Sage Elsesser Is Slated to Be the Next Big Skater-Turned-Model

Sage Elsesser is a name (or a face) that you might be familiar with already. The 20-year-old Fine Arts college student at Pratt Institute is a Supreme skater and the go-to model for its lookbooks. He hangs out with the likes of James Jebbia, Jason Dill and his voice even appeared in Frank Ocean’s Blond. GQ speaks to the rising name, and asks him everything from Supreme x Louis Vuitton, Jonah Hill and Golden Goose. Check out an excerpt below and make sure to read the full interview here.

Are you sick of people saying you contributed to Frank Ocean’s album?
Yeah, like, guys asking me, “So explain what having credits on Frank Ocean’s album is like?” Like, I didn’t do anything. Like, sure, I’m down, I’m a Frank Ocean collaborator. One time I told someone I wrote “Solo.” I told them I wrote that for him, and they were like, “Wow! No way!”

What do you think of the Supreme x Louis Vuitton collaboration?
It’s cool, fuck yeah, Louis Vuitton. It’s another cool collaboration for Supreme, but I just don’t really care. There’s gonna be another one next year kids are gonna flip on.

How does it feel to replace [legendary skateboarder and style icon] Jason Dill as Supreme’s official lookbook model?
It’s really cool. It happened really quickly. I remember Dill telling me, “Man, I’m gonna be too old soon, and they’re gonna ask you to be the model.” I didn’t believe him. Now I’ve done, like, four of them, so it’s kind of like, “When is it gonna stop?

In a recent interview with Earl Sweatshirt, you reference how your style changed when you moved to New York. How would you describe your style now?
Yeah, he said something like, “expensive roadman.” I guess that just came from traveling and seeing different places like Paris, London. It’s cool, but I’m all about comfort. I skate for Converse, but I’m not wearing Chuck Taylors all the time. I was able to differentiate my on-board style from my regular style.

Is it okay to wear skate style if you don’t skate?
I don’t give it too much attention. Let Selena Gomez wear a Thrasher shirt, it’s popular. Bieber wears FA. People shop at Supreme, like, it’s just popular.

Jonah Hill?
Jonah Hill is cool. I’ve met him before, too. I think he’s a little mixed-up, though, wearing like a Palace hoodie with a Supreme hat and Yeezy Boosts. Get it together, Jonah.

Let’s talk about your Converse collaboration. How did you end up with this design?
I didn’t really design it, I just thought it was a shoe that was really important to the aesthetic of Converse. It’s a classic shoe. I’ve thought recently the direction of Converse has been really Nike-influenced, with the newest technology and breathable fabric and all that bullshit. I just wanted to make a shoe you fucking put on your feet, tie the laces, and do what you do. I wanted just a basic shoe. It’s just an old tennis shoe. And I know that’s really popular with things like the Stan Smith.

Where did you first see the style?
I was in Japan. And I found the leather we used on a different Converse shoe.

Do you go through shoes really quickly because you skate so much?
But that’s just skating. I saw this pair of shoes at Barneys that had, like, duct tape and were like $600.

Golden Goose?
Yeah. Fuck Golden Goose.