Influencer Marius Johnson sees nothing but opportunity for Boston fashion
About a year ago, Marius Johnson DM’d Newbury Street heritage retailer CONCEPTS in hopes of collaborating with the Cambridge-founded brand. They didn’t get back to him.
This January, at nearly 10,000 followers, he collaborated with the company on a post that pictured him styling Puma sneakers from the store three different ways.
“I don’t think I’m at any crazy spot right now,” said Johnson. “But I’m obviously growing and to work with CONCEPTS after a year of DM’ing them is just a testament to having a vision. I truly believe in where I’m going and it’s only a matter of time.”
By day, Johnson is an account manager for a marketing agency, but his true passion is working as a Boston-based fashion influencer with the handle @mariusjohnson_. He calls his social media presence “a part-time thing I’m working on making full time,” with the ambitious goal of reaching 50,000 followers on Instagram by the end of the year. (He’s at 11.5K at this writing.)
Since 2020, Johnson has been posting photos and videos to Instagram and TikTok that showcase both his slouchy, effortlessly cool streetwear looks and the streets of Boston. With the direction of his longtime photographer and collaborator, Levante Anderson, he has posed in front of the Downtown Crossing clown head installation that turned heads this January, Newbury Street’s Levain Bakery, and the Prudential Center. Even his posts without visible signage are recognizable as Boston.
Raised in Milton, 28-year-old Johnson said he grew up spending time in Boston any chance he got, and he’s adamant the city deserves recognition for something it’s not typically known for: its style.
He shared his thoughts on Boston’s underrated fashion scene, his experiences as an up-and-coming streetwear influencer, and fashion advice in an interview.
Q. You started posting outfit photos consistently around 2020. What made you get started?
A. I’ve always been into fashion. I had a clothing brand back in like 2017 when I was styling a lot of models, doing photo shoots. And then one day I was like, why not just start shooting it [myself ]?
Q. Where do you get your style inspiration?
A. Theophilus London [is] very underrated when it comes to fashion and style. Then I think of brands like 10.DEEP, which is a streetwear [brand]. And then artists like A$AP Rocky, Vic Mensa.
Q. What are your favorite brands?
A. Favorite brands right now? Supreme. I feel like I grew up on peak Supreme. And Tyler the Creator, Odd Future. Palace Skateboards. And some underground Boston brands. Brain Child [is] one of my favorite streetwear brands in Boston.
Q. A lot of people don’t really think of Boston as being a fashion city.
A. I mean, I get it. When I think [of ] Boston, I think of education. But there’s a lot of musicians coming out, specifically in the hip-hop space. There’s a lot of streetwear people coming up. I think it’s a growing melting pot. New York obviously [has] a huge fashion scene. We kind of get [overshadowed] by that. But I feel like Boston has a lot of sleeper people who are coming up. And I think the next few years are going to be big for us.
Q. Who are the Boston hip-hop artists and clothing companies you think of ?
A. I think of Cousin Stizz, who kind of led the way, or is leading the way, in the hip-hop scene. Van Buren [Records] out of Brockton. And then, fashion-wise, I can go on, but my boy Lucius [Firmin], he’s doing very, very well, and he’s kind of leading the way. For clothing brand[s], there’s Brain Child, there’s Around de way, Lucius has CRAV*.
Q. I noticed you leave sort of confessional entries under a lot of your posts. How did that start?
A. Social media is like the best when you’re storytelling. The beautiful thing is I can look back on [a] post from when I first started, and I can read that entry and see where I was at. I treat it sort of like a diary in some sense. Clothes are like a timestamp, right? You see an outfit you wore, you know where you wore that and when.
Q. Do you have any fashion advice? A. Start a mood board. I think that’s big; everybody has fashion inspirations and who they look up to. There’s nothing wrong with copying somebody at first to figure out what works for you or works for your body type. There’s also nothing wrong with buying things that aren’t as expensive to build up your wardrobe a bit. Invest in quality basics, I think that’s number one. It’s hard to have 100 statement pieces that don’t go together when you can have 10 statement pieces, 10 sets of basics, and have a hundred fits.
Q. What do you love about the Boston fashion scene?
A. There are people who are hungry and there’s a lot of opportunity. You look at New York, it’s oversaturated, you look at LA, it’s oversaturated. I feel like there’s a core group of people right now that have a huge opportunity to make Boston a place where fashion people want to come to.