Page 34 - Sharp November 2024

GOLD RUSH
FOR RABANNE, MUSICIAN MOSES SUMNEY TALKS MILLION GOLD, MUSIC, AND STYLE
By Cormac Newman
HOW COULD AN ABSTRACT CONCEPT — CONFIDENCE,
masculinity, or energy, for instance — be expressed without words? For the provocative perfumers at Rabanne, each bottle holds an answer. The latest release, Rabanne Million Gold, is an infectious eau de parfum that sizzles with cedar and sandalwood, capturing the idea of modern masculinity in a sleek, shiny gold case. With singer-songwriter Moses Sumney on board as the male ambassador, the campaign amplifies the audacious appeal of 1 Million, the maison’s signature scent.
If 1 Million is the essence of empowerment, then Million Gold embodies pure, unfiltered, exuberance — a quality that Sumney has in spades. “I had a vision board of what I wanted to do when working in fashion,” says the 32-year-old. “Believe it or not, a Rabanne fragrance ad was very, very high up there. It’s a bit of a dream come true.”
To launch Million Gold, Rabanne pulled out all the stops; glitzy shots flaunt the new fragrance while Beyoncé’s “Pure/Honey” pulses in the background — a much-coveted stamp of approval from the Cowboy Carter chanteuse.
“When they told me on set about the plan to use ‘Pure/Honey,’ I was like, ‘Really?’ I didn’t believe it,” says Sumney. “Here’s the thing: Bey doesn’t say yes to a lot. You’re not just going to play her music. Even if you have the money. So, I am really grateful that she said yes, and I couldn’t be happier.”
Sumney is a bit of a Renaissance man himself. With numerous albums and EPs to his name — including this summer’s release, Sophcore — Sumney is best known as a singer-songwriter. His music has soundtracked a slew of projects, from Euphoria to Swan Song to Orange Is the New Black. Sumney has proven himself as an actor, too, in recent summertime slasher MaXXXine.
“In my work, I’m always trying to make less obvious choices, so that we can create opportunities for people who don’t come from fashion or music,” says the musician. “Or who come from backgrounds where opportunities are not as easily accessible. It’s important to do that in a way that doesn’t feel didactic but, rather, just feels loving and actually fun.” In these words, parallels between Sumney and Rabanne are clear. Like the ambassador, founder Paco Rabanne had a penchant for the underground and unexpected.
Four decades prior — long before 1 Million defined Rabanne — the name was associated with another, smaller number: 57. This
34 GUIDE • NOVEMBER 2024
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM
GUIDE