The latest Regency-era romantic drama, Mr. Malcolm’s List, stars the latest leading man to watch, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù. After acting on stage, the small screen, and big budget films, Dìrísù will now embrace the title role of Mr. Jeremiah Malcolm.
Similar to the beloved series Bridgerton, Mr. Malcolm’s List has been hailed for its diverse cast, starring Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, Zawe Ashton, Gemma Chan, Theo James, Emily in Paris star Ashley Park and Outlander actor Sam Heughan. Based on the 2009 novel of the same name, written by Suzanne Allain, the period piece hit theaters on July 1, and the cast gathered for the New York City premiere Wednesday evening.
Dressed by the styling duo Zadrian Smith and Sarah Edmiston, Dìrísù decided to go the subversive route on his sartorial journey. Describing Dìrísù’s style as “an eclectic cacophony of all the different facets of his life,” Smith sat down with GRAZIA USA to break down Dìrísù’s Mr. Malcolm’s List press tour looks.
GRAZIA: How long have you been working with Ṣọpẹ́?
Zadrian Smith: We met him in the pandemic about two years ago. We met him at the BAFTAs and we hit it off. And he was like, “Well, when I start doing press again, I would love to work with you guys.” And so I would say, we officially have been working with him for a little over a year.
G: How do you collaborate? How involved is Ṣọpẹ́ in the process?
ZS: Very involved. First of all, he’s such an incredible actor — a really high pedigree of actor. I admire him so much. He’s quite thoughtful in everything that he does, he doesn’t rush into any decisions. I think he definitely looks at the bigger picture. This is a really big opportunity for him, he’s the title lead of this film. So when we were curating his fashion narrative for Mr. Malcolm’s List, we spoke about it in our fashion meetings. I asked, “Do you want to use this moment to catapult yourself in the fashion space? Or do you want to use this moment to catapult yourself as a leading man?” Because we say that every red carpet is an opportunity to present yourself to curate to the world what you want your visual narrative to be.
It was interesting because he brought his sister to his first meeting, and his girlfriend to his second. We could tell that everyone was really rooting for this moment and wanted to get it right. And in the end, with what he’s going to wear tonight, I thought, “Wow,” because we had a classic option and then, we had a little bit more of a fashion-forward option. We sat there with him, and he asked his girlfriend her opinion. We always ask the team too, and we were split down the middle.
He was like, “No, I’m going to go the other direction.” And I was like, “Oh, my god!” I was there smiling, and for the rest of the time, I had this big smile on my face. He asked, “You’re happy, aren’t you?” I was like, “Well, I’m nervous, but I’m good nervous, because the reference is so incredible.”
He’s wearing this amazing Prada ‘90s nylon suit. It was between that and a double-breasted, classic suit. I was like, “Mr. Malcolm would wear the double-breasted suit.” And he said, “That’s exactly why I’m wearing the 90s nylon suit.” So I thought, “Okay, let’s do it! Let’s go!” He’s in New York now, getting ready soon for the premiere tonight. It’s a badass look. I told him, “You have to walk through the room like you own everything!”
Check out a special July 4 issue of GRAZIA Gazette: Hamptons for the latest fashion news, exclusive celebrity interviews, and long reads perfect for a day at the beach:
G: Did his dapper looks in Mr. Malcolm’s List influence any of the looks that you’ve curated for him so far? It sounds a little bit like the opposite.
ZS: We were really conscious going into this, he wanted to support an African designer named Labrum. That was really important to us to celebrate the heritage. As a Black leading man, that’s a rare space.
G: Especially in period pieces like this.
ZS: Exactly! When you’re able to occupy that space, let’s make sure that we lift up other people that look like us and celebrate other people that look like us. So I was really happy that we did the Labrum look. Prada were incredibly supportive. So grateful to the Prada team, who we were doing the premiere with. And we also worked with Issey Miyake which is such an acquired taste. It’s very high-brow. It’s very much, ‘if you know, you know; if you don’t, you don’t.’
Looking at the Labrum, looking at the Prada, looking at the Issey Miyake, I think we’ve curated quite an intelligent and thought provoking fashion narrative that is not what you would expect from someone playing the lead in a period piece. We went against the grain, and I think that’s really exciting, and I love that Ṣọpẹ́ was up for it, and willing to push the envelope, and do something fresh, and different, and new, and cool.
G: How would you describe Ṣọpẹ́’s style?
ZS: Ṣọpẹ́’s style is very much a reflection of who he is. If you look at his portfolio as an actor, he goes from Gangs of London, which is quite intense and violent, and now to be playing Freida Pinto’s love interest in Mr. Malcolm’s List, in his period piece. His style is an eclectic cacophony of all the different facets of his life. Being trained as a Shakespeare actor, I think all those little facets come together, so I think it is an eclectic mix of cultural nuances.
He definitely has his pulse on contemporary culture, which I think is really important. He knows what he wants, but what makes the collaboration so special is that he also listens. He’s not afraid to say, ‘You know what? I don’t know about this. Tell me about this. What is this nylon Prada like? What’s that about?’ I love someone who wants to be educated, and then once they educate themselves on something, then they figure out “How can I take that knowledge and apply it to what I’m trying to do in my career and what I’m trying to say with my fashion?”
G: Ṣọpẹ́ has been wearing a lot of Omega as well.
ZS: As a watch brand, Omega is one of the top luxury watch brands. I think the people that they collaborate with and work with have always been people that we respect – right now it’s Kaia Gerber and Zoë Kravitz. We had a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with Omega over the Oscars’ award season with Ariana [DeBose], and the team was so wonderful and so pleasant. And at this stage, I only want to work with wonderful, pleasant people. I’ve been doing this for close to 15 years. If it’s not fun, I’m not interested. And the Omega collaboration, it’s a watch brand that Ṣọpẹ́ loves. So we are so happy to have their support across the press tour.
