Shirt by Kelly Cole (Vintage), Jacket by mm6 Marginal, Pants by Dries Van Noten, Hat + Jewelry Vintage
Story / ANGIE PICCIRILLO
Photos / MALLORY TURNER
Styling / SIENA MONTESANO @ THE WALL GROUP
Grooming/ LAUREN NICOLE MCKEEVER @ WILHELMINA
You may know Harry Hudson because of his friendships with the Kardashian sisters and Willow and Jaden Smith, but what you don’t know about him is undoubtedly the type of story that would make most of life’s problems seem quite small. Maybe you’ve seen him on Instagram, smiling and hanging with his famous friends — just Google his name and some of the first headlines you’ll see are the things that dreams are made of: “Kylie Jenner and Jaden Smith’s BFF” and a profile piece from heavy-weight music mag, Billboard magazine.
Shirt by Toga archives, Jeans by Levis (501 Vintage), Bandana by John Varvatos, Hat Vintage
Dig a little deeper beyond the very stylish photos of Harry, and you may have heard he was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin’s Lymphoma — a rare but serious type of cancer that affects the lymph system in 2013. Of course, this is the obvious story here — to ask Hudson about the Jenners, his friendship with the Smiths — and even his thoughts on recovering from cancer. That story’s already been told — and there’s more to Harry Hudson than you know: where did this talented young millennial come from, what are his new perspectives on things besides “being famous”? What exactly does he mean when he sings heartbreaking lyrics like, “What would you do, If I died before you…. Would you sing of me, like I sing of you”?
Rewind back to when Harry was seven years old — his interest piqued when “The Way I Am” music video by rapper Eminem appeared on MTV. “That’s when I fell in love with [music]. I never played instruments growing up except the recorder in the school choir — I loved hip hop, pop punk, and folk music. My first show was *NSYNC. They were iconic,” he says. “I was a shy kid, and the only way I could really communicate my thoughts was by writing them down in a poem — which later turned into songs. I decided to truly go after it right after high school.”
Shirt by Kelly Cole (Vintage), Jacket + Pants Talent’s Own (Vintage), Hat Vintage
Today, Harry has two singles out including his debut, “Cry For Love” released in October. More recently, the vibey “Yellow Lights,” was released in January and has garnered over one million streams on Spotify to date. Harry makes up one third of MSFTS — an art collective started with Jaden and Willow Smith, which works in partnership with Roc Nation and Interscope Records. Though a google search may reveal some odd things about MSFTS, like the fact that the group reportedly lives in a house together, eats a vegan brunch daily, and is “homeschooled” together — the collective is also meant to be a lifestyle brand that encompasses music, fashion, education and more — it’s mantra is “For My Republic I stand, MSFTS overall.”
Harry says his involvement with the collective began with a conversation he had with Jaden that he has said “changed both of [their] lives.” “He invited me into his collective, the MSFTS. We all strive to bring the world together through happiness, love, and equality. We hope to inspire others through art & science. My dream is to build hospitals & schools —through passion you’ll find purpose.”
It seems that Harry’s fight with cancer is something he’s likely sick of talking about, simply replying to a question about his feelings on it with, “How would you feel?” and wanting to focus his energy on the positivity of creation. Once recovered from cancer in 2014 — the near-death experience seemingly inspired other things, like music, involvement in community, giving back with organizations like Teen Cancer America, living minimally — quite possibly all the things opposite of what his millennial generation is known for; and maybe more importantly, all the things opposite of the glamorous life people assume he must lead.
Though his folk-pop songs seemingly inspire a “country” style fashion for Harry, he says he’s not been caught up with the fashion portion of his music career like some would think. “I recently emptied my entire closet because I’m trying to live more minimal. I plan on donating all those clothes. I usually just wear a white tee, some denim, and a cowboy hat. That’s my style. I don’t really think too much about the brands. I mostly wear Levi’s…” He says.
Flannel by Kelly Cole (Vintage), Shirt by Hanes x Karla, Hat by Maison Michel
With a seemingly new outlook on life, it seems this is just the beginning of the things we’ll see from Harry — hopefully including more introspective songs like “Yellow Lights” which he says was inspired by wanting “to prompt a question that would get people to think. That’s really the ultimate test of love if you think about it.” Leaning heavily on his music, friends, family and laughter, he assures us 2018 is going to be a fun year — with “more music. More shows. More hats. More art… there is a lot more coming that no one is expecting.” And we can’t wait.
CONNECT WITH HARRY HUDSON:
INSTAGRAM // FACEBOOK // TWITTER