MADE IN ITALY, WORN IN THE UK

Who better to model Emporio Armani’s street-ready spring/summer 2018 collection than up-and-coming London rapper AJ Tracey

“Yeah, I saw the Northern Lights,” remembers a weary AJ Tracey, just off a flight from Lapland, which included an 11-hour layover in Helsinki. Now he’s in a studio in London’s Soho, a rail of soon-to-be-worn clothing to one side, a fat pink diamond chain in the shape of a heart hanging low on his chest; a simulacrum of the rapper lifestyle he’s looking to break into. “Just don’t call me a grime artist, please,” he says, politely… but firmly.

In the post-Stormzy landscape of British hip-hop-definitely-not-grime, AJ Tracey — real name Ché Wolton Moran (yes, after the revolutionary Guevara) — is, by all metrics, the next in line to hit big. Only a few years on from ditching a criminology degree at London Metropolitan University — “I did it to make my mum happy and stay off the streets” — the Ladbroke Grove-raised 24-year-old runs his own label, distributes his own music and is selling out shows in the UK and abroad, attracting gilded approval from A-lister stars like Drake and A$AP Rocky.

Self-styled as, “weirdly British; very cultured. Versatile and volatile,” Tracey’s lyrics, laden with braggadocio and clever wordplay, reveal a London (and lifestyle) heavy on danger and pathos. His teeth and aesthetic were cut on pirate radio and the mania of live shows. “I used to send out emails to producers to collaborate and they’d give me nothing, not even a response,” he says of his early days. “As soon as

I started popping off, out they came! But it’s too late now, they can fuck off.”

A diehard Tottenham Hotspur supporter — “the only place I feel totally normal” — Tracey is back in time to watch February’s north London derby against Arsenal, before flying out to Trinidad and Tobago, his father’s birthplace, with “more work, more singles and more success” in the pipeline for 2018. But first, some sleep, maybe?

“Not even,” he says, limbs unfolding from a studio stool, pink chain readjusted. “I’ve got things to do first, man. I’m busy.”

Navy/silver heronembroidered jacket, £630; white cotton T-shirt, £90, both by Emporio Armani

Blue/red jacquard floral viscose-blend jacket, £810; navy jacquard wool trousers, £320, both by Emporio Armani. White leather trainers, £260, by Church’s. White cotton socks, £13, by Nike

Navy jacquard wool-blend double-breasted suit, £1,300; navy jacquard wool-blend culottes, £540; black patent leather fringed shoes, £560, all by Emporio Armani. Black cotton socks, £13, by Nike

Navy jacquard wool jacket, £630; white cotton T-shirt, £90; navy jacquard wool trousers, £320, all by Emporio Armani. White leather trainers, £260, by Church’s. White cotton socks, £13, by Nike. Steel 36mm Datejust watch on steel/yellow gold strap,...