Skepta has put out an open casting call for models to feature in his next MAINS fashion runway show.
In a tweet published yesterday (May 31), the grime MC – real name Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. – revealed that his clothing line MAINS is set for a new runway show in September, and he’s looking for models to feature there.
“All ethnicities, genders, and body types are welcome,” he writes, before detailing instructions for applicants: “Please send up to date polaroids (headshots & full length body), height, body measurements, age and location to; casting@mainslondon.com”
The upcoming event will mark a year after his clothing line held its debut showing at London Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024.
OPEN CASTING CALL:
We are looking for models to walk our next MAINS runway show this September 2024.
All ethnicities, genders, and body types are welcome
To apply please send up to date polaroids (headshots & full length body), height, body measurements, age and location to;… pic.twitter.com/i0VjR86WOC
— Big Smoke – (@Skepta) May 31, 2024
MAINS was first launched by Skepta in 2017 before putting it on hold two years later due to an “amicable” split he had with his partner manufacturer at the time, per Vogue. MAINS was then revived in 2022.
Skepta is currently readying the release of album ‘Knife and Fork’, which will end a five-year wait for fans since 2019’s ‘Ignorance is Bliss’. However, his upcoming sixth album has yet to receive a release date.
On his hiatus, Skepta wrote to fans in January: “I’ve seen the messages, tweets and Tik Toks, I’m truly grateful that my music is still resonating with the world, even in my absence.”
Since then, a single titled ‘Gas Me Up (Diligent)’ was released as a preview of ‘Knife and Fork’. However, the single artwork – which depicts a group of men with shaved heads and in matching uniforms – drew criticism from the public, who allege its depiction shares alarming similarities with WWII Holocaust prisoners.
In a social media statement, Skepta explained that, while acknowledging the cover had “been taken offensively by many”, the interpretation linked to WW2 “was definitely not our plan”.
The MC then confirmed that he had “removed” the artwork and vowed to “be more mindful going forward”. He explained that the album is about his parents’ journey into the UK in the 1980s – a country that was rife with “skinhead” and “football culture”.
Earlier this year, Skepta unveiled the short film Tribal Mark, his filmmaking debut as co-director and lead actor. Since its release, Skepta has expressed plans to NME of following it up with a full-length feature that continues its story.
“It’s like the Black James Bond thing that everyone was trying to do,” Skepta tells NME. “We wanted to make something [where] after I’ve done the movie, I’m like, ‘OK, cool – it’s the franchise now.”
Next month, Skepta is set to headline the inaugural edition of Big Smoke, a one-day festival that will take place in Crystal Palace Park in south-east London on Saturday, July 6. Skepta himself will be performing, in his only announced show of 2024 so far. Find any remaining tickets here.