Reuben Larkin has carved a distinctive path in fashion content creation, seamlessly blending his impeccable vintage style with a dry sense of humor and wit. Picking up the “Grandpa-core” style has become a phenomenon, with over 34 million TikTok views on #grandpacore and picked up by industry heavyweights including the likes of Tyler, the Creator and Harry Styles. With a keen eye for aesthetics, the London native has long championed this style, picking up the eyes of a dedicated social media following, leading to coveted partnership opportunities with prestigious brands such as Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent.

Following a whirlwind few days at London Fashion Week, we caught up with the rising talent to delve into his journey-to-date and insights.

Read the interview…

Hey Reuben, how are things going?

Yeah pretty well thanks, just been spending my time planning shoots, working and even doing a bit of music stuff too.

London Fashion Week was a few weeks ago, how did you find the week and what did you get up to?

I found it rather exciting, I was lucky enough to attend the Dunhill show which I had been very much looking forward to for a while and it completely exceeded my expectations! Other than that went to a few nice and cool parties which were super fun.

You’ve been adopting a style that’s also been featured with some popular brands like Drake’s and Aime Leon Dore. Could you run us through how you developed your style?

So I actually started to develop my style when I was coming out of school, I guess I firstly took a bit of inspiration from my school uniform and some of the nostalgia that came from that. But I would say I mainly got it from all the people I looked up to when I was younger, I spent a lot of time with old people so I kind of took inspiration from the way they would dress. I figured they have lived through every trend and fashion era which led them to dress the way they do, so why shouldn’t I!

What are your favourite brands and what do you like about them?

I am very fond of a wide variety of brands but I would say some of my favourites are Gucci, Loro Paina, Dunhill, Prada, Burberry and Dior. I like the fact that all of their clothes are mostly quite timeless with minimal branding, in addition they all are amazing quality and have excellent craftsmanship and design. They are all clothes that will last you a lifetime.

You’ve developed a huge social following, what do you attribute your success to?

I guess it comes down to discipline and belief in myself, I think I have quite good self-discipline and can kind of keep myself motivated quite easily. I also think mindset can also play a huge factor in everything too. I’ve always had adequate self-belief and I really do believe that anything I can put my mind to I can achieve. I think the key is just to never give up, especially on your dreams.

How do you stay true to yourself whilst creating a content for socials?

I would say by not seeking outside validation from people and instead just focusing on what you want to do or what you think is cool. I try and take inspiration from stuff around me in real life, or from things like art and film or even books. I also think it’s good to stay away from “trends” or even copying what other people are doing on social media. For me social media is a very public creative outlet to post what I’ve been working on in my private life.

You’ve worked with some huge brands including Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent; what do you look for in partnerships?

I think for me I like a lot of creative freedom when I do a partnership and for the brand to kind of allow anything to happen. In return this also comes with the freedom for them to say they want a reshoot if they deem it necessary, but I always think freedom is the best solution, otherwise I feel restricted in what I can and can’t do. I’ve found when I’ve had that freedom the end result is always better.

What does the rest of the year have in store for you?

I have no clue yet, that’s what I find rather exciting about all of this, everything is so last minute. It makes it very hard to plan ahead but once you get used to that you kind of just have to let go and trust that the work will come in.

Produced by Cadence Talent.