Malcolm Todd on Forgetting to Wear a Shirt, Sagging, and Being a ‘Messy Man’

Malcolm Todd has a habit of forgetting to wear a shirt, especially in his hometown of LA. “When I’m in California, I like to be pretty naked,” he says over Zoom, live from his bedroom. He’s broken habit for GQ today, though. Todd is wearing a T-shirt layered over his signature red necklace, which has its tiny guitar charm. Fans gave it to him a year ago right before a show, and he hasn’t taken it off since.Shirts are important for our conversation because Todd is starring in a new campaign for legendary clothier Gap alongside Obsession star Inde Navarrette. In the commercial, Todd puts his laid-back spin on Robyn’s iconic “Dancing on My Own,” reimagining the anthem through a distinctly West Coast slacker lens.The indie pop-R&B artist has an easygoing boyish charm reflected in his Oasis mod haircut and uniform of baggy jeans, tank tops, and flip-flops. Some might call him a soft boy. His breakthrough mixtape was, after all, titled Sweet Boy. Todd, however, has a different label for himself. “I’m a SpongeBob guy,” he tells me.Obsession star Navarrette and Todd are a clever pairing. The singer shares his own fascination with obsession that runs throughout his music. On his hit “Sweet Boy,” he sings from the perspective of someone entangled in a codependent relationship. By contrast, on “Obsessica,” the second track from his sophomore LP, Do That Again, he’s the one chasing the intoxicating adrenaline rush of young love.Ahead of the Do That Again tour, which kicks off in September, Todd sat down with GQ to discuss the Gap campaign, dressing for tour, and whether the family dynamics in the mid-2000s ABC sitcom The Middle could have been inspired by him and his siblings—including fellow indie pop artist Audrey Hobert.GQ: What is your favorite item of clothing you wore while filming this Gap commercial?I love the jeans that I had on in the shoot, the ’90s Loose. I like to pretend they made them for me, because it feels like it. I love the iconic Gap tee. And then there was this blue-and-yellow flannel I was wearing off-set that I took home. I hope they don’t get mad at me. It was really cute.Speaking of the jeans, I feel like they’re part of your signature sagging style.I just forget a belt a lot of the time. My pants have been falling down my whole life. Sensory-wise, I don’t like them too high on my hips. It just doesn’t feel comfortable to me. So I kind of just let them fall. Hopefully it’s not scaring anyone off too much.Also, you wear them with boxers.That’s always been me. Boxers and pants. I’m a very messy man. I’ve stained my clothes a lot. But that’s what clothes are for. You just want to feel comfortable.In your song “Earrings,” you talk about losing something in a former partner’s bed. Have you ever lost anything to an ex that you wish you could get back?Courtesy of GapWhile I’m in a relationship, I’m always like, “Here, take this. This is yours. That looks cuter on you.” I’m so happy to do it. And then [when it ends] you want it back. And you’re like, “That was really cute on you, but now it’s forever cute on you.”Have you ever taken anything from an ex that you kind of just sneakily didn’t give back?I don’t think I ever stole anything, but I definitely accidentally took a lot of stuff. Funny enough, there’s this shirt [from an ex] that says “Seniors” that my dad loves. It’s like his basketball shirt.There’s this fan theory that’s been going around that I’m hoping that you could clear up. So your dad worked on The Middle, and there’s this theory that he based the characters off of his children. Is that true?He couldn’t have based them off of the children, because he didn’t create the show. I think that’s where it gets screwed up. He was a writer on the show. There’s a staff of writers helping pitch ideas and write, but he didn’t come up with the show. There are definitely a lot of stories that happened in our lives that he funneled into episodes, but he didn’t create Sue Heck or Axel Heck. He came on in the second season and helped write episodes.Is there one story that did happen in real life that you recall?There’s a bunch of stuff with Axel not getting out of bed, or definitely there was a lot of stuff that I did trying to work around doing shit I didn’t want to do, like cleaning my room by throwing everything in the backyard. There’s definitely a lot of Axel stories of me probably being a shitty son.Inde Navarrette (l.) and Malcolm Todd. Courtesy of GapWhat was it like filming with Inde Navarrette for your Gap commercial? Had you seen Obsession before?I’ve actually seen it twice. It’s so good. She’s super, super down to earth. It’s cool to be with someone who is on the rise in a different artistic field. It’s always very interesting to pick their brain.What was your reaction to the movie?There were points where I was like, “Man, this is real life. This isn’t a horror movie.” I was just horrified. I’m a scaredy-cat, and I watch a horror movie half-looking at the ground the whole time because that stuff sticks with me.You’ve gone through different hairstyles: a buzz cut, longer hair, and the hair that you have now. What’s the inspiration for your current look?This is how my hairstyle naturally goes, and I just wanted to not run away from it. I don’t think my hair’s supposed to be long. I don’t feel like my hair’s obviously supposed to be completely bald. I naturally look kind of UK-ish. I love those guys. Those guys are cute, so I just lean into that.Is the way that you dress on tour different from your everyday?I like to be able to wear what I wore to lunch onstage. I don’t want to feel like I have to be like, “Oh, it’s time to be a performer.”