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Diplo Wants You to be a Space Cowboy
Diplo wearing Marni, Sies Marjan, and his own boots, for our March 2020 issue.
Diplo is constantly reinventing himself. After his turn as Major Lazer and his latest country album, he has released MMXX, his first ever ambient album, meant to raise awareness for mental health. While he has cycled through sounds and styles, the album is a return to the same chill sound of his debut Florida. From songs to sunglasses, and even reviewing bootcut pants, Diplo always finds a way to innovate. In his latest eyewear collaboration, the Grammy-winning artist has teamed up with Gentle Monster for a collection fittingly titled “Space Cowboy.” Below, Diplo tells us what it means to embody a space cowboy.
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On his first pair of sunglasses he owned: Always the cheap plastic fake Ray-Bans from the local gas station. They came in many colors over the years.
On what it means to be a Space Cowboy: Be a cowboy … but has cowboy been done everywhere already? Not in space. Let’s move forward.
On the inspiration behind two of his designs, The Lone Wolf & The Cub: I’m a big fan of aviators and clip-on glasses. The past few years I’ve been experimenting with colored lenses a lot, and I like the idea of the loyal companion of a cowboy in folk stories—the wolf and his cub.
On his favorite cowboys: Waylon Jennings for the style, Ennio Morricone for the soundtrack, Clint Eastwood for the attitude, Chuck Norris for the movement, Willie Nelson for the poems, Tim McGraw for “Indian Outlaw.”
On space: It’s got a lot of opportunities.
On what people should be listening to when wearing each of the sunglass styles: Tumbleweeds in space. Or the sound of the ocean, but inside a submarine with Lil Uzi Vert playing on the loudspeaker in the mess hall.
