Liberace, Sinatra, Elvis, Prince, Elton, Celine, Adele: Las Vegas’s musical residencies have been shaped by artists so revered that they require just a single name to register. Add to that list Usher, who last month began the second phase of his own block-booked Sin City song-athon—entitled “My Way: The Las Vegas Residency”—at Park MGM’s Dolby Live. As GQ persuasively puts it, Usher has found himself “spiritually renewed” by this “sex-soaked smash of a show,” and crowned himself as the “new king of Vegas” in the process. And every king requires flamboyant finery.
That’s why, late last year, KidSuper’s Colm Dillane registered on Usher’s radar. As a lifelong fan of the musician, the 2021 Karl Lagerfeld Award winner and first-ever Louis Vuitton guest designer had reached out to Usher to invite the singer to his own fall 2023 show in Paris. Usher was unable to attend but after watching the stream responded with a proposal: Would Dillane be interested in creating 20 outfits for the finale section of Usher’s residency? “And I didn’t have to think about it for a second,” said Dillane on a call, “because what an honor, right?” Before Usher’s residency restarted, Dillane and his team sent a curated selection from his last three collections. Which is how Usher and all his full cast of co-performers came to be kitted out in KidSuper for the climax of every night’s performance.
Late last week Vogue jumped on a video call with Dillane (dialing in from his mom’s house in Brooklyn) and Usher (checking in from a lavish-looking Atlanta location) to discuss their partnership. Below is an edited version of the chat—which turned out to be the first time the two had ever spoken.
Usher: Hey! What’s going on, stranger?
Colm Dillane: Nice to finally meet you! Although I feel we’ve already become friends through cloth.
Usher: Yes! Because the cloth compels us!
Vogue: Wait—so if you’ve never met, how did this tie-up happen?
Dillane: Well, I wouldn’t want to speak for Usher, but I’d like to imagine that when he first saw my designs it was like the first time he heard Justin Bieber sing—a moment of magic…
Usher: Ha! My quirky backstory is that me and KidSuper connected when we didn’t know each other because my music was the soundtrack to his passion. I think his first kiss was probably to one of my songs…
Dillane: That’s true!
Usher: No, serious now, I have a real respect for what Colm does. And I wanted to be a part of it, because it’s special. This is my third time in Vegas, and I’ve been working on my residency, and that gives me the opportunity to find new ways to collaborate with designers I like, and who want to have fun, and who want to take risks and allow the wardrobe to speak—although just not so loud that they speak over the artist! I think the fearless nature of KidSuper’s use of color and shape, his artistic interpretation, fits with everything my show represents. The show is designed to immerse you in an experience, and Colm’s clothes feel that way too. He and his team really pulled strings to make it all happen, and I’m grateful.
Dillane: Clothing has always been my catalyst for meeting new people and creating new projects ever since I started out in high school, selling T-shirts out of the cafeteria. And the fact that I’m on this call with Usher—how cool is that?—just shows that that catalyst works.
Vogue: Usher, how do your costumes and outfits contribute to what you’re working to deliver to your audience?
Usher: Without the art you’re not an artist. And the art is in the shapes, in the selection of color. Art creates a feeling of freedom. My catalog has allowed me to build an audience all around the world who’s willing to come to Las Vegas to see what I have to offer. And what I have to offer is now more artistic, in a way, than it’s ever been because I have this opportunity to curate, right?… I’m just celebrating his history, celebrating my own history, of the songs that are successful and emotional for people…so sometimes I’m literally going back to ensembles that I’ve made a part of an iconic video or an iconic moment onstage and reimagining that moment for this audience. And then I’m adding the contemporary to create something to remember for this time. And the KidSuper pieces define the finale—they encapsulate everything I’ve gone through to get to this moment.
Vogue: It sounds like a strong show.
Usher: It’s the greatest show on earth!
Dillane: I always say that KidSuper is selling capes. We’re selling superhero clothing for real life in which you are the hero—and the hope is that by wearing it you feel more inspired and alive. And the fact that Usher is now wearing it, that’s the highest proof of that analogy working as far as I’m concerned, so it’s job done. I’m just determined to get myself to Vegas to see the show for myself…
Usher: Superheroes—I love that!
Vogue: And, Usher, you couldn’t make that KidSuper show in Paris…
Usher: No, but I watched it and I really did enjoy it. Although I thought it was missing one thing: me! Watching it I thought the show evolved and informed artistic creativity in a way I hadn’t seen before. And the way you’re selecting your models really did speak to that. So I said to myself: “You know what? I want to support him because he supports us.”