All clothing by Louis Vuitton. Shoes by Gianvito Rossi. Earrings by Efva Attling. Diamond earrings by Ana Khouri. All other jewelry, Marley’s own.
- By
- Gautam Balasundar
- Photography by
- Mario Sorrenti
Styling by George Cortina at Exposure NY. Hair by Recine for Rodin. Makeup by Frank B at The Wall Group using Jurlique. Manicures by Martha Fekete at Bryan Bantry Agency using Zoya Nail Polish. Photographer’s assistants: So Yoshimura and Kotaro Kawashima. Stylist’s assistants: Steven La Fuente, Georgie Wright, and Anatolli Smith. Hairstylist’s assistant: Kabuto Okuzawa. Makeup artist’s assistants: Mariko Arai and Yuko Kawashima. Lighting by Lars Beaulieu. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle. Set designer’s assistant: Ryan Stenger. Digital technicians: Kotaro Kawashima and Chad Meyer. Casting by The Last Universe. Production by Katie Fash and Steve Sutton. Printing by Arc Lab Ltd.
NEW YORK BY THE LAST MAGAZINE: SELAH MARLEY MANIFESTS A CAREER AS AN AVANT-R&B MUSICIAN
“I always love the abstract nature of life, nonlinear,” says Selah Marley. “Things just pop up and sometimes you don’t even have a reason why.” These are the words of someone embracing uncertainty, which is precisely what the nineteen-year-old is doing through her nascent music career. Not long after she dropped out of NYU last year to pursue music, her début avant-R&B single “Breathe,” which she started working on while still enrolled, began to circulate online, earning her attention from magazines and giving her a new platform. But for her, the focus is confronting the ubiquitous challenges of the creative process and managing a career that has no clear path. “One of the biggest parts of artistry for me is manifestation, because when you visualize it, it’s already finished,” she says. “What you have to do is all the little bits and pieces, and that’s what’s scary. Having to start from zero for something that you already see at one hundred is really intimidating. Right now, the hardest part to me is committing to what I want to manifest right now.”
On the surface, Marley, the daughter of Lauryn Hill and Rohan Marley, son of Bob, is comfortable and con dent, whether in the studio or in front of a camera—which is where, as a groundbreaking petite model who has walked for Chanel and appeared in a Calvin Klein campaign, she is increasingly finding herself. Underneath, she grapples with the same questions that impose themselves on all artists, like how they want to relate to the world and how they want to be de ned (or, in her case, avoid definition altogether). “When I was younger, I was very much a loner,” she says. “Even now, it’s very minimal. I’m kind of understanding that this is just who I am. I think I’m just acknowledging this duality, this polarity between being completely by yourself and being around a million people, and finding the beauty in both.”
While those types of feelings will weigh on anyone adapting to an increasingly fast-paced world, Marley takes a fluid approach to life, where there’s still room for uncertainty. “Everyone is in a rush. It feels like we’re all about to die tomorrow,” she says. “It becomes forced creativity. You’re trying to force these things out of yourself, but the reality is they pop up so naturally, organically. They may not pop up for five months, but that’s what an artist does: the abstract.”
Pick up our tenth-anniversary issue to see the entire portfolio of notable New Yorkers photographed by Mario Sorrenti and styled by George Cortina here.
- By
- Gautam Balasundar
- Photography by
- Mario Sorrenti
Styling by George Cortina at Exposure NY. Hair by Recine for Rodin. Makeup by Frank B at The Wall Group using Jurlique. Manicures by Martha Fekete at Bryan Bantry Agency using Zoya Nail Polish. Photographer’s assistants: So Yoshimura and Kotaro Kawashima. Stylist’s assistants: Steven La Fuente, Georgie Wright, and Anatolli Smith. Hairstylist’s assistant: Kabuto Okuzawa. Makeup artist’s assistants: Mariko Arai and Yuko Kawashima. Lighting by Lars Beaulieu. Set design by Philipp Haemmerle. Set designer’s assistant: Ryan Stenger. Digital technicians: Kotaro Kawashima and Chad Meyer. Casting by The Last Universe. Production by Katie Fash and Steve Sutton. Printing by Arc Lab Ltd.
