There were hints Shawn Mendes was coming to London. Old-school, pin-up style, pictures of the 24-year-old Canadian musician tearing off a rugby shirt have been splashed on black cabs and bus stops across town. In a screened-off corner of the Tommy Hilfiger Knightsbridge offices on Monday, I find him reclined on a cobalt blue chair, giggling away with the namesake American fashion designer.
Mendes is currently something of an enigma. He rose to fame young in 2013, with short singing clips on Vine, the video-sharing precursor of TikTok, before releasing international hits ‘Stitches’, ‘Treat You Better’, and, in 2019, ‘Senorita’, a joint single with his then girlfriend singer Camilla Cabello. But for almost two years there have been no new songs, and just a handful of public excursions saved for the most exclusive events — The Met Gala, The Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty and the Tommy Hilfiger fashion show in New York.
It is Hilfiger who has drawn him to the capital to promote their new joint collection, released last week, to the elation of hundreds of fans who surged to the Regent Street flagship to get a glimpse.
It is not hard to understand why people love Mendes — he has a boyish charm, perfect-cut jawline and the only eyes I have ever seen that really seem to twinkle. He offers a convincing poise of complete relaxation, but remains careful. With 71.6M Instagram followers, he knows when he does step out, the world is watching.
“It is a funny time for the height of celebrity obsession. It’s crazy,” he says, exhausted. “In the 70s and 80s, the photos you saw of celebrities were more scarce. Nowadays, everything is so volatile. Because there’s phones, there can be a photo or a video of you at any minute in the day, and it changes the perception of you. It can change everything,” he says. He has been subject to a number of viral TikToks — some more mocking than celebratory.
“If you pick your nose, and you’re wearing a weird shirt, the perception is that you wear weird shirts and pick your nose. The next day, you’re on a red carpet and in an amazing suit and, like, that’s that,” he says. “It’s really hot and cold. Understanding to not grasp onto either, and to just to kind of allow that flow to naturally happen, [is important]”.
You might assume someone who shot to stardom early would be at ease with the pop culture environment of the present. Instead, Mendes appears vulnerable. In July 2022, he cancelled his world tour after seven shows to prioritise his mental health, and discusses freely the nagging sense of fear that unpins being a mega-celeb.
Does he feel pressure to look good at all times? “I really do. It’s super stressful, honestly. Especially because I just moved to LA. I’m like, I’m gonna go to the gym, then have to think — what am I wearing to the gym?” he says. “I think that’s why I like to keep things simple. Because therefore it’s hard to mess up.”
Settling on his go-to uniform — nipped suits, tight vests and barely buttoned shirts aplenty — has been bumpy. “I’ve been famous since I was young, and it’s a funny thing to ask a 17-year-old to be stylish, because they’re 17 and they’re trying to figure out who they are,” he says. “There was a time where I refused to wear anything that wasn’t a flannel [shirt] and moccasins. It’s definitely gotten a lot a lot more fashionable.”
These learnings have been deployed in the creation of the Tommy x Shawn Classic Reborn capsule collection, which consists of the Varsity jackets, All-American rugby shirts, preppy navy tailoring and crisp white shirting of Ivy-style, 90s-lovers dreams. “Everything feels like it’s hugging you and comfortable. Like it’s falling very organically on your body,” he says.
The offering is split by gender, but the pair encourage the pieces to be worn by all. The campaign sees Mendes’ friend and music producer Mike Sabath wearing the cream logo crop top from the female line. “We put the crop on him and were like — hot. That’s it. Like, yes,” Mendes says. “He would look amazing in anything. I think it’s just a representation of what clothing is today, you know, that masculine-feminine thing.”
Of the garments themselves, Hilfiger elaborates: “It’s oversized, relaxed, and obviously sustainability is a big part of it. The individual items are classics, which everyone needs in their wardrobe. But they need them every few years in a new way.” A verifiable doyen of the industry, with more than four decades under his red, white and blue logo belt, Hilfiger knows what works. Namely, that top musicians will always influence style. “The most famous and talented musicians in the world were fashion icons. Michael Jackson. Madonna. Rihanna and Beyoncé, and the list goes on and on. Shawn has all those millions of people watching how he shows up: whether it’s a picture at The Met Ball or an ad campaign. They want to know what he’s wearing,” he says.
Hilfiger has idolised music greats since adolescence. “Even though I couldn’t perform or play, I wanted to look like a rock star. I convinced all of my school friends that they should also look like rock stars, and set up a shop when I was 18-years-old to sell them bell bottoms and fringe vests,” he says. Mendes is laughing. “That’s so good,” he says.
Did you have a rock star era growing up, I ask Mendes. With a wink and world-famous smile, he shoots back: “I’m in my rock star era. I am a rock star.”
