Cheap Date is i-D’s series where we take our crushes out for under $40, get to know them, and have a good old fashioned hang.
“Are you afraid of anything?” Anwar Hadid looks at me. The question is about my spice tolerance.
It’s a warm September evening in Bushwick and I am two minutes late because I got the location wrong (my fault entirely) and took us to Win Son Restaurant (sit-down, self-serious but delicious) not Win Son Bakery (infinitely cheaper, down-to-earth, inspired date spot). Anwar is already sitting at a table outside, watching people pass.
His hair is closely cropped so that his eyes, and what seems to be an ellipsis tattooed below one of them, are that much more exposed. If there’s something familiar about his eyes it could be they’re the same astonishingly light greenish as his older sisters, supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid. If there’s something familiar about him, maybe it’s his own modeling career, or past high profile relationships, or presence as a foundational part of young Hollywood. Soon though, what may come to define Hadid are his two new ventures: Obsidian and HowVanish.
He’s currently on tour with his band HowVanish. Their music has a louche malaise and hard rock Nirvana-esque throb. When he performs, he’s fond of staring out into the audiences, taking time to lock eyes with each squealing girl and gyrating fan. Then there’s Obsidian, his new fashion label, which he speaks about with mischievous excitement. In partnership with his friend designer Ty Stephano, Obsidian offers small‑batch leather luxury goods that have the same sharpened punk feeling as his music. Unlike his music and clothing, the twenty-six year old is soft-spoken and relaxed.
Back to the menu: Hadid scans the offerings, asks about my dietary preferences, dislikes and otherwise. He’s adamant about ordering something we can share. “I want to make sure we get something you can eat,” he insists. We end up with spicy cucumbers and ribs. The cost of this cheap date remains undisclosed because I got the place wrong. Fine, it was like 50 bucks. He tries valiantly to pay for the check. I swat him off. He pours us both tea.
Nicolaia Rips: First, I want to hear about the tour.
Anwar Hadid: We just finished two albums we’ve been working on for about a year and a half. We’re excited to play. It’s the first time we get to play all the songs live. It takes a lot of love to make it come to life in real time, we got no backing tracks, nothing. Every night is different. You need these moments to learn where you want to go.
I know that your band used to be called Oswald. Can you tell me a little about the name change?
We liked the name Oswald. We had a really beautiful experience finding the name, and it just came to us in a really nice way. But there are so many people named Oswald. Like 200 Oswalds on Spotify.
That’s crazy. I’ve simply never met an Oswald.
It doesn’t matter what the name is for us. You know, the name doesn’t make a person, it’s the person that makes them who they are. Same thing with a band. They don’t really matter.
Where’s your dream place to play?
I always wanted to play Glastonbury, or, like, some sick festivals. I don’t know…I just want to play. I was saying yesterday, we want to play with anybody. In a really nice way. With music, it’s like, ah shit, it dictates your life.
What are your first memories of being aware of music?
I was super young. I used to hang out by myself a lot and my mom would always know I was happy when I was whistling or humming. That’s always been with me, my melodies. I started making music at fifteen but even for the first couple years, it didn’t click that it really could be the path for me, doing something I love. Being able to create music has also helped me through a lot of the hardest periods in my life. Without music, I don’t know what I would have done. I’m grateful.
Who are your favorite musicians?
I’ll tell you who I listen to right now. Placebo is one of my favorite bands. I like Sunny Day Real Estate a lot right now. I listen to a lot of Quran prayers and a lot of ambient music. I like music for different reasons. What I do like is groups of people making music. I think it takes something, soul, to do something together. You can only go so far as one person.
Have you ever lived in New York?
Yeah, I did. When I was, like, 18. I moved here for two years. I liked it.
You don’t sound like you liked it.
I was just… I was very young. It was hard for me living alone in the city. I wasn’t used to it and I like nature a lot, so I felt out of place. I didn’t make very many friends. I don’t know why. Maybe because when I was younger, I was closed off in a lot of ways. I feel more open now, but it was hard for me to make friends. I went back to LA. I actually met Joey who’s in my band, and we just started making music. And then I just stayed there.
I hear you’re starting a record label now.
We’re starting a record label called Itchy Palm Records. It’s good luck and money if your right palm itches. The left is bad luck, means you’re going to be spending money.
Shouldn’t it be Right Itchy Palm Records?
No, because that’s part of the journey. You have to accept the good and the bad as the same. If I didn’t have some of the worst shit that ever happened to me, things I thought I would never get out of, I wouldn’t be the person I am. I can use that shit for good.
What do you feel is the biggest red flag on a first date?
I don’t, like, go on dates trying to find something bad about someone. I want to let people show me who they are. If it’s not right, if it’s not a vibe. I’ve been on dates with girls who are really sweet and didn’t have the spark. You have to lock in. You have to follow the spark.
Go-to first date spot?
I like the movies.
You can’t talk at the movies!
I guess that’s not a good first date…Okay, you hang out before the movies. Dinner and a movie. Or bowling. Also, I like a first date hike. See, that’ll show me something. You gotta be open to doing whatever. I’ll sit at home with somebody, not say shit and not talk, I’ll go to the movies, I’ll go bowling, I’ll go here, there.
What’s your star sign?
I’m a Cancer and a Gemini. I’m on the cusp. My Gemini friends really claim me though. What are you?
I’m a Leo.
You are very Leo.
Did you hear that you might be wrong about your star sign? The calendars are different.
Can we look it up? Tell the world the real one.
[We look up his birthday. He’s a Gemini.]
We need to take a photo of the food before I demolish it. Tell me about the brand.
Really, my first dream was to make fashion. I wanted to be a fashion designer. I feel like I could do it better than other people. The short story: Basically one day I was on my way to make a belt, I’d actually left all my belts in New York, and there’s this leather shop on Melrose that I like. I’m walking down the street on my way to the store, and Ty walks up smoking a cigarette. He said, Hey, man, I’ve been thinking about, like, making belts, and I was thinking about you the other day, thinking about this leather company. I was like, I’m going to make a belt right now! It was one of those moments where we kind of just, like, connected.
You manifested each other. Has being a model has altered how you feel about clothing?
Yeah, I don’t like wearing other people’s clothes, really. When I was younger it sometimes made me angry, wearing shit that I didn’t want to wear that I had to wear because I’m getting paid. I want to feel good. It totally changed the way I feel about clothing, because it gave me a little bit of a fire under my ass. Modeling though is a great opportunity and it showed me what I really want to do.
What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?
This jacket. It’s called the General Weesh jacket. Weesh is a nickname for me. [He looks down at his belt] I made this belt for myself. We just started producing our own silver buckles.
Does your family weigh in on the designs at all?
I like to show them the finished product so they’ll be proud of me. It’s like music, there’s only certain people you want to send, like, a rough thing to, that’ll understand where it’s going.
I know you produced a film that came out last year called “Walled Off.” Can you tell me about that?
I produced a film in 2019 with my buddy Vin Arfuso. He’s also Palestinian. I went to Palestine for the first time when I was 18, and it just kind of changed the way I looked at the world. It opened my eyes a lot, and the things that we saw we couldn’t really unsee. We decided to go back and try to uplift the voices of the people that we came in contact with, and share with the reality of our people. A lot of great people came to support us, like Roger Waters from Pink Floyd, also co-produced. Kweku Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s grandson, came in support of us. It was just some honest shit. Yasser Arafat, the former president of Palestine, said something like, when the West understands the plight of our people they’ll understand us and be our friend. And that to me, is like something I feel in the heart. I think the world has woken up a lot. People want change.
Do you see yourself producing more in the future?
Yeah. It’s also been hard. I’ve been super vocal about stuff. It’s important to protect yourself. I always tell people to do the work in real life. Obviously social media is an important part of that but the real work you do is in life.
What’s your vision for Obsidian?
I want to create things for my community of musicians to feel good. I have so many friends, especially musicians, that have no style whatsoever, and you love them the same, because they’re just fucking beautiful in different ways and create something so beautiful. They need some armor. Watching them wear some dope shit, it makes them happy, it makes me happy. When you put all the love you have into something, that’s what people are gonna gravitate to.
Have you always been so positive?
No, no. I was, I was very angry. For a long time I felt super unfulfilled. Now…I’m on a good trajectory.