3 minute read
The Rise of Michael B Jordan
The Rise of Michael B Jordan
Words by Leah Shakallis
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Staying stylish, changing the universe and therapy sessions.
Coach kicked off 2019 by releasing its debut campaign starring Black Panther actor Michael B. Jordan, whom the label named as its first-ever global male ambassador last fall. Inspired by a “backstage” look at a faded carnival, the images shot by Craig McDean depict Jordan on a vintage car dressed in key pieces from the brand’s Spring 2019 menswear line.
Beginning in Spring 2019, Jordan’s partnership with Coach will include men’s advertising campaigns (for ready-towear, accessories and fragrance), special design projects with Stuart Vevers (Coach’s Creative Director), as well as philanthropic endeavours with the Coach Foundation. “I’m honoured to be joining the Coach family and have so much respect for Stuart Vevers’ vision,” Jordan noted in the press release. “I’m looking forward to jumping into the creative process and exploring fashion through a different lens.”
This sartorial union between Jordan and Coach makes perfect sense. The A-list actor has long been a fan of the luxury label and has often been seen wearing the brand’s signature designs on the red carpet and beyond. From the beginning, he said, he “had ideas of how to be involved and put my fingerprints on it. I don’t just put my name on something.”
Asked to describe his style, Jordan said, “As an actor, I’m always putting on somebody else’s shoes and becoming someone else.” But he admits to loving “a very pristine” tailored suit when appropriate and is “very comfortable with streetwear,” such as graphic T-shirts and denim jackets when he’s dressing down. “I like to dress for the occasion,” he said, “but I always have to be comfortable.”
He said he keeps his stylist busy as the roles he plays cause him to fluctuate in weight and size. So, his physique when playing the boxer Adonis Creed in “Creed 2” is quite different from that of Stevenson in “Just Mercy.” “My weight has an impact on what I wear,” he said.
After an Oscar-buzzed role in Marvel’s Black Panther, he’s now headlining Creed II, a sequel that’s over-performing at the box office.
The saga chronicles a boxing underdog with a champion name – Adonis Creed – who is fighting his way to recognition, independent of a legacy that seemed to die with his father. In the sequel, Adonis must face the son of the man who murdered him. The journey he takes resembles Jordan’s own struggle to legitimate leading man status in a traditionally restrictive industry for actors of colour. It’s no wonder that the actor plays the boxer so well. There’s also that name…
“Being named Michael Jordan – I think growing up playing sports and having a name like Michael Jordan, and I was extremely competitive, I used to get teased a lot,” he said. “But it made me want to strive for greatness and be able to compete at whatever I decided to do.”
“What I’m trying to do, and what I’m trying to represent and build, is universal,” he said in a Vanity Fair profile in October. “We live in the times where everything is based around race, and for me, it’s like, I get it, I understand. It just makes everything so loaded.”
“I grew up in a tough neighbourhood, there were lots of drugs, lots of gangs, lots of pitfalls wherever you stepped. I love Newark, but it was easy to get caught up in the wrong situation. You know, when you come from very humble beginnings, you always have that fear that everything could go away at any moment.”
Where is he now? Apparently, everywhere. He’s at the beginning of an extraordinary year that will see him campaigning for an Oscar for “Black Panther” — the Marvel movie has a real shot at multiple nominations, including Best Picture.
Jordan’s performance as the villain Erik Killmonger in Black Panther received widespread acclaim. The character was so compelling that it even inspired a viral hashtag, #KillmongerWasRight, after the movie’s release.
He poured so much of himself into the villain that the end of production was reportedly followed by a stint in therapy. “Once I got finished wrapping the movie, it took me some time to talk through how I was feeling and why I was feeling so sad and, like, a little bit depressed,” he shared on The Bill Simmons Podcast. Sessions with a therapist helped him move on just in time to prepare for his next project.
“I’m happy, man, but I can’t wait to start living for me, though, like really living,” he said. “Right now, I’m in grind mode, non-stop. But I can’t wait to really start feeding my soul, and just really start working on who I am on the inside. Because, to be honest, I have not done the best job at that so far. I think that’s why I’m working so hard, so I can hurry up and get to that part.”
