STEVE LACY

He's a musical polymath and style icon with several modern classics under his belt. Up next: his most personal album yet

- JEFF IHAZA

We're going to miss this show." I'm in the passenger seat of a new-model Mercedes that's basically parked in Paris traffic. Steve Lacy sits in the back on aux duty, running through a playlist featuring the French electronic duo Air, M.I.A., and Faye Webster. We're heading to the Bourse de Commerce, where Yves Saint Laurent's Spring/Summer 2026 presentation is about to start. Except, we're not making very much progress. The journey from Lacy's hotel to the venue should only take a few minutes, but we've been moving at the speed of dial-up. Our driver cuts down an alley, a ruelle in the local parlance, only to run into more gridlock. Making matters worse, a car emerges in the rear view, boxing us in. If we want to get to the show in time, we'll have to walk. Fast. Lacy was named a brand ambassador for YSL back in 2023 and attends its menswear presentation, typically held in Paris, every year during Fashion Week. On this sweltering Tuesday afternoon in June, he wears a full YSL outfit replete with slim-fitting leather trousers, tall black leather boots that almost serve as trousers in their own right and a crisp, white, geometrically tailored shirt, all from previous years' collections.

Once our driver stops to let us out, Lacy bolts from the car in what appears to be a single, fluid motion. I notice a few necks crane in astonishment - your eyes are not deceiving you, that is indeed Grammy-winning musician Steve Lacy speed-walking down the streets of Paris in thigh-high Saint Laurent boots, looking exactly like a rock star.