Usher Explores Iconic Looks From the Last 27 Years, From His First Album Cover to the 2024 Super Bowl

Vogue

Director: Gabrielle Reich Director of Photography: Mike Lopez Editor: Evan Allan Producer: Gabriela Marie Safa Gaffer: Eric Hinsperger Assistant Camera / Cam Op: Eliza Kamerling-Brown Audio: Nicole Maupin Associate Producer: Lea Donenberg Production Assistant: Quinton Johnson Production Coordinators: Ava Kashar, Tanía Jones Production Manager: Natasha Soto-Albors Line Producer: Romeeka Powell Senior Director, Production Management: Jessica Schier Assistant Editor: Billy Ward Post Production Coordinator: Scout Alter Supervising Editor: Erica DeLeo Post Production Supervisor: Alexa Deutsch Associate Director, Post Production: Nicholas Ascanio Entertainment Director: Sergio Kletnoy Director, Content Production: Rahel Gebreyes Senior Director, Programming: Linda Gittleson VP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri Filmed on Location: The New York EDITION Florals Touch of Silk by Robin Images Courtesy of Apple, Donna Trope, SKIMS

Transcript

00:00♪ I wanna rock with you, baby, all night long ♪

00:05♪ I wanna roll with you, lady, feel so strong ♪

00:12Yeah.

00:12Hey, Vogue, it's your boy, Usher, here,

00:14and this is my life in books.

00:17Here we go.

00:17Ah, we got a good one to start it off.

00:22You know why this means so much to me?

00:24Being 15 years old and, you know,

00:26doing my first album in New York City,

00:29I decided that I wanted to do things my way.

00:32I was introduced to Frank Sinatra,

00:34and I heard, my way, the song.

00:36I was like, I want, that's how I feel right now,

00:39but I'm at the beginning of my story.

00:40He was at the end of his life.

00:41A little bit of what you're seeing here, right?

00:43One, my U-chain.

00:44Right now, I feel really naked,

00:45because I don't have it on, but it's all good.

00:47But this was the very first chain or anything

00:50that I ever designed myself,

00:52and the rest of it is just my mannish and flirtatious self.

00:57Cool.

00:59This is the Billboard Music Awards, right?

01:01This was the night that I won several awards,

01:04had a very successful album,

01:06and man, I was just very, very happy, you know,

01:09that I got a chance to put this yellow ensemble on.

01:11I still am mad that I couldn't quite fix the collar,

01:14because that would have made it perfect, right?

01:16If I just fixed the collar.

01:18It was strong and wrong.

01:20Just getting into jewelry.

01:22I had made my second U, as you can see there.

01:24I don't know what I was thinking,

01:25but you see, it was, yeah.

01:29All right.

01:30So I'm really getting funky now, right here.

01:32So this is when I'm really starting to take off.

01:34I got two U's on.

01:35I came out the house with two chains on that night,

01:38you know what I'm saying?

01:38Damn the fact that I don't have a shirt on,

01:40you know what I'm saying?

01:41And it's just, what'd you wear?

01:42My six-pack, what?

01:44And of course, this one-of-a-kind, ridiculous fur coat,

01:48in the middle of summer, by the way.

01:50It's Gucci, the belt, Gucci.

01:53Gucci everywhere, baby.

01:54I have my Gucci belt on.

01:55You know, this is back in the time where,

01:57it's like, if you stay ready, you don't have to get ready.

01:59You never know, I might get into a dance battle,

02:01so I need to have the right shoes on.

02:02I was ready for a dance battle, shirtless,

02:05with two necklaces on, in the middle of summer,

02:08in a fur coat.

02:11Sounds like a win-win combination to me.

02:13This was the Kid's Choice Awards.

02:19Yeah, I was, it was totally appropriate.

02:22Yeah, so this is a pretty incredible night.

02:24Oh, this is BET Music Awards.

02:25I think this is Dolce & Gabbana.

02:27It was all about jeans and a motorcycle jacket up top.

02:30That was, like, my staple look.

02:33And once again, I have my U1.

02:35Gucci still, I have Gucci pants on.

02:37And there was, like, this kimono belt

02:39that I wanted to wear to the side.

02:40Actually, it was the first time that I'd ever performed

02:42with my girlfriend at the time.

02:44Chilly, it was cool, man.

02:45Here we go.

02:46So this is a grand moment, this is my first Grammy.

02:49I do remember this.

02:51I wanted to stand out,

02:52and there were these really cool etro ties.

02:54When I look back at this, I don't feel so bad about it,

02:57but I was talking to my kids,

02:58and they were laughing, like, that's terrible.

03:00I was like, is it really?

03:01To be honest, when I look at these moments,

03:03I never cared whether I would win an award or not,

03:07because I wasn't doing it for that reason.

03:08Being on stage has always been more gratifying

03:12than actually winning an award.

03:15Yeah, this guy.

03:16This was the year video.

03:18I worked with Tameka Foster and Bria Stitson,

03:22and we created this real iconic moment.

03:26This was considered something that was cutting edge,

03:30and this was a bit defiant,

03:32but also too cool enough to feel like it was the Usher look.

03:36So blazer, Ryan Kenney shirt,

03:40which was me supporting black entrepreneurs,

03:43raw leather with sort of metal buckle.

03:46Had to have my Air Force Ones on.

03:49Yeah, and that was it, man.

03:50Ah, we forgot the U.

03:51I had my U on, too.

03:53First of all, I worked on an album, Confessions.

03:55I wanted to have real talk conversations

03:57about things that men go through,

03:58and I go back and forth with L.A. Reid,

04:00and I'm like, yo, my first single is Let It Burn.

04:05He's like, no, it's not.

04:06It's yeah.

04:07I'm like, no, it's Let It Burn.

04:09I'm telling you, man.

04:10He's like, no, it's yeah.

04:11It was a huge fight between me and L.A.

04:13I actually ultimately won the argument.

04:16So with 12 consecutive weeks at number one,

04:19of course somebody would have to dethrone it.

04:21Why not do it again?

04:23So then Burn took it down,

04:25and it became the next number one.

04:27Great look, great moment.

04:28That's Atlanta history.

04:31This is the actual album artwork for Confessions.

04:35You know, throughout history there's been these moments

04:37or things that I tend to gravitate towards.

04:40Knitted caps have always been something

04:42that I was really, you know, fond of, loved.

04:44So I spent that entire album, you know,

04:46with either that A-Town cap or these knitted hats.

04:50It's funny, I gotta ask you a question, right?

04:52Does it look like I'm standing in a booth

04:54singing to a microphone,

04:56or does it look like I'm in a confessional?

04:59Me on the court in Cleveland with the Cleveland Cavaliers,

05:03of which I own a minority share in.

05:05It was a one-on-one, a Doc Romanelli piece.

05:08These might be true religion pants.

05:09Still got my U-chain on.

05:11How many U-chains have I made?

05:13Countless.

05:16All right.

05:17I remember this three-piece like it was just yesterday.

05:19I loved it.

05:19I'll never forget doing a split in this.

05:22I actually flipped off of the top stage

05:26onto a set of stairs and came up into a perfect split.

05:29It was probably one of my better performances.

05:31The stylist, Don Haynes, introduced me to Bottega Veneta,

05:35but we wanted to do something that was classic.

05:38I was really on a three-piece kick at the time.

05:40I was still, you know, wearing my shades,

05:42because that was a major part of my own imagery at the time.

05:45So I was trying to find like staple things

05:47that people would remember me for.

05:49So this is in Atlanta.

05:51This is Marcella.

05:53So this night I presented Justin Bieber

05:55with the 2011 Horizon Award.

05:58You know, having, you know, discovered Justin,

06:01of course I wanted to make certain that I wore something

06:03that was, you know, pretty nice, one of a kind.

06:06And I wanted to kind of not upstage anybody,

06:09but, you know, I wanted to at least still have a little bit of pop.

06:15Oh, man. At the Grammys.

06:17This night and this entire ensemble was dedicated to Prince.

06:21It was me, FKA Twigs, and Sheila E. that night.

06:25It was a real celebration because our tailor, Arturo,

06:28he, for many years, dressed and created

06:32one-of-one designs with Prince.

06:36The jacket that we made was a print

06:37that he specifically made for Prince

06:39that he never got a chance to work on.

06:41But yeah, this was, if you just look at this,

06:43that high-waisted pant, I loved it.

06:45When you put together a moment like this

06:46where you're celebrating someone, it's a passion project.

06:49It's not really about the execution or perfection.

06:53This moment was really a celebration.

06:55I wish we had more time.

06:56I would have figured out a way to have gotten

07:00to do a record with Prince.

07:01He's the one person that I always wanted to work with

07:04that I never got a chance to do a song with.

07:07And the journey continues.

07:09February 2020.

07:11This is right before the pandemic hit.

07:14And I remember wanting to do something

07:16that I felt was very strong.

07:18Olivier, he gave me this amazing kimono-style blazer

07:23and these pants that I thought were really, really cool.

07:26This ensemble, I thought, was really powerful,

07:28really strong, and very strong to be at an all-women's show.

07:31So this is the opening residency

07:34at the Coliseum in Las Vegas.

07:37Olivier Beaumont and me did something

07:41that I thought was really incredible.

07:42Olivier, I really appreciate you.

07:44Thank you for making this incredible

07:46sapphire, one-of-a-kind, heavy-ass jacket.

07:49You've noticed my hair.

07:50It was kind of going back.

07:51I was just living free and just having fun.

07:54This moment would then lead to me

07:56having a successful residency

07:58and then making it over to the Super Bowl.

08:00But this was the beginning.

08:02A very, very promising two years of an amazing experience,

08:06but it all started right here.

08:09September, 2023, Marnie.

08:11And afterwards, no one else will ever see it again.

08:14We burnt it.

08:15This is it. It's done.

08:16Funniest thing about it is they called me

08:18and Honcho, Quavo, the Avengers, right?

08:21Like, it was crazy.

08:24This is a real fashion moment right here, right?

08:26You have absolutely gotta have

08:28Mel Gibson-type balls, right, to pull this off.

08:31It was cold in there.

08:32I can tell you, I could feel it.

08:34I could feel the draft.

08:34But they weren't, this was not actually a kill.

08:37People thought it was.

08:38They're actually shorts.

08:39Yeah, this was just that moment.

08:41You know what it was for me looking at this?

08:43It was the wrong face.

08:44It was the wrong, I had the wrong face on.

08:46I needed to like, be super serious.

08:49Like, I'm here to sell you these Girl Scout cookies.

08:51You gonna buy some of these cookies.

08:53I know you, I know you like Tagalongs.

08:55I just enjoyed it.

08:57I just liked it.

08:57This is what I wanted to wear.

08:59Yeah, I was taking a bit of a risk,

09:00but also too, I was supporting my brother Pharrell

09:03as he started this amazing journey with Louis Vuitton

09:06and spending time at the Atelier

09:08and just getting to know what his process was.

09:11I wanted to show support in a way that would be relevant

09:13and garnered the type of attention

09:15that I think he deserves as a designer.

09:18Need I say more?

09:19I finally made it to the cover of Vogue, man.

09:22Very happy.

09:22This was a story about the incredible moment

09:25that had happened in Las Vegas

09:26and the moment leading up to the Super Bowl,

09:29which had not happened yet.

09:31A classic supermodel, a classic man, a classic moment.

09:36Are you serious?

09:37What's going on, sexy eyes?

09:39This was my Skims ad.

09:40Me and Kim, we talked about doing something.

09:43I wanted her to support coming home,

09:46which is why I have the peach in my hand.

09:47It was a grand moment.

09:49The moment of all moments, right?

09:51Mm, the Super Bowl.

09:52I found out that I was gonna be

09:53at a Super Bowl halftime show by Jay-Z.

09:55He asked me, are you ready for the major moment?

09:59I'm like, what you talking about, bro?

10:01He's like, are you ready for your Michael moment?

10:03I was like, the Super Bowl?

10:05Hell yeah.

10:06What was really cool about this moment?

10:08I never get a chance to tell people this, right?

10:09So me and Jeremy Haynes, my stylist,

10:13we designed the entire collective

10:17of skating culture in this moment.

10:19I got a chance to offer something to the world.

10:22We lost Virgil.

10:24And being able to work with Off-White,

10:26it was me being able to have a little bit of him

10:30and his creation and his house with me.

10:32And we came up with an incredible moment

10:34that was really the crescendo of a lot of hard work

10:37in Las Vegas playing the Super Bowl.

10:39I literally had to slither my body into it

10:42within less than 15 seconds.

10:44And I got on stage in time.

10:46Being able to skate in this outfit,

10:48being able to have comfortability and flexibility

10:52in the garment is majorly important.

10:54If you go back and you do a real forensic

10:57of all of the things that I did,

10:59there are tributes everywhere.

11:02I wanted to have these athletic gloves.

11:05You know, Mike always just does

11:06or just did like a glitter-filled glove.

11:09I had both and then I took one off.

11:11That was a moment to like, you see the jewelry here.

11:14I got married the night of the Super Bowl.

11:16After having one of the most remarkable moments in my life,

11:20in my performance history and career,

11:22I did the next best thing and that's to marry my best friend.

11:25Elvis married us.

11:26We got married in a drive-thru in Las Vegas

11:30and Elvis and our kids, they kind of officiated us.

11:33I think this year was probably the year

11:38of the white suit for me,

11:39going all the way back to the Vanity Fair party.

11:42This amazing ensemble, Valentino, was really, really great.

11:48Once again, chest out.

11:51I really enjoyed that night.

11:54All right, here we go.

11:55So the dress code was the Garden of Time.

11:57I started thinking about this idea,

11:59the fact that everybody would come as like fairies

12:02and some people would come with flowers

12:04and all of these things.

12:04And I was like, you know what?

12:05I'm gonna take the villain role.

12:07You know, Alexander McQueen,

12:08always a designer that I love wearing.

12:11As you know, I wear tons of Alexander McQueen suits.

12:13This is a one-on-one cape.

12:14I wanted, you know, to have a little drama

12:16and I did these laminated roses.

12:18I really wanted you to get the fact

12:19that I was playing the villain that night.

12:22When I look back at the history of BET

12:26and the fact that I was there

12:27for the very first award ceremony,

12:29I stood front row and watched James Brown

12:33be presented his Lifetime Achievement Award

12:35by Michael Jackson.

12:36To have that same feeling and now be on the stage,

12:39I have a lot to be thankful for.

12:44Forever is now, live and love, Usher.

12:48This has been my life in looks.

12:50It has been an amazing time to do this.

12:52I look to do more.

12:54See you next time.

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