“The material matters,” says Mr Antwaun Sargent, raving about his new-found quarantine love for Lycra. Even though the stay-at-home style of the New York-based art critic has developed into a beast all of its own, it remains true to his sartorial philosophy. Before being sentenced to sequester by the global pandemic, Mr Sargent had already realised that quality material played a part in comfort, hence his penchant for relaxed trousers, mule slides for any occasion and wool sock imports from Iceland. Now, he’s simply worked more stretch into the mix.

Mr Sargent’s personal style might best be described as “tonal”. He says his biggest inspiration are the gentlemen featured in the work of the late, great painter Mr Barkley L Hendricks (1945-2017), who made striking portraits of incredibly stylish black men and women. As a curator and writer, Mr Sargent’s career has coincidentally – or maybe not – landed him not very far from the realm of fashion. “There’s a rich history of artists, such as Richard Avedon and others, who have been involved in the fashion world,” he says. “Jean-Michel Basquiat walked for Comme des Garçons, right? My personal interests are in the in-between – art and fashion – and I have made projects that think through those two areas, in a way that helps to bring context and history to that space in the art and fashion world.”

Mr Sargent has spent years curating art exhibitions and his wardrobe, apparently in concert with each other. His look has undoubtedly benefited from his eye for shape and proportion, as well as his knowledge of texture and tones. His formula for this sophisticated, art-inspired style is simple: “a really good trouser, a really good knit that matches the trouser, my hat and, of course, I love a slide”. Worth noting is the way he plays with fabric, silhouette and colour in order to constitute a “really good” outfit. This comes from his understanding of the artistic nuances of fashion, a willingness to try new things and a clear sense of self. Although it is always evolving, the 31-year-old’s aesthetic is, he explains, created through investing in what works, rather than what’s on trend, by shopping from a collective of brands whose execution and ethos align with his own, or simply buying 12 versions of the same wide-brim hat.

In the beautiful memory of the year that was 2019, Mr Sargent released his first book, The New Black Vanguard: Photography Between Art And Fashion, which examined the ties between fashion and art through the eyes of young Black photographers. Like his style, the collection reflects on the intersection of identity and expression and how it shapes the creative output.

“I have a clear direction of who I am and I think, when you have a clear direction of who you are, then that clarifies your style,” he says.

“I write about art, so I’m always thinking about colour and paint and construction and installation,” says Mr Sargent. “And I think that finds its way into the way I dress and the way I play with colour. I think about how certain painters sort of use limited palettes sometimes to create certain scenes. I just sort of like to apply some of those notions to my dressing and to the way I experience colour, shape and different tones.”

“This coat is like a pop of colour that I think, again, goes back to my love of abstract painting. You also have to find the colours that work with your skin tone and stuff like that. There’s this sort of softness to pink that I really enjoy incorporating into my style.”

“Emily [Bode] is like a genius. It’s artsy, but it’s also playful. It’s super original. And then the added bonus is that it’s sort of upcycling, right, and I think that’s important. It’s just the way that she plays with pattern and the way that she plays with different materials. These deadstock fabrics are just really beautiful and one of a kind. There’s only going to be so many of them, right? Then she has these illustrators who make these wonderful images on them, which sort of just speaks to the art writer in my heart.”

“What you see is a real play with, not only silhouettes, but texture. I love a good sweater, you know? I love wools and mohair, a good knit. I also like to play with shape and volume, so the pants are a bit oversized. They drop at the shoe in a way that suggests volume, and then the coat also. I love a long coat in the winter.”

“For me, it’s about subtlety and well-made things and playing on the formal aspects of construction. As one who’s really deeply committed and interested in style, stuff like that that really gets me going. This look is just a representation of that.”