VMEN: Harley Suarez
Get to know the pioneering model-turned-musician
This feature appears in VMAN 48, now available for purchase!
Harley Suarez describes himself as a charismatic pioneer with a versatile style. The model, musician, and designer was raised in a hotbed of creativity (Miami) but surprisingly, did not discover his interests until his senior year of high school.
However, thinking of bigger things, Suarez dropped out before graduating because the whole concept of school gave him “anxiety.” “I just didn’t feel the education system was for me,” he tells us. But, after a growth spurt and a couple of months of growing his hair out, Suarez was able to catch the attention of fashion brands like H33m and Hood By Air via posts on his Instagram. The brands started sending him clothes and asking him to model for them, and eventually, he was scouted by Midland Agency in New York City after a runway show he walked for Hood By Air at Art Basel. “Getting scouted at that show was my gateway,” he tells us. “I moved to New York full time. I knew that was where I needed to be.”
The young artist was then approached by his friend Bryan Nelson Gonzalez, the designer behind Second&7th, to bstart his own fashion line, which he called Sundays Best, dubbing it so because, “Every Sunday in my life, something magical always happens.” The line offers cool bell-bottoms, tight shirts, and retro-futuristic elements, like a pair of men’s tie-waist pants.
Suarez also recently began creating music while abroad during Paris Fashion Week, after meeting and befriending Hussein Suleiman, the founder of apparel brand Daily Paper. The entrepreneur invited Suarez to stay in Europe and explore music, and with Suleiman’s help, Suarez was able to record tracks and work with producers in studios across Amsterdam, Belgium, and London.
Suarez says it took years of development for him to start showing any musical talent, but now, music has become the one thing that he feels ties all his worlds together. He describes his sound as “Harley’s genre.”
“I don’t like boxing myself in,” he admits. “I like to let the people listen and decide for themselves. Right now, I’m working with a Los Angeles-based label called God Knows to produce my new album. So that’s next!”
This feature appears in VMAN 48, now available for purchase!