jacket + belt. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
jewellery. Talent’s Own
opposite
jacket, hat + sunglasses. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
jewellery. Talent’s Own
jacket + belt. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
jewellery. Talent’s Own
opposite
jacket, hat + sunglasses. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
jewellery. Talent’s Own
Credits
There are few German rappers working today as iconic as Ufo361. One of the first major figures in the German trap music world, Ufo361 (real name Ufuk Bayraktar) has since developed a global fanbase, working with rappers and producers from America and beyond to create a new world of sound. Following the release of his latest album, STAY HIGH — a project that saw the rapper exploring darker and more vulnerable places than ever before — Schön! sat down with Ufo361 for a chat about his work, fashion, what’s coming next for him and more.
You spent about seven weeks in Los Angeles last year hanging out with American rappers. What would you say you gained from this experience?
I was in the studio with many big producers from the trap scene in the last few years — Southside, Murda Beatz or Ronny J, among others. I got a different feeling on how to work on music in general.
So how does working with American rappers and producers differ from working with German ones?
The biggest difference would be that most of the Germans have a very strict work regiment, and they prepare a lot of things before the session even starts. In the States, the vibe is more important and everything happens very spontaneously.
How did your time in LA influence the making of STAY HIGH?
It didn’t influence only my last project. I’ve visited L.A. very often in the last few years and picked up a lot of influences that shaped at least five of my last projects, starting with the album 808.
jacket, shirt + collier. CHANEL
trousers. Rick Owens
shoes. Celine
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
opposite
jacket, shoes + hat. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
jacket, shirt + collier. CHANEL
trousers. Rick Owens
shoes. Celine
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
opposite
jacket, shoes + hat. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
Credits
STAY HIGH feels darker than previous projects. What was going through your mind during the making of this album?
I wanted to make the most non-commercial album of my career. No hits, no catchy hooks, just straight up Trap. Something that has never been done in Germany before. No compromises and a very dark undertone. What I had in mind in making this album mostly was the last 10 years of my career.
How has it been to see the fans react to STAY HIGH, especially as your music travels further around the globe?
The response of the fans was all in all very good. Some of them have been waiting to hear my darker side again. Of course, through social media posts from Lil Uzi and other rappers that I worked with internationally, there is a broader international audience. I mostly recognize this through the comments. I’m very pleased to get positive feedback throughout the world and to see that I can touch people in different countries with my music and art.
Before you came up, how did you develop your fashion sense? Were there any figures you looked to in particular for inspiration?
I was always very into fashion; even when I was still attending school I was always aware of what I am wearing. I think the biggest inspiration during that time was 2Pac and Versace. That was the first time that I realised that fashion and music can go hand in hand without being too much of a contradiction. I try to do the same, now that I have the opportunities to work with big names and brands in the fashion industry.
jacket + belt. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
shoes. Celine (Ranger Boots)
jewellery. Talent’s Own
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
opposite
jacket, shirt + collier. CHANEL
jewellery. Talent’s Own
jacket + belt. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
shoes. Celine (Ranger Boots)
jewellery. Talent’s Own
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
opposite
jacket, shirt + collier. CHANEL
jewellery. Talent’s Own
Credits
jacket + belt. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
shoes. Celine (Ranger Boots)
jewellery. Talent’s Own
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
opposite
jacket + hat. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
jacket + belt. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
shoes. Celine (Ranger Boots)
jewellery. Talent’s Own
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
opposite
jacket + hat. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
Credits
How has your relationship with powerful fashion houses like CHANEL evolved as you’ve become more famous and well-versed in fashion?
I was always a big CHANEL fan. Since my Rich Rich Album, for example, I have had a huge bag collection, which is represented heavily in the videos for the album. This also helped to establish more feminine handbags in the German rap scene, and I was able to break another taboo.
As someone who loves a warm croissant, what makes a croissant ‘good’?
Croissants filled with pistachio crème, croissants covered in chocolate, etc., but of course also hearty croissants with goat cheese or something. Maybe there’s an Ufo361 croissant coming soon.
What’s the first album you fell in love with, from the first song to the final track? Why do you think it stuck with you?
Michael Jackson – Dangerous. My big brother had the Collector’s Edition, which came with four golden CDs. I listened to his album every day for about two years. It went so far that I performed Michael Jackson songs in school during talent shows. Every song on that album was phenomenal. The production, the lyrics, the singing. That impressed me heavily, ever since my childhood.
jacket. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
jewellery. Talent’s Own
opposite
jacket, shoes + hat. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
jacket. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
jewellery. Talent’s Own
opposite
jacket, shoes + hat. CHANEL
shirt. Rick Owens
trousers. Ann Demeulemeester
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
Credits
hoodie + bag. CHANEL
trousers. Helmut Lang
shoes. Rick Owens x Birkenstock
jewellery. Talent’s own
opposite
hoodie + bag. CHANEL
trousers. Helmut Lang
jewellery. Talent’s own
hoodie + bag. CHANEL
trousers. Helmut Lang
shoes. Rick Owens x Birkenstock
jewellery. Talent’s own
opposite
hoodie + bag. CHANEL
trousers. Helmut Lang
jewellery. Talent’s own
Credits
Who is someone you’d like to work with soon and why?
Regarding fashion, my dream would be Raf Simons. I’m a huge fan of all of his old collections, and that is something that I also collect privately. Or Rick Owens, who is changing the game right now in my opinion. If we are talking music: Kanye West or Young Thug. Both of them are legends in my book.
What’s been inspiring you lately?
The collaboration with Maria Koch for my Favourite Artist video, and also future projects with her. Very inspiring ideas and approaches to creative work.
What’s next for Ufo361?
September 3rd — Destroy All Copies. We are finishing up the last music videos with Max von Gumppenberg. Apart from that, I want to focus more on fashion than ever before. My brand “No Hugs” or our “Stay High” Merchandise, which we already established as more than merch, will be my main focus after this album.
shirt + collier. CHANEL
trousers. Rick Owens
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
shirt + collier. CHANEL
trousers. Rick Owens
sunglasses. Dries Van Noten x Linda Farrow
jewellery. Talent’s Own
Keo Benhart knows his angles in this Schön! editorial captured by photographer Jordi Perez with fashion by Trevor McMullan who dresses Benhart in looks by ZIMMERLI, Raggedy Threads, Gabriela Hearst and others.
gilet, scarf + wristband. Stylist’s Own
t-shirt. Marni
trousers. Dries Van Noten
gilet, scarf + wristband. Stylist’s Own
t-shirt. Marni
trousers. Dries Van Noten
Credits
Can you hear those faint whispers? In this Schön! editorial, captured by Alessia Barontini, art director and stylist Luca Pirri dresses Omer Brams in looks by Marni, Gucci, Romeo Gigli and others, with hair and make up by Federica Castiglioni.
jacket + hat. Stylist’s Own
knit. Comme des Garçons
trousers. Balenciaga
opposite
gilet. Maison Margiela x H&M
shirt. Stylist’s Own
glasses. Gucci
jacket + hat. Stylist’s Own
knit. Comme des Garçons
trousers. Balenciaga
opposite
gilet. Maison Margiela x H&M
shirt. Stylist’s Own
glasses. Gucci
Before the ink was even dry on the contract, Emily Bett Rickards set to work on becoming Mildred Burke. Transforming her body and shifting her mindset to the ring, Rickards started her research with Queen of the Ringby Jeff Leen. Using the book as a bible and basis to guide her, the research went beyond that, digging past the surface to find a woman who, not only helped pave the way to make female wrestling a viable and profitable sport for women in the 1940s and 50s, but powered through a world who told her ‘no’ at every turn. Continuously inspired by Burke, the more she found out about her, Bett Rickards was enticed and entranced by the wrestler’s passion. Something she tapped into for inspiration. Burke’s seemingly unquenchable tenacity, determination, and fire made her such an incredible character to portray.
From the depths of Starling City to the ring, Bett Rickards traded in Felicity Smoak’s keyboard for the ring. Putting her body through a strict regime to gain muscle quickly, she recollects to us the difficulty of it but cites how Mildred’s story made the pain worthwhile. As our chat continues, there’s a passion of her own that shines through, an enthusiasm to share the importance of a story like Mildred’s. Queen of the Ring is a film that, in today’s society, deserves to be put on a pedestal, not for fear of her story being forgotten, but for showing us what the strength of resilience in the face of adversity can do.
In conversation with Schön! Magazine, Emily Bett Rickards discusses Queen of the Ring, her relationship with the source material, how she physically prepared for the role, what she hopes the audience takes away from the film, and how history should remember Mildred Burke.
Can we talk about the research aspect of Queen of the Ring? How deep did you go? What was a fact about Mildred you found particularly fascinating?
What was awesome about Mildred is that even though we’re limited to the era, she was in the 30s, 40s, and 50s. Since she liked to be in the spotlight, there’s quite a bit of information on her.So that was very helpful [laughs]. There are a lot of photos. Luckily for me, she had the persona, the dream of being a show woman in a sense. What attracted me to her was this sort of aspiration that she had against all odds, right? She had never wrestled before and hadn’t seen much wrestling as a woman. She wasn’t even allowed at the shows. So, the fact that she had gone to one wrestling match and was like, “That’s what I want to do,” is just extraordinary.
It did feel like any time someone, or society was telling her she couldn’t, she transcribed that in her body as fuel. She was very good at pivoting and making something her own.The script was based on a book called Queen of the Ring:Sex, Muscles, and Diamonds by Jeff Leen. It’s fantastic. There’s so much more about her life in there, so that became my Bible. The internet has many wrong and good things, but it is definitely a lot to dive into. There are a lot of photos of her as a wrestler. Even more importantly for me, there were photos of her with her son, which seemed to show two different sides of her. A big part of the research was also putting on this muscle because her body was different than mine.That means she walked around the world differently than me. Finding out how that muscle influenced her spine and her navigation. Those things really became a part of her personality, I found.
Talking about the muscle, I was going to touch on the physicality of the role. What was the most challenging thing about getting into the ring for you and putting on that muscle? What did that transformation process look like?
Even before contracts were signed, I called my friend, Thomas Taylor, who’s out here in Vancouver and had been a trainer of mine for a while. I said, “Listen, I have to put on muscle.I have to put on muscle fast.” [laughs] We had three months before the camera. I think that was just over two months before wrestling rehearsals.I needed to do something pretty drastic. Tom also knew that I needed to be supplemented with nutrition. He brought on board Dr. Diego Botticelli, who framed out what type of food was needed to do that.It was more food than I’d ever eaten. It was more carbs than I’d ever eaten and more protein than I’d ever eaten. It was extreme.
It taught me a lot about how food builds the body, but food for longevity moving forward. It opened up my eyes. As a woman, I discovered what we need when we’re exercising and how we can have the foundation of our bodywork within the parameters of what we’re asking it to do. I think what was challenging off the bat was making sure I was getting into that routine.
The learning process of it, became second nature, but I really was weighing all my food, and trying to get more protein in a day was pretty hard because you can supplement with powders and stuff, but I do like to eat as many whole foods as possible. I think it’s a real honor to be able to have done this. We should all strive to be healthier and eat how our bodies want us to, but please keep in mind, that I was fueled by the passion to find out who this woman was, it made the process easier. As a side effect, I got to learn a lot. I hope that empowers people. I hope that if you’re looking at changing your life you fuel it with passion as opposed to feeling like it’s a chore because I think that’s the only way we move forward.
Emily wears
coat + gloves. MARGARET
opposite
Emily wears
top. KkCo
trousers. THEO
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
bracelet. Christine Bukkehave
Emily wears
coat + gloves. MARGARET
opposite
Emily wears
top. KkCo
trousers. THEO
shoes. Jeffrey Campbell
bracelet. Christine Bukkehave
Credits
Mildred Burke was a trailblazer for the sport, and she broke boundaries for women. Why do you think a movie like this should exist in our current political climate?
It speaks for itself. There’s something about Mildred specifically in the story we tell that really focuses on bringing people together and making us stronger.When we start picking at each other, we’re only dividing ourselves. We’re not learning anything. We’re not growing as individuals, but we’re definitely not growing as humanity. There will always be a challenge or an evil to overcome. But the point is that we have to do it together, not divided. There’s so much division in the world. There’s so much violence. There’s so much tragedy happening that when we think about coming together, it feels impossible.
Mildred was a woman of her era. There were things she wanted to challenge, right? There were norms that weren’t allowed, and she challenged that. She’s like, “Well, if I can tell myself that I can do this, I have to be able to believe that you can do it too.”That is what was so cool about her. When you believe in yourself, you have to be able to believe in someone else as well. Cause you can’t just give yourself the right, you know? Maybe there’s something in there that we can learn today.I really do think there is, and I hope everybody can metabolize it in a way that puts it into action in their lives.
How would you say that Mildred’s story changed you as a person and as an actor?
There’s definitely something in her that propels me forward. If I have self doubt, she’s the voice that comes into my head now.She says, “No, get up. Like, let’s go. You can deal with this. Not only can you deal with this, but you can also make this into fuel.” She’s made me more of an understanding person. There are all these things that we talk about; self-love and self-forgiveness and self-care. Those things are hard, but they’re more important because not only when you give them to yourself, you’re immediately giving them to other people. It’s almost infectious, you know? I’m so grateful for that lesson.
Moving a bit away from the film for just a moment, I read an article by Comic Book Resources that the Arrowverse fandom prepared you for the passionate wrestling fans.Is there a particular fan interaction that sticks out to you in recent memory, whether it’s around this film or the Arrowverse?
I’ve talked to people about it, especially the Arrowverse, and they have ideas for a certain season that has passed, I’m always like, “That’s such a genius idea!” They’re always good ideas. So, I think that when you love something, you have the right to be passionate about it.I think you have the right to have opinions on it, for sure. There’s always a vice and virtue to the same thing. Your virtue is your vice. Be careful with who you divide outside of that, because I think the best part of being passionate about something is bringing somebody else in, right? That’s what I was welcomed into with wrestling. It’s also what I was welcomed into with comic books.
With wrestling, though, this was a world I knew nothing about. Now I feel like I’m indoctrinated in a way that is a part of my cellular being.I’m so grateful for that, because I do feel like it is a world of passion. I’ll have the chance to welcome somebody else into something I’m passionate about in the future in the same way.
You’re the second person from the Arrowverse to enter the ring with Stephen Amell’s role in Heels. Did he reach out to you, or did you reach out to him for advice?
[Emily shakes her head]
No?
Such a missed opportunity.
For sure.
I hope we get to talk about it in the future, now that the movie’s out.
I think you will. Between you and I, who do you think could complete the Salmon Ladder fastest?
[laughs] I don’t know what type of shape he’s in, but I was also never able to do the Salmon Ladder, so he’s got muscular memory that I don’t have. He has the upper hand, you know?
I mean, fair, but he’s also filming or was filming Suits: LA, so I think you could take him.
I could definitely take him. I just don’t know about taking him in the Salmon Ladder.
With the film all said and done, and out in the world, what’s the first thing you did once you finished filming?
I went for a run.
Really?
I went with my partner, who’s an ultramarathon runner. I wasn’t really prepared for that. The workout I had when preparing for Mildred, the recommendation was not to do any cardio at all.
Wow.
Because we were trying to build muscle that looked bigger, and the way I was eating was really to build muscle, not to sort of shed anything, in a sense.It just would have been too stressful on the body. We were trying to keep my stress at a minimum so the muscle would build. Nutrition’s so interesting because if your cortisol gets too high, then your hormones get out of whack, and if your hormones get out of whack, then everything does. Especially with women and our cycle, you want to be a little bit more delicate.
So, I went for a run, and my legs felt like concrete. My body was just tired and done, and I was pushing it literally uphill in the middle of summer in Canada. My body was done.I think I was pushing myself to do something I wasn’t necessarily listening to my body for. But I was so excited to be home. My partner and I live somewhere where the best part of the year is summer. It’s the most beautiful place to be in the summer. It was really about spending time with family and doing something that we do together. It was just a brutal reality that what I needed to do was just sit down and take a break.Even though I was doing something that I loved, but no, I had to take it easy for a few weeks.
What do you hope the audience takes away from the film?
I hope they feel impassioned. I feel like they really learn about Mildred, but they also learn that inspiration comes from everywhere. But it also comes from each other.And, you know, you asked that beautiful question about when the world is so divided, what are we doing? It just makes you think that our human existence is really to be with each other and learn from each other. And the platform I get to walk on and that we get to walk on today is because of people like Mildred. And so, carrying that torch, in a sense, and recognizing the privilege that we have of where we live, what we do, I guess, connection with other people, but also just making sure that we’re lifting each other up.
I love that answer.
I can’t see a better way to live life. I don’t think there’s another answer. Please show me. I think that’s our best way forward, to be honest. At some point we die, but I hope I get to hold your hand while we go through life.
How do you think history should remember Mildred Burke?
You know, I was thinking about her. We just did our premiere in LA, and it was our last American premiere. She died in her 70s on Valentine’s Day, and decades later, not only her story lives on, but her message lives on. It makes you realize you have a ripple effect, right? She really had a ripple effect, and it doesn’t need to be on some global scale, but your family who you interact with, your pets, like you have a ripple. I think that carries on decades after you die. She was a woman, she was a wrestler, and she was a person with a dream.But I think she would want to be remembered as a wrestler; that’s her bones, baby.
My last question, Emily, is what’s next for you?
I’m awaiting the next character that’ll kind of wake me up again, just like Mildred did. Something is prickling right now, but we’ll see if it lands.
