MIXING WITH THE MARTINEZ
There arefewDJsw ho ha vetrulymanagedto integrate intoboththemu sic and fashion worlds. But Bronx-born siblings Steven and Chr is Martinez, aka The Martinez Brothers, are a shape-shifting phenomenon unto themselv es.
The duo, who signed to IMG Models in late 20 16, have been hailed as ‘crown princes’ of electronic music, and have graced the inter national party scene for over 10 years. And while successfully cementing themselves on the global fashion circuit, they haven’t lost an ounce of cr edibility in the process.
The Martinez Brothers are equally at home pla ying to an audience of 60,000 at the Las Vegas-based Electric Daisy Car nival as they are performing at Donatella Versace’s super-exclusive Met Gala after-par ty
(as they did earlier this y ear).
Thanks to their collabs with top brands such as F endi,Versace, Cavalli and Givenchy, the brothers’ expansion into the f ashion world was practically inevitable. Their first foray occurred after a chance meeting with Riccar do Tisci at Ibiza’s iconic DC10 mega nightclub, where the duo have a longstanding residency. “He happened to be at the club while w e were spinning. By coincidence we were wearing Givenchy that day, and when we met we just hit it off ,” say the brothers. Their encounter with Tisci proved to be anything but a hazy dance-floor chat. True to his word, the Italian fashion designer called them a fe w days later and invited them to meet him at Givenchy’s Paris HQ to discuss working together. “We ended up collaborating with him and the Givenchy shows for almost two years. It was an incredible experience. Notonly di ditg iv eusthechanc et oworkwiththe fashion world, but also to exper iment and challenge our selves musically by coming up with different types of soundsfore ach show. Itwasreally special .”
Despite their global acclaim, myriad of celebr ity fans and f ashion-world co-signs, the brothers have not lost sight of ho w far they’ve come. Born and raised in the Bronx – which is still Ne w York’s most impoverished borough – the duo are instinctively humbled by everything that’s unfolded before them. Growing up with what the y describe as a “sheltered lifestyle”, the brothers thank their parents for dr iving home their blessings. “Our mother and f ather didn’t have it easy g rowing up,” they explain, “so they made sure we didn’t go through some of the same things the y did. But no matter what, when you’re in the Bronx, there’s no escaping the grime of it, which was always all around us.”
Music was an integ ral part of their upbr inging and essentially their escape route. Thanks to their f ather’s insistence on them pla ying in the local church band, as well as introducing them to the world of soul, funk and jazz, the brothers began exper imenting with music from an early age. “Our dad was always the rebellious one. He showed us all types of m usic. We really absorbed all of it and car ried it into being in bands and then DJing dur ing our early teens.”
The Bronx also taught the boys how to dress. Having witnessed the borough thrive in the hip-hop heyday of the early ’9 0s, the brothers attribute their inclination for f ashion to the scene of those y ears: “Being from the Bronxan dc omingfromthathi p-h op background, itwasall ab out beingfresh and trying to look as stylish as y ou could,” they say. But they also point out that the mar riage of music and f ashion is anything but new. “The two things have always come hand in hand, and that’s definitely tr ue now more than ever. I remember even back in the ’9 0s, brands would sometimes have live DJs accompanying their r unways, and we used to watch some of those shows just to listen to the m usic.”
De s cri bingtheirsty le as“am ix ofEur op eanswagfrombig fashion houses and more obscure brands”, Chris and Steven draw much of their inspiration from their constant travelling and DJing. “We combine a lot of differ ent styles and just kind of make our own looks. Travelling all these years has really influenced our style. We always mix the hip-hop side of things, whether it’s our Jordans or our caps.”
As with most people fr om the Bronx, even if they spend their time headlining some of the most exclusi ve parties in the world, the brothers can’t help recognising the importance of their upbr inging in getting them wher e they are today. “It’s made us really dr iven, even though there’s no way we wanted to stay there for the rest of our li ves. We always str ived to be better than what was going on around us.” Ultimately, however, the humble duo still hasn’t quite adjusted to being in the fashion spotlight. “It’s really weird because we don’t see our selves as models or influencer s. We’re just really fortunate and blessed to have these opportunities. It’s amazing to say the least.”