Curtis Wilder Sees New York Through More Than One Lens
Curtis is making the most of New York, mixing Scottish and Japanese heritage with a healthy appetite for experimentation
- Curtis Wilder is comfortably Scottish-Japanese in New York, where the city’s diversity has strengthened his sense of belonging and pride in his mixed heritage.
- New York fuels his work as a model and musician, with its characters inspiring him, while Japanese music, art, and creative collaborators continue to shape his perspective.
A city that gets it
For Curtis Wilder, being Scottish-Japanese in New York means having a few different worlds to move between, and enjoying all of them. The model and musician has found a city that makes room for contradiction, curiosity and, importantly, taking your shoes off before entering the house.
New York is famously good at making everyone feel like an outsider. For him, somehow, the opposite has happened.
“I feel very comfortable here. Since the city is so diverse, I never feel as if I’m on the outside looking in. Rather, I feel as if I am a small, cohesive part of something multifaceted.”
It’s a fitting place for someone whose own identity crosses cultures. In New York, Curtis doesn’t feel the need to neatly separate his Scottish and Japanese sides. The city is already full of people doing their own complicated maths with heritage, language, family, and home.
If anything, being here has made him more connected to where he comes from. “New York has deepened my connections and my pride about my mixed heritage,” he says. “I’m very grateful to live in a place where diversity is celebrated and is so woven into the fabric of its DNA.”
Japanese, with a side of Scotland
When it comes to cultural rituals, Curtis says he leans “pretty heavy” into his Japanese side. Superstitions, traditions, cuisine, and respect all make the cut, as does one non-negotiable custom. “No shoes in the house.”
Quite right. Some cultural traditions arrive with centuries of history behind them. Others arrive at the front door and tell you to take your trainers off. He respects both.
The influence gets even more obvious in the kitchen, where his heritage becomes a starting point for experimentation. He likes combining Western and East Asian flavors, throwing ingredients together and seeing where they land.
“I don’t know if there is a name for it. But as I’ve gotten more into cooking, it’s been really fun to explore different iterations of ingredients.”
New York is the moodboard
For Curtis, the city also doubles as an endless creative reference file. As a model and musician, he is surrounded by the sort of visual and sonic stimuli that can easily turn into an idea.
“The culture, the art, the music, the energy, and other characters who inhabit the city,” he says, are constantly giving him “new perspectives and ideas to explore.”
New York, after all, doesn’t exactly suffer from a shortage of material. There’s something happening on every block, usually several things, and Curtis approaches it with the attention of someone who knows that inspiration rarely announces itself politely.
“New York is notorious for inspiring creativity. As long as your eyes and mind are open, there are endless sources to spark inspiration.”
That mindset feeds into his music. Curtis’ passion for Japanese music and art has expanded the way he writes and creates, giving him influences that sit outside a Western framework.
“I sometimes draw inspiration from sources outside of Western influences. My passion for Japanese music and art broadens my approach to writing and making music.”
For a musician in New York, where genres and cultural references are bumping into one another, having more than one creative vocabulary hardly hurts.
Curtis’ own mix
Curtis’ Scottish-Japanese identity isn’t something he treats as a fixed formula. It moves between the personal and professional, from the food he cooks and the rituals he keeps to the music he makes and the people he encounters through modeling.
New York has simply given those different parts of him somewhere to collide. There is no great identity crisis here and no demand to pick a lane.
Just a model, musician, and New Yorker taking inspiration where he finds it, cooking whatever sounds good, and keeping his shoes where they belong. By the door.
As seen in the pages of VMAN SEA 06: now available for purchase!
Photography Andrew Perkins
FashionFashionThe art and industry of designing, producing, and styling clothing, footwear, accessories, and beauty trends. It reflects cultural influences, personal expression, and evolving styles across seasons and markets.Go to Fashion Glossary Victor Lopez
Creative direction and production Lorenz Namalata of Fatbrain Collective
Editor Dayne Aduna
Hair Mitsuru Aota
GroomingGroomingThe care and maintenance of hair, skin, beard, and nails, including cleansing, shaving, styling, and scent. Once niche, men's grooming has grown into a major lifestyle category, and VMAN's VanityGo to Grooming Glossary Seiya Iibuchi, using MAC Cosmetics
Fashion assistant Justin Guevarra
Production assistant Jen Kang
Model Curtis Wilder
Frequently Asked Questions
Curtis Wilder is a Scottish-Japanese model and musician based in New York. His work spans fashion and music, with both influenced by his multicultural background.
Curtis Wilder is Scottish-Japanese. He says living in New York has strengthened his connection to and pride in both sides of his mixed heritage.
Curtis incorporates Japanese traditions, cuisine, respect, and cultural practices into his daily life. He also jokes that no shoes in the house is a firm rule.
Curtis draws inspiration from New York’s culture, art, music, energy, and diverse communities. The city also encourages him to explore perspectives beyond his usual influences.
His passion for Japanese music and art broadens his approach to writing and making music. He often draws inspiration from sources outside Western influences.
