Emerald backs the mood-boosting power of yellow - - Mixmag

Emerald backs the mood-boosting power of yellow

Rinse FM resident and M.I.A. tour DJ Emerald talks style

  • Interview: Jasmine Kent-Smith | Photography: SHERELLE THOMAS
  • 30 January 2019

One of the first times one of my best mates and I went raving together in the dubstep days, we found this emerald ring on the floor, which I’m wearing now. She took it to a pawn shop to be valued, and it’s solid silver and real emerald. It was meant to be, if you ask me. It’s just beautiful. By the way, we did hand it in but nobody came to collect it!

Yellow is proven to elevate your mood and make you feel better. If you think about it, if you meet someone and you’re like, ‘Hey! I really like your shirt’ because it’s such a bright colour, it just changes that interaction completely.

I’ve always loved Hilary Banks and Ashley Banks from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. I always try and be a hybrid of their two styles with my own flavour mixed into it.

I’m not massively loyal to brands, but I do love Nike Air Force 1s. I’m wearing a box-fresh pair here. I’ve got another pair just like them, but they’re battered! I thought I should probably have a spare pair for occasions like this.

A lot of my mates are very creative and make clothes, so that’s generally where I tend to look first. This two-piece is by a friend of mine; her brand is called Out Of The Ordinary. I really like to support my friends who make stuff.

How I dress definitely depends on my mood. Today, I got up and the sun was out and so I’m dressed like a bloody sunflower! If I’m in a bad mood, though, I’ll always wear black.

I’m usually a T-shirt and trousers girl but I’m trying to become a bit more feminine.I like crop tops like the one I’m wearing today.

I ride my bike everywhere so I’ve got to be comfortable. I usually like tapered trousers because they don’t get caught on your bike pedals, and they are my favourite shape of trousers anyway so that’s a bonus. I’m usually wearing a bum bag across my body, which is perfect when you’re cycling everywhere.

The coat I’m wearing is a gift from a fashion gig I did recently for Marques’ Almeida. I usually can’t afford high fashion stuff, but sometimes I’m lucky enough to get the occasional piece gifted which is amazing.

The baseball jersey I’m wearing is from Nicaragua. I went last year for New Year’s Eve and I got it for like two quid in the market. We went to a baseball game too, which was amazing! You could get cups of fresh ceviche for 20p.

I DJ for M.I.A. now, and from a young age she was my style icon. But now I’m her DJ I don’t want to say that all the time, because she’ll be like, ‘Come on Emerald, give it a rest!’.

I was always quite experimental with fashion, even as a kid. I started modelling when I was three months old and did it until I was about 21, so for a long time I was interested in fashion. My friends always used to take the piss out of me and said that I looked like I was dressed to be in a music video!

Emerald presents Drive on Rinse every Monday to Thursday

Jasmine Kent-Smith is Mixmag's Weekend Editor. Follow her on Twitter

Sherelle Thomas is Mixmag's Digital Producer. Follow her on Twitter

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