Director: Kynza Kendall-JonesDirector Of Photography: Jomar O'MeallyEditor: Tajah SmithProducer: Rashida JosiahCreative Production Coordinator: Anisa KennarCamera Operator: Bradley PandaGaffer: John BesagniSpark: Kieran BrownAudio: Jermaine MoneroRunner: Kate RachoProduction Coordinators: Ava Kashar, Tanía Jones, Ericka Gourgues-LutranProduction Manager: David Alvarez PazSenior Production Manager: Alexandra Dawson HerrenLine Producer: Natasha Soto-AlborsAssistant Editor: Justin SymondsPost Production Coordinator: Holly FrewSupervising Editor: Kameron KeyPost Production Supervisor: Alexa DeutschDirector, Post Production: Nicholas AscanioAssociate Talent Manager: Phoebe DishnerDirector, Content Production: Rahel GebreyesSenior Director, Digital Video: Romy van den BroekeSenior Director, Programming: Linda GittlesonVP, Video Programming: Thespena Guatieri
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Time until I see you sugar, you know who you are, so many shows wherever I go I'm
00:08gonna keep on looking. I was just playing. See you guys, did you leave me in the
00:14room with the clothes? I'm gonna try everything on.
00:17Hershey, baby. Hello ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the wonderful world of you. I'm your usher for this evening's Marquise.
00:33Sorry. We're never gonna get this done. We're never gonna drop an octave down for Marquise though.
00:40So we're gonna get into alter egos and tons of other things, motivation around
00:46the madness of making past, present, future. The two are gonna have some fittings
00:51today. We're gonna have conversations about fashion. Two incredible editors,
00:54stylists, Jan, Michael, Kwame, and Joshua Simmons.
01:02We were out shopping the other day and we were like looking at references. We had
01:05pulled up an album cover and like Jan zooms in and she goes, are these goggles
01:09Prada? And we would like to ask you, were they Prada? Yeah, of course they were Prada.
01:14We were trying to figure out like the thing to be known for. Like, you know,
01:17every artist has one thing that other people can admire. For Michael Jackson, it
01:21was a glove. For some people, it was a pair of glasses. It could have been a jacket. I
01:25wasn't raised, you know, around top designers. I'm from Chattanooga, Tennessee. So, you
01:30know, we were kind of taking bits and pieces from what we saw on television. When I got
01:34the opportunity to go to the table, as I didn't really have a budget, it's like, I like
01:38those glasses. I like those goggles.
01:42Yashua and I are both from New York. That album cover was a cultural moment for New
01:48Yorkers. I think you might have gotten it from New Yorkers. Yeah. I'm not sure if it's
01:52chicken egg or egg chicken. Chicken. Okay. Goggles on top of our Scully's. Scully's or
01:57beanies. That's it. Scully's. You said it. Believe it or not, we called it toboggans.
02:01Never heard of that. We called it toboggans. The first time I was ever introduced to fashion
02:10was Versace. This was an opportunity for me to say, all right, I not only understand
02:16fashion, but I'm reaching to try and have some identity. As it relates to the fashion,
02:26I want to know how were you guys able to really tell the story and what was the approach?
02:30I'm very decisive. I'm like, boom, boom, boom. And Yashua challenges me a lot to think a
02:37little bit deeper and further. I think it was really important for us as a practice,
02:42you know, to really marry costume and fashion and thinking about what does that look like
02:47on stage. That's a balance, you know.
02:52It was extremely important to Yashua and I to work with like POC designers. We have designers
02:58from China, Europe, New York, all over the globe and I think that is also past, present,
03:04and future to the T. A lot of the designers that we decided to work with, it wasn't just
03:10only because they were a minority, because they were great at what they do, actually could supply
03:15what's needed for the conversation that has to happen outside of what I do theatrically as a performer.
03:20I guess I'm the most rigid about the story. Like, no, no, no, this is a moment and this jacket is kind of explaining the purpose and point of it.
03:36There's a bit of fantasy that happens here. You know, I think that we need to push the limit a little bit more.
03:41I edit them. They're the editors, but I'm kind of like editing and moving things around and challenging, trying to do things that haven't been done on stage.
03:50Which is also a good conversation because it is his baby. It's like his brainchild.
03:5530, it's a 30 year career, man. No, of course. So, you know, he's true to that, but we're like, we'll push to and be like, maybe this is a new way to imagine it, but the nuance is still there.
04:06I'm like, you don't want to be an alien?
04:08Um.
04:10Alien.
04:12And they'll push me and push me. No, no, no. And so I'll put it on. I'm like, okay. Yeah. This works.
04:18When we're trying on something in our fittings, how do you know it's it?
04:25Like, when do you step into, like, the artist and not the dad and the husband?
04:30So the moment that I put on the outfit, I look at it like a skin. You know, video gaming is the way this kind of generation works, right?
04:37They're skins in Call of Duty that you put on, right? I look at it in a similar manner.
04:43It's the curious kid who was running through my grandparents' home and grabbing all of the things that I saw.
04:48And my grandma was like, why do you have this fur coat on? Because I actually think it's cool, but it's dragging the floor.
04:53Like, I was always searching. I was like looking for this definition with the access that I had. Same way, putting on this, this armor, you know, just gives me a little bit of my superpower.
05:05Yeah.
05:06I have a question.
05:07Yep.
05:08What's the name of your alter ego?
05:10Earthship, baby.
05:12Make every minute worth it, baby.
05:14This for Earthship, baby.
05:15Earthship, baby.
05:16Earthship, baby.
05:17Earthship, baby.
05:18You know what's funny?
05:19I have a couple.
05:20Jude Motzkowicz is a guy who I play sometimes.
05:23Sorry.
05:24Who's he?
05:25This is a guy like you right now.
05:27Oh.
05:28Oh.
05:29Right?
05:30Alright.
05:31There's this guy, Marquis.
05:32He's about two octaves down.
05:33Oh.
05:34Yeah.
05:35I'm just Josh.
05:43What's your favorite look?
05:44Wait, don't ask me first.
05:45I literally don't know.
05:46My favorite look is custom Louis de Javier pants I was so obsessed with.
05:53From day one, by the way.
05:54From day one.
05:55Yeah.
05:56I had him do two in a different colorway and we're going to see it here with you guys
06:02for the first time, which is actually really exciting.
06:04What's your favorite look?
06:05Ralph made these like couture hand done crystal and sequin denim jeans that they've never ever
06:15ever done or shown for a guy before.
06:18And then they made this like black faux fur coat that goes on top of it.
06:21It's just kind of like sexy and easy and feels very rock and roll.
06:25What's your favorite look?
06:26David Coma.
06:27Everything that we've tried on has been interesting.
06:36So, oh no, he's really done his homework.
06:40And there's a lot of nostalgia here for me, storytelling, but also to something that elevates.
06:46So when I look at everything that was brought, it kind of represents past, present, future.
06:51I think it's interesting what our favorite looks are.
06:54I think it says a lot about us.
06:56That's right.
06:58I like the established.
06:59She's like the new kids.
07:00And what am I?
07:01I'm the futuristic alien for sure.
07:03You are.
07:04A little bit of everything in the best way.
07:06Yeah.
07:07You're the culmination of it all.
07:08Truly.
07:09And that's why it was fun to do this.
07:10We are designed by our curiosity and our ability to grow in uncomfortable spaces.
07:21Sure as my name is Usher, and I didn't have a definition for it when I received it, I built
07:27my life the same way before I even decided that this would be my trade.
07:30This would be what I, you know, sold out to and just said, I'm going to give everything
07:35that I possibly can to this artist that I have made up in my mind.
07:39I want to be captivating.
07:40A fantasy.
07:41Uncomparable.
07:42Push the envelope.
07:43Grand.
07:44I want people to remember what I did, you know?
07:48Let's get into my favorite part.
07:50Let's try some clothes on.
07:51Are fittings your favorite part?
07:52No driving you crazy is my favorite part.
07:59Okay.
08:00Yes.
08:01Bring in the stuff.
08:02Kevin, you can join us.
08:03Thanks for joining.
08:04Right.
08:05Like, where are you?
08:06This is Robert's and he's here.
08:09This is his jacket.
08:11We just got it.
08:12Hey.
08:13Hi.
08:14Hi.
08:15I am drunk.
08:16I know.
08:17I can't wait to be here.
08:18We are very excited.
08:19We are very excited.
08:20It's so good that you're here.
08:22Good to see you.
08:23Good to have you here.
08:24Good to see you.
08:25Good to see you too.
08:26Thank you so much.
08:27I think this is actually the first custom we've made out of that design.
08:29So the first, very special.
08:30Yeah.
08:31Wow.
08:32So you're debuting it on stage.
08:33There you go.
08:34In London.
08:35Uh-huh.
08:36We love that, don't we?
08:37Like, it's my handwriting as well.
08:38Right?
08:39Yeah.
08:40That's okay.
08:43Okay.
08:44And then, of course, the master of ceremony.
08:51Gorgeous.
08:52I love that we're looking, like, at the galaxy.
08:56That's literally it.
08:57I think it's, uh, 48,000 crystals that we've used.
09:0148,000 crystals?
09:02Yeah, 48,000 crystals.
09:03And there's more than, like, I think 50,000 sequences as well.
09:08Wow.
09:09I'm bringing the entire galaxy with me.
09:11Yes.
09:15Oh, no, it moves a lot faster, right?
09:17Change is a whole other professional expertise.
09:19That's a whole other career choice.
09:21It's a professional expertise.
09:23You want the hardest job?
09:24We don't know how to do that.
09:25That's the hardest job.
09:26They are.
09:27That job is harder than what I do on stage.
09:28Yeah, they're engineers.
09:30This goes back to the days of wearing the toboggan or either skull cap.
09:38How are you?
09:39How are you?
09:40Good.
09:41Very good.
09:42Okay.
09:43And we do have the hemness a bit, too.
09:44Yeah, we want this a little shorter.
09:45I just never thought someone would just go for it.
09:48Absolutely.
09:49That was something even more personal.
09:52I love.
09:53This is so good.
09:54So good.
09:55Ha!
09:56Curveball.
09:57I think it needs, like, a zipper.
09:59What if it's a zip and it just falls down?
10:00Can we say that?
10:01It needs, like, a quick change element so that...
10:04It could come up now.
10:05It comes down?
10:06Yeah.
10:07Not taken up.
10:08Down.
10:09Before you go, let me give you one last look at the full...
10:13There we go.
10:16Yeah, the stats are gonna be cool.
10:18I love the book, actually.
10:19All the details, everything is there.
10:21Amazing.
10:22You killed it.
10:24Well, thank you so much for coming by.
10:26We just need to spend a little time figuring out the...
10:28Uh, the headpiece.
10:29I do think that that's a good idea to stack.
10:31You're just gonna...
10:32Yeah.
10:33That's heavy, though.
10:34Hey!
10:35Oh!
10:36What's going on?
10:37Okay.
10:38Pleasure, pleasure.
10:39Hello.
10:40How you doing?
10:42I'm so excited to be here.
10:44What in the world is in that bag?
10:46Gosh.
10:48Yeah.
10:49And then it comes with the belt on top, the waist belt and the gloves.
10:54Fabulous.
10:55This goes on top.
10:57Welcome to quick change.
10:58This is quick change.
10:59This is the first time we're fitting this as well, so...
11:01There we go.
11:02Okay.
11:03Okay.
11:04So, how many belts are...
11:05Oh, look.
11:06Oh, my God.
11:07It's 11 on each leg.
11:09Yeah.
11:10And then I think from there up is like 10.
11:12You don't come to bed with this one.
11:16You got some work to do to get to it, baby.
11:19Exactly.
11:22I would love to see a simplified version where you see more.
11:25Oh, he'll blind something here.
11:26Yeah.
11:27Okay.
11:28This has been great.
11:29Thank you so much.
11:30I can't wait to see you dancing there.
11:33See you soon.
11:34Good luck with everything.
11:39No lie.
11:40Buckle up.
11:43It's a wild ride.
11:45Are you taking the piss?
11:46I'm not.
11:47I'm Sam's.
11:48It's perfect.
11:51I'll see you guys at the show.
11:54Peace.