The first ever male artist to work with YSL Beauty, Loyle Carner captures the essence of what this legendary brand is all about today – a modern twist on a classic. Like the evolution of the institution of YSL Beauty, he’s forward-thinking, bold, and exactly what Generation Y needs.
“I’m representing. I’m a millennial I guess,” Carner told NME. “We’re in a good place. People have more to talk about – we have more of a political voice, it’s more positive, we look after each other. Really, I’m just trying to say that being 21 is difficult.”
But in Carner, you have the artist to tackle these difficulties head-on. He’s a rapper, but meets his subjects with the voice that today needs. He’s as sensitive and eloquent as he is fearless. Every bit the family man, while also streetwise and not afraid to tackle the big issues.
That’s why he’s struck a chord with a generation like no one else else. That’s why he’s barraged with plaudits. That’s why he’s the face of YSL Beauty’s new male fragrance, Y. He’s the voice for Generation Y – the age that will shape the century ahead at a time when boundaries are forever shifting and everything needs to be questioned.
It’s the challenge that drives Carner, his peers, and those who’ll follow to tread their own path. Asked if he thinks the current state of political unrest and division might inspire more young people to turn to music, Carner replied: “I hope so, maybe just creative arts in general. If you’re trying to crush something into nothing, then that’s where flowers grow out of concrete. Hopefully that’s what will happen.”
“The more people push us one way, we’re going to go the other way to create. That’s the only reason I create and I hope that’s the only reason that other people create – other than to make money…and take my mum on holiday.”
Far more than the man of the hour but also the challenging years that lay ahead, Carner is the spokesman that we need – not that he sees himself as any kind of pioneer.
When asked about his music and becoming the new face of Y, he echoed the ethos of YSL Beauty: “I don’t like doing things that have been done.”
He hasn’t, but this is hopefully a sign of things to come.
