stuff. Everything goes. In New Orleans, you can't mix Adidas and something else. In Atlanta you could do that. You could throw anything together. So that expanded my brand sense I think. And once I got to LA, using that along with the hand-me-downs conscious of just throwing stuff together, and all the thrift stores they have around, I learned how to put stuff together in my own unique way.
Obviously you got on the tracksuit now. Are you usually dressing for comfort or style or it’s a mix?
I never dress for comfort. I like a challenge and I guess feeling like something hurts me makes me feel like I'm making progress or it is a challenge or something I have to fight through. I never go on stage comfortable. And if I do go on stage comfortable, it's probably with no shirt at all. If I'm not wearing something fly… like, this Adidas, this is crazy. I would throw this on stage, take a shirt off from underneath and just be as comfortable as I want to be on stage. But on stage I'm not concerned about comfort too much. If it hurts, it's going to hurt tomorrow because of this momentum feeling, I don't feel nothing. I don't feel nothing on stage.
How do you feel like your style and what you're wearing influences your creativity, your mood, how you're feeling that day? Do you feel like that's an extension of your creativity?
It's definitely an exterior expression of what I feel inside. I try to let the music speak for itself. So every album, if I'm singing something that's kind of uplifting, I wear something uplifting or singing something sexy, I'll just wear… I may have my back cut out here or back cut out there.
You’ll do the backless?
Oh, I've done the backless. Don't judge me.
Nah, that's what’s up. I’ve always said the best dressed men blur that line between masculinity and femininity.
But honestly, remembering my childhood, the only brand that I wore was adidas because it was there, it was everywhere. The shell toes. We just ran it like that.
The shell toes was an iconic era.
And especially in Atlanta, it's a thing out there. Yeah. So that's when I really got tapped into adidas in Atlanta. So I know a lot about adidas. I'm a style head. I'm a fashion head. I know about the two brothers, I have the big adidas book, I know about how they started it.
That’s cool because a lot of people be putting brands on and have no idea about the history.
I'm into it because I really do love fashion and if I want to be comfortable, I'm putting on adidas. They have the best tracksuits. You've never seen nobody with a tracksuit that could beat adidas. Even in the A’ everywhere. All the dope boys got ‘em. They got it.
Yeah?
Yeah, they got ‘em. That's how you know.
In a similar spirit, Youssouf Fofana, a Parisian native of Senegalese origins and the founder and creative director of Maison Château Rouge and the United Youth International (Union de le Jeunesse), an organization empowering Parisian youth through entrepreneurship, embodies the cultural fusion that Jordan Brand champions. Youssouf's five year long collaboration with Jordan Brand extends beyond fashion; it represents a cultural exchange that transcends borders and generations. As a creative director, Youssouf tells us that he brings his vision of cultural synthesis to life by "looking for the meeting point of our two universes to create something new."
"Synthesis represents the natural assimilation by the sons and daughters of African descent immigrants mixed with the culture and tradition of the country where they settled and grew up; this gives light to a new form of creation, mixing seamlessly heritage and tradition with modernity to design authentically for the diaspora. It is not just about mixing two elements, but it is really a way to create a new natural form of language." Reflecting on founding the UYI, named after his second collaboration with Air Jordan in 2021, Youssouf explains, “What we wanted to do with this collection was to showcase a celebration of youth and the diaspora internationally. For me, as a youth who had a different view of the world and a different idea of how to shape things, I wanted to create a place for others like me to be able to express this, and it was very logical that it took place in the 18th arrondissement in Paris,” a neighborhood that has long been a hub for French-speaking African diaspora as well as some African-American creatives, much like The Bronx.
Recognizing the vast array of African influences that intersect in the 18th, Youssouf creates “a new territory for the next generation to feel at ease in the country that welcomed their parents or those that came before.” And he sees the Olympics, which have always been the ultimate platform for sports, as an opportunity to serve the youth across the city.
Alongside Youssouf, French-American baller, Gabby Williams, a forward in the WNBA’s Seattle Storm and an Olympic Bronze medalist who joined the Jordan brand in 2023, came out to play, debuting the brand’s French Federation kit. Youssouf designed a custom Jordan Brand two-piece suit for Gabby to wear, "inspired by vintage basketball warm-up outfits, synthesized by the silhouette of a suit tailored in the tradition of French know-how." He joined the VisionAir Showcase with UYI members, giving Parisian youth culture a chance to shine on their own terms at the summit. We chatted with them below.
Grew up in the 19th arrondissement. Co-founder of streetwear project Outside.
What was the first pair of Jordans you owned?
When I was 12, I put a pair of Jordan 4s in my profile photo on the networks because it was a vibe, I just wanted to, but suddenly all my friends started to roast me because they didn't understand why. [Laughs]
Do you have a favorite Jordan style?
I love the Jordan 3, because I find it really classy, it looks really dressy. You can wear it with everything: jeans, jogging pants, to do anything, out for an evening, it goes everywhere.
Is there an athlete you're rooting for during the games?
Mbappé but hey we’ll see if he’ll be there. I really like his determination. “Don’t talk to me about age” represents his mentality well, there are no excuses.
What does the intersection of sport and culture mean to you?
I feel like sport meets culture outside. Our way of living means that we are always on the move. In France, in the projects we wear tracksuits, because we naturally have a sports mentality.
Photographer and Junior Artistic Director
What was the first pair of Jordans you owned?
My first pair of Jordans was a red Jordan 3, although I absolutely wanted a pair of 4s for several years. I thought it was a Jordan 4 model, but after seeing everyone at school and college wearing the Jordan 4 I realized that I had the wrong model, it was ultimately the three but I told myself that it was more authentic and I could have had any Jordan on my foot. The important thing was to have a pair.
Is there an athlete you're rooting for?
No particular athlete, but I have an interest in dance and the fact that break dancing is represented this year at the Olympic Games is very important to me and I want to actively follow this discipline.
How do you think the Olympic Games will impact the city this summer?
The fact that the Olympic Games are taking place in Paris can be an opportunity for the city to be seen from a new perspective. It is an opportunity for the whole world to discover Parisian culture, that is to say a diverse culture, a culture with multiple influences.
Grew up in the 18th arrondissement. Maison Château Rouge / United Youth International Coordinator
What was the first pair of Jordans you owned?
My first was an Air Jordan 6. My brother worked in a sneaker store in Châtelet and he gave me this pair for the start of 5th grade at college.
Is there an athlete you are rooting for the Olympics this summer?
Victor Wembanyama and Nicolas Batum with the French team!
Do you play basketball?
Yes, I've been playing street basketball since I was 13, playing from time to time with my friends. In high school, there was a basketball court in the playground, and we played during lunch breaks, recess or at the end of classes on a court. During college, I played it with my friends in the square. There is so much access to basketball in Paris also with all the courts like at Square Léon, Stalingrad, Charenton, or Carpentier, etc.
What influence do you think the Olympics this summer can have on Parisian youth?
Today, for me sport is anchored in culture. I think it can encourage more young people to practice sports other than football or basketball, and maybe even participate in the Olympic Games one day. Why not?
