Yara Shahidi On Her Gucci Campaign Debut, Personal Style And Optimism
Yara Shahidi has never been one to do things by halves. By the age of 10, she had already starred in a number of major big-screen pictures; at 14, she landed her breakout role in Black-ish, and whilst continuing to expand her acting portfolio – and regularly attend major red carpet events – she somehow found the time to complete an undergraduate degree at Harvard to boot. Just shy of 25 years old, the star has already achieved more than most could dream of in a lifetime, but of course, she couldn't resist the temptation to add yet another string to her ever-expanding bow, as the new face of Gucci.
Making her campaign debut for the Italian luxury house for the SS25 season, Shahidi stars alongside fellow actor George MacKay in a short film and photoshoot entitled Where Light Finds Us, conceived by outgoing creative director Sabato De Sarno and shot by Xavier Dolan. It coincides with Gucci's latest collection dropping in stores today, and featuring the brand's new must-have bag, the Gucci Bamboo, front and centre.
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To celebrate the partnership, Shahidi sat down exclusively with ELLE UK to discuss personal style, shopping intentionally, the power of affirmation, and why Gucci is her go-to...
On working with Gucci
'I’m a big fan of Sabato De Sarno and his art and his approach to design, and so that's really what brought me into this campaign in the first place. He really prioritises bringing artists together. For the campaign, he had Xavier create this really immersive set that was amazing: it looks like we're actually in like a motel, but that was fully recreated on a stage, down to every little detail. We had a wonderful time shooting: I think it's a great mix of having a story we want to tell, but how we told it was very free flowing, and something that we got to discover in each moment, which made the day kind of fly by.
'I have been a friend of Gucci for a while: they just always have nice people working for the brand, and it really does make a big difference when every touch point is one that's so positive. I've always loved particularly their support of the arts. I've been an attendee of the LACMA Gucci gala for some years, and for me, as someone that really does view fashion as an extension of visual arts, I've loved how they continue to support interdisciplinary artists.'
On her favourite Gucci SS25 look
'On the clothing side, I've always gravitated towards Gucci's designs. What I particularly love about Gucci is that you can have something extremely feminine and fitted to your body with this beautiful embroidery in one dress, and then you can have these ultra beautiful masculine silhouettes too. I think it allows me to capture all of my fashion moods.
'I felt spoiled with the SS25 collection because I got to see a sneak peek of all the looks, and there are so many I completely fell in love with that didn't even make it into the campaign. But I think my favourite from the shoot was the white tank top and denim with the coat: in person, the attention to detail is made even more apparent. Like it's the best, thickest quality tank I've ever tried on, and I just loved the wide-leg silhouette of the denim.'
On her favourite Gucci SS25 accessory
'I loved the silk scarf I wore for the shoot. I had one on with the romper look, and I feel like it's worth noting how comfortable I was, because fashion doesn't always prioritise comfort! I've been trying to incorporate silk scarves into my day to day outfits more and more – I like how they can elevate an outfit, and add a nice flair even when you're wearing something pretty straightforward. And the Gucci ones just have the most amazing attention to detail in each design.'
On her style evolution
'I've always been given a lot of autonomy to express myself through each phase of life. For a period of time I only wore high top tennis shoes and skirts, then I only wore Catholic school uniforms and Oxfords in my free time, then I only wore track suits for a while, and I celebrated every major red carpet in full suiting from the age of 12 on. And so I think for me, fashion has always been a form of self expression, and it's something that you hear often, but I love that I got to experience that in my personal life first, before having a public fashion profile. It was always something that was about comfort and expressing who I am down to my big old black glasses and frames that I've had since I was 10.
'Now, I'd say I'm very detail oriented. My style has evolved with my lifestyle. I think for a while, I really only needed outfits to go to set and to go to sleep, and so while I had a fantastic public-facing fashion profile, my actual closet looked like a whole lot of sweats. I haven't sacrificed the sweats, but I've been taking more pride in the details of building an outfit and really enjoying expanding my personal style, just like I've been expanding what my life looks like day to day.'
On her most prized fashion possession
'It's literally not even a name-brand dress, it's one that I got from my mother. She had worn the dress, and then I got it after and wore it on my high school graduation. I still wear it to this day. It's been in our family for over a decade now, and I think I just love those things that feel like instant heirlooms. One thing my family has always been good at is very intentional purchasing; we're not necessarily people that throw out our closets every season. I think that dress has informed my approach to clothes buying, focusing on things that are reflective of my current style but that I think I could have forever and pass on. I think what I enjoy is at a certain point you're no longer wearing clothes, you're just wearing memories.'
On her first Gucci buy
'I was in New York to promote Grown-ish season one, and we got caught in the bomb cyclone blizzard which prevented us from flying home – but I remember we were close to Fifth Avenue, and wanted to celebrate the launch of the show, so we trekked over in the snow to the Gucci store. I got a pair of classic slides, black-on-black, with the coolest beading on the front. I haven't seen them since, but I've had them for seven-plus years already and I still wear and love them.'
On her splashiest designer purchase
'One thing you'll learn about me is my utter practicality. Every time I go shopping I really think about how much I actually love something, and whether I'll wear it forever, so I don't really splash out very often. I do remember, though, in my tracksuit era that I treated myself to a monogrammed Gucci tracksuit. I love how loud it is – it was so me at the time.'
On her latest project
'I think a lot of people worry about being static in their careers or only being known for one thing, but I feel like I've really hit in the jackpot because I've gotten to grow up with my audience in so many ways. My podcast, The Optimist Project, feels emblematic of everything that I wanted my career to represent over the years, which is just inspired conversation. I'm so lucky to get to do it with my mama. Oftentimes in this industry, it's hard to find people with aligned values and an aligned sense of mission. I feel like people spend a lifetime trying to find those great work partners and life partners, and I'm grateful I was born into mine.
'So much of what prompted the podcast wasn't thinking we have any sort of mastery of optimism that we have to share with the world, but it actually came from a lack of it, a place of realising it's something we have to work on every day – especially now. My hope is that it allows people to feel open and vulnerable about where they are in the moment. There's no shame about coming in imperfect to this journey, and there is no expectation that you're going to wake up happy every day. But I think the one thing we end up realising is that if joy is the feeling, then optimism is the practice. And so hopefully each episode helps people add to their practice of optimism in their day-to-day lives.'
On the importance of affirmation
'Janelle Monae talked on the podcast about the power of affirmation. I'm somebody that I think affirms my friends regularly, and I'm around people that affirm me regularly, but I realised that I don't affirm me regularly. And so that's been a new practice I've tried to consciously bring into my life, talking to myself as positively as the people around me do, and I think it's made a big difference in terms of coming in confident. I think especially in this industry, being self deprecating can come off nice and humble, but there's only so far you can take it until you really start just doubting yourself.'
On the year ahead
'I really feel like I've gotten to usher in the new year activated in all the spaces that I love and that bring me joy. I'm driving to a movie set right now, I've just filmed two podcast episodes, my friend just texted me a picture of this Gucci campaign ad being painted in Soho on the corner that I usually stay on, I'm about to celebrate my 25th birthday... I spent New Year's Eve on the beach journalling with my best friend, and the thing I came to was that 2025 is the year of trusting my gut, in all senses of the term. It's time to take probiotics, it's time to lean into intuition.'
Creative Director: Sabato De Sarno. Art Director: Riccardo Zanola. Photographer and Director: Xavier Dolan. Stylist: Francesca Burns. Make Up: Aaron de Mey. Hair: Jawara.
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