Riding for Palace since the brand’s inception, Clarke became a household name not only amongst skaters with his part in Palasonic, but as a model and face of the brand as Palace’s influence crossed the pond, blowing up in the world of streetwear through the latter half of the 2010s. After attracting the attention of the late Virgil Abloh, Clarke began to walk in shows for the Louis Vuitton creative director, later signing a deal and designing a pro-model skate shoe with the high-end luxury brand. Now running his own personal brand DCV’87, experimenting with photography, and designing shoes, Lucien Clarke spoke with Franklin Carbonatti on growing up in London, the early days of Palace, entering the world of fashion through his friendship with Virgil Abloh, and more. 

FRANKLIN
All right, let’s start from the top — where are you originally from, and where were you raised?

LUCIEN
I was born in Jamaica, St. Andrew — basically Kingston. I lived there for about five or six years, then moved to New York. I lived in Queens for about six years.

FRANKLIN
Woah. Where in Queens?

LUCIEN
Rochdale. My dad was a jeweler, had a shop in Brooklyn… then my parents separated and we moved to London when I was about 11 or 12.

FRANKLIN
Where in London did you grow up?

LUCIEN
Pimlico. My mom had a flat there. London’s where I really grew up — my friends became family. London’s home.

FRANKLIN
Did London influence your skating?

LUCIEN
Definitely. The first people I saw skating here were Nick Jensen and the Blueprint crew. I’d walk 15 minutes from my place just to watch them film.

FRANKLIN
So, you’ve been with Palace since the beginning. How did that come together?

LUCIEN
I knew those guys before Palace was even an idea. We all hung out at Southbank or Blue Room on Oxford Street. That’s where everyone crossed paths. Lev pulled me aside one day and was like, “You need to drop that Chocolate shit. I want to do this for life. Come ride for Palace.”

FRANKLIN
What was the Palace flat like back then?

LUCIEN
Chaos. Joey Crack lived there, Stuart Hammond was in and out, even Tom Penny would randomly be there sometimes. Total madness.

FRANKLIN
What’s something people misunderstand about Palace?

LUCIEN
People think they can just ask to get on the team. But it doesn’t work like that. Lev curates it. Everyone from the OGs to the new guys — it’s all carefully picked.

FRANKLIN
Tell me about the Louis Vuitton collab — how did that even happen?

LUCIEN
That was all Virgil. I met him early on through Slam City Skates. When he became creative director, I got cast in one of his shows. After the show, I wore a sample vest to the afterparty and kinda just took it home. Filmed a clip in it and sent it to him. He was hyped.

FRANKLIN
So he really gave you freedom?

LUCIEN
Yeah. He told me to just throw ideas at him. We were in a group chat with the LV shoe designer and built everything from scratch. In a few months I had samples. That’s how Virgil worked — fast and intentional.

FRANKLIN
What did you take from your relationship with him?

LUCIEN
If the universe gives you an idea, act on it. Don’t sit on it too long or someone else will.

Read the full interview with Lucien Clarke in Living Proof Magazine Issue 12, available on the Living Proof Patreon and Online Shop.