Continuing his documentation of some of the world’s most interesting subjects, Hedi Slimane, Photographer, Creative Director of CELINE, and longtime VMAN contributor, set his sights this time around on Gus Dapperton. Even if you haven’t heard of the bedroom-pop maven just yet, CELINE is making sure you take sharp notice as the French fashion house tapped the New York native to join Slimane’s longstanding series and champion the arrival of the new “Cosmic Cruiser” summer menswear collection. With a lineup of covetable hoodies, ultra baggy pants, and lavishly embellished outerwear that fuses alt-grunge sleaze and high fashion aesthetics for a new generation of rebels, the musician who has amassed nearly 2 million monthly listeners and just recently completed a tour to accompany his second studio album Orca brought his technicolor bowl cut to the desert landscapes of Joshua Tree for a shoot that truly screams the new codes of CELINE.

VMAN’s Kevin Ponce caught up with the rising musician to talk about what it was like being included in the series, what style direction he’s feeling most this moment, and what it was like to tour. Discover the full interview with Gus, below:

VMAN: What was it like to be shot by Hedi Slimane for the series? Have you been to Joshua Tree before?

Gus Dapperton: I was super honored to do it and to be asked to go do it. He’s a legend and I’m a huge fan. So it was a really great opportunity and I’m really hyped with how the photos came out. I’ve never been to Joshua Tree before. It was really cool. I haven’t been to the desert that much before in general, so I was definitely a new terrain I got to experience and I definitely would want to go back.

VM: What were some personal references that you wanted to keep and have reflected in the images?

GD: ​Well, to be honest, I really wanted to wear the Celine clothes and be styled however they wanted me to, but they had liked my hair and, and my jewelry before I went out and they were wondering what my hair was gonna look like. So I decided to diet like a dark red before I went out and also got to bring one of my guitars to use in the shoot to keep some of my personal style in there.

VM: Out of all the pieces, which did you like the best?

GD: I liked a lot of the jeans. I liked that there was a lot of denim in this collection and there was some really long baggy jeans, one with a hole in the knee. That was probably my favorite piece from the shoot.

VM: How do you define your style? What are you liking about the landscape of fashion right now?

GD: I don’t know how I would defy my style. I definitely think that I am fashionable somewhat, but I’m not super in the know in the fashion world. I wear a lot of thrifted clothes and a lot of local small brands. And then also I do like some designer clothes as well, so it’s kind of a mix of everything. I go through phases of color palettes that I like to use. I’ve been more into like earth these days, so I’m not really sure how to define it.  I think fashion, similarly to music, is always progressing and I think there are a lot of new up and coming designers on the way up. So yeah, I like I’m just liking the progression of fashion right now.

VM: What is it about the world of CELINE that excites you?

GD: I feel like the clothes of this collection were very, very rockstar que, which is obviously kind of what I like to dress like sometimes. I like how their clothes kind of are centered around that. There’s a lot of dynamics between like the way things fit. I like how things will be either very skinny or very baggy and oversized. And I like the dynamic between that. But yeah, I like this grungy sort of rockstar energy that they bring

VM: Coming off of the release of Orca, what can we expect from you this year?

GD: Hopefully you can expect a new album. I’m working on it right now. I can’t tell you that much about it, but I hope that some of it will start coming out later this spring or early summer and I’m really excited to show to you.

VM: How has your musical artistry grown in the last few years?

GD: I think that the subject matter of my music has become a bit more serious. And I think in general, I’ve matured and kind of grown in terms of understanding like balances in my life. So I think my art is still always what it used to be, which is just different and genre bending and doing different things for each project. But I think it’s become a bit more serious us in a way. I hope that’s a good thing.

VM: Since you’ve just been on tour this past fall, do you have a favorite track that you loved playing for your fans?

GD: I really loved playing the song “Palms” because my guitarist Sarah does a really sick guitar solo at the end. So I love playing that song and I could just sit back and watch her do that part. I also love playing “Medicine” because I think it really hits live.

VM: Who are some artists that you’re vibing with right now?

GD: I constantly listen to a lot of my friend’s music. So the artist Spill Tab, I, I always listen to quite a lot. They’re a good friend of mine, the artist Spencer. There was this new album that came out by Dejan. That’s really good called I think it’s called “Absolutely” and there was a new Corbin album that came out that I really liked.