The vibe is retro and dandy, masculine merging with feminine, a combination of silk and steel. For actor and singer Jeremy Pope, everything he does is an authentic expression of who he is—the family that raised him, the places that shaped him, and the person he aspires to be. In his latest project for Vogue x eBay, Pope brings to life his rich, multifaceted identity through head-to-toe vintage and pre-loved pieces from eBay, curating his story into something that he speaks and shows.
Pope is wearing a cream-colored Atwood hat and a marigold yellow trench coat over a 1970s leisure suit, accompanied by a Cartier brooch, a Jaeger-LeCoultre watch, and VellaPais shoes as he steps into a sequence that conjures his past. His grandmother first taught him about fashion. “Fashion for me began in the church,” Pope says. “The three-piece suits, the alligator boots.” He grew up in the South, where fashion is often theatrical and deeply rooted in soulful traditions. In the Black church, fashion is especially daring and innovative.
Churchgoers are most known for their large and elaborate hats, but the beauty lies in the details. A proper church lady will match the color of her purse to her shoes and her dress, and carefully select the right earrings, bracelet, necklace, and brooch to accompany her clothes. For years, it has been essential for the Black community to not only gather at places of support such as churches, but also to present themselves with style in those spaces as a form of resistance to oppression in wider society. Elders encourage children to look sharp, be sharp, and take pride in themselves.
And even if you leave the South for other pastures, as Pope did when he moved to New York at the tender age of 17, that legacy stays with you. eBay has allowed him to connect to that formative past and resurrect it in the present. “The thing I love about eBay is the feeling of community with all types of things you can find,” Pope says. Shopping on the platform brings back the fashion of his childhood: his grandfather’s three-piece suits and his mother’s brooches. For those of us who may not have had access to our parents’ and grandparents’ closets to wear the pieces that stayed in our memories, eBay has become a vital source for vintage fashion.
When Pope landed in Harlem and encountered a faster world where people always seemed to have energy, were always on the move, and always doing something, a new layer was added to his identity. Like so many Black people before him who had made the journey north from the South to New York, he was inspired to explore new parts of himself. He goes “deep diving” on eBay, looking for special clothes to match his personal evolution. Pope collaborated with stylist Law Roach—a longtime friend and trusted collaborator—to bring his vision to life through vintage and pre-loved fashion that they researched and found together on the platform. Inspired by the three-piece suits that his grandfather wore every Sunday, the look—a Dunlap top hat, an off-white Alberto Celini suit with an oversized bowtie, Stuart McGuire spectator shoes, an Audemars Piguet watch, and a cane—set the mood with a fresh and modern twist. Because that’s the thing about New York: No matter where you come from, you can become whoever you want.
But you never forget your roots. As the son of a Black Southern family, Pope wants to honor both his own journey and that of his relatives who set him on his way. When it comes to his current fashion story, Pope blurs the lines between notions of gendered clothing, seeking ways to reinterpret classically masculine pieces through his fluid expression. Fitting, then, that a Comme des Garçons exaggerated top hat and Scottish plaid kilt would pair with Skinner’s Satin gray pants, all under a Scottish black and gold military-style jacket, featuring a Tiffany brooch, a Patek Philippe watch, and Louboutin shoes. It’s a layered approach that shows how Pope uses fashion to express himself, finding vintage and pre-loved pieces on eBay that reflect his past and giving them new stories. “It’s paying homage to the people who have poured love into me all my life. My mother, my father, my grandmother, my uncles, and aunts,” he says.
Cast: Jeremy Pope
Director: Ebeneza Blanche
Production Company: SMUGGLER
Co-Founder: Patrick Milling-Smith
Co-Founder: Brian Carmody
Managing Director: Sue Yeon Ahn
Executive Producer: Elizabeth Doonan
Chief Operating Officer: Andrew Colón
Head of Production: Alex Hughes
Producer: Manny Caston
Production Supervisor: A.L. Brody
Commercial Coordinator: Josie Morgan
1st Assistant Director: Matt Smith
2nd Assistant Director: Henriette Ohno
Director of Photography: Daniel Vignal
1st Assistant Camera: Daniel Rodriguez
2nd Assistant Camera: Alec Freund
DIT: Tiffany Armour Tejada
Chief Lighting Technician: David Reichman
Assistant Chief Lighting Technician: Tom Festo
Electric: Anthony Asaro
Dimmer Operator: Alex Rizzo
Key Grip: Semir Hot
Best Grip: Paul Nickason
Dolly Grip: Garrett Boehling
Grip: Augustus Boehling
Production Designer: Alexandra Kaucher
Leadman: Rob Locasio
Prop Master: Jim Connors
Set Dresser: Zach Johnson
Set Dresser: Kevin Brennan
Costume Designer: Law Roach
Costumer Assistant: Patrick Lynere
Costumer Assistant: Megan Hollis
Costumer Assistant: Xiomara D’oyen
Costumer Assistant: Dobbin Pinkney
Costumer Assistant: Ajaita Asaini
Make-Up: Jai Williams
2nd Make-Up: Yanira Garcia
Hair: Dre Demry-Sanders
2nd Hair: Don Brown
Tailor: Tae Yoshida
VTR: Drew Cerria
Sound Mixer: Patrick Southern
Boom: Brian Joseph
Production Assistant: Raul Ravelo
Production Assistant: Steele Hamme
Production Assistant: William Advocaat
Production Assistant: Ethan Stamm
Production Assistant: Vikki Torres
Production Assistant: Jordan Francklin
Production Assistant: Hunter Kovacs
Edit Company: Cabin
Editor: Taylor Walsh
Edit Producer: Whit Johnson
Assistant Editor: Erik Vogt-Nilsen
Color Company: Electric Theatre Collective
Colorist: Jason Wallis
Color Producer: Oliver Whitworth
Sound Designer / Mixer: Ryan Kuhfeld
Post Production Supervisor: Lucy Gamades
Post Production Coordinator: Isaiah Williams
Executive Producer: Sasha Stoecklein-Gerstein
Supervising Producer: Jenna Galinsky
Producer: Asafe Pereira
Associate Producer: Samad Dukes
Sr. Creative Director: Sarah Ruby
Creative Director: Jordana Koffsky
Sr. Editor: Caroline Brown
Global Executive Director, TTG: Liana Weston
Commercial Talent Manager: Chaz DaGraça
Director, Production & Activation: Lara Winkler
Global Director, Vogue Brand Marketing: Katie Knoll
VP, Global Creative: Helen Pearson
Senior Account Director: Alex Cooney
