Skepta’s Mains Pop-up Is a Teenage Dream
LONDON — Get in bed with Skepta — or, at least, climb onto the exact same bed that the grimes musician was sitting on — at the pop-up shop for his Mains brand in London.
Building on the collegiate codes of the Mains spring 2025 collection, the space has all the fixings of a ‘90s teen’s lair, including a single bed with yearbook-inspired sheets; stickers pasted over any spare surface, and walls emblazoned with posters.
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Shoppers even slumped in cushy bean bags to play Mario Kart on a Nintendo 64.
Asked what part he played in decorating the pop-up, Skepta, who was sitting on the twin bed, responded with signature sass.
“I didn’t carry anything in — but I told them where to put it,” said the musician, whose real name is Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. He was wearing his Kickers x Mains Kick Hi, part of a new collaboration with the footwear brand.
The shop features limited-edition items from the spring 2025 collection, which won’t be available in department stores until next year. The selection includes Muppet-y faux fur hats, a yearbook print denim set and a black sweatsuit.
A campaign shot in Skepta’s hometown of Lagos accompanied the drop, with the musician personally street casting the images. Despite releasing the photo shoot location at the last minute, the rapper said they were flooded with aspiring models.
“We were doing a shoot, taking pictures of them, paying them in cash and giving them pieces. I feel like it was very impactful,” he said. “I want to do more with the brand in Nigeria, and include them in the rollouts.”
The multihyphenate even teased a modeling agency as a potential future business.
“I think that street casting works really well out there [in Nigeria] because they’re at the mercy of this hierarchy. Whenever something like an agency gets involved, it can become discriminatory,” he said.
To combat that, Skepta said he ensured that all models were paid immediately, in cash — sans agency fees.
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