Vanities / Beauty
expressiveness—and the revels smell
like orange and a hazy blue-tea note.
The cast of the new campaign also
defies easy definition, between their
idiosyncratic styling and cross-genre
work. The skater and photographer
Evan Mock turns up with his lipstick-pink
hair; MLMA, the Korean musician and
chameleonic makeup star, also makes
an appearance. But it’s Sumner, with
lank waves and a bare face, who wears
the ’90s mantle for our multifaceted
age. Music being the family trade, the
performer (who uses gender-neutral
pronouns) got an early start helming the
band I Blame Coco; they later slipped
into the DJ scene under the alias Vaal.
Now, Sumner has a slate of projects
ahead. There’s an album in the making,
a stripped-back effort they describe
as “very introspective and melancholic.”
They are also finding their footing on
the big screen: with Guy Ritchie’s The
Gentlemen, out earlier this year, followed
by No Time to Die next month. “I’m the
biggest James Bond nerd on the planet,
so I felt that I’d manifested a dream,” the
actor says of landing a part in Cary Joji
Fukunaga’s film. “I play quite a terrifying
cold killer”—a silent-but-deadly role that
called for strength training and a combat
coach. (“I can tell that our arm-wrestling
days are profoundly over,” quipped a
friend in response to a chiseled selfie.)
Ordinarily, though, Sumner has their
usual armor. “I tend to have a uniform
every three to four years,” they explain.
Right now, it’s jeans and white T-shirts
(thanks to a fresh supply from Calvin
Klein). For formal wear, they like British
tailoring and Dior Men suits, giving
a shout-out to Kim Jones, the house’s
charismatic designer. They know what
they want. “I’m not an extremely—
what’s the word—compromising person
when it comes to myself.”
When we speak, Sumner is
daydreaming of the family’s country
place, a 16th-century English manor
not far from Stonehenge. The eccentric
neighbors have a camel named Timmy,
whom Sumner considers a good friend.
“It’s very easy for me to slip into that
reclusive state, but I’m not a lonely
person,” they insist. Half the time they
are in London for meetings. “Then
I head back to the countryside and build
fires and live like a Wiccan.”
There’s freedom in such wanderings,
and in other pursuits (painting!).
“With acting, it’s quite nice to not be the
master of your kingdom for a bit—
there’s a script, and someone to direct
you,” says Sumner. “I’ve realized that
it’s a great avenue for me to express my
sort of harbored intensity.” They reflect
back on the day they wrapped the
Bond film, finally letting that character’s
tough exterior crack open. “Everyone
started clapping, and I just broke down
in front of, like, 300 people. It was
one of the best releases I’ve ever had.”
What made Sumner so emotional was
the sudden possibility of change. They
didn’t have to be a legacy musician; they
could start a new chapter. If Sumner
embodies the spirit of CK Everyone, it is
in that constant refusal to stop moving.
The only hitch? “I have to be honest
with you. I don’t actually have a sense of
smell,” says Sumner, citing a long-ago
head injury. Not that they mind much.
“I make up for it in other ways.” nTo Each Their Own
Anything goes, from no-rules runway
looks to Boy de Chanel nail polish,
debuting in buff and black (but who’s
to say gentlemen don’t prefer pink?).Shirt by Dior Men; pants by Dior. Throughout:
hair products by Bumble and Bumble.1.
- Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello
shoes, $645. (ysl.com) 2. Noto Botanics
the Wash, $35. (notobotanics.com) - Timothée Chalamet, sporting glossed lips on
the red carpet. 4. Calvin Klein CK Everyone,
$80. (macys.com) 5. A look from the Comme
des Garçons Homme Plus spring 2020
collection. 6. CHANEL Boy de Chanel nail color,
$28. (Available in May at chanel.com)