The Get Down Cast Jaden Smith, Justice Smith, Shameik Moore

Authenticity is as important to Baz Luhrmann—he of Moulin Rouge, The Great Gatsby, and Romeo + Juliet—as his turned-up-to-11 directing style. So it's no surprise that for his new project—Netflix's The Get Down, a fine-grained homage to the hip-hop's early years, when street poetry blended with a beat and music was changed forever—he called on the knowledge of some of the scene's biggest legends. Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, and Kurtis Blow all advised or contributed. (Nas, trailblazer of a later hip-hop generation, served as an executive producer for the show and wrote all of its raps.) Graffiti pioneers Crash, Daze, and Lady Pink consulted as well. And the characters' style is so on point that at times the show looks like found footage from Studio 54 and the South Bronx circa 1977.

To get the outfits right, Luhrmann charged his designers—primarily costume designer Jeriana San Juan, as well as Luhrmann's constant collaborator and wife, Catherine Martin—with recreating the styles of the time as accurately as possible. Key to the show's tension is the clash between disco and hip-hop, so the team dove headfirst into two distinct worlds: one that, as San Juan puts it, prioritized glitz and glam and another that prioritized "a celebration of sneaker culture, tube socks, and cut-off shorts."

That dichotomy was evident on a recent visit to the show's set in Queens, where we walked past rooms that were alternately pristine and plastered in graffiti. We were there to talk to the show's absurdly talented actors—Justice Smith, Herizen F. Guardiola, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Shameik Moore, and Jaden Smith—about their characters' style and what '70s trends they'd like to see make a comeback. We also asked each to, well, get down.

JUSTICE SMITH

Plays: Ezekiel

Backstory: He's a kid so bookish that he's nicknamed Books—clever!—and whose repressed anger and skill with poetry translate to a ton of hip-hop talent. (He hadn't ever rapped before filming this show, a fact that continues to astonish.)

Personal Style: In the pilot episode, Books comes to terms with his love of spoken word and embraces the artistry of hip-hop, all while wearing a bonkers, bright blue acid jazz suit with cuffs that could be cut straight from a BDSM catalog.

But the suit doesn't belong to Books—he "borrowed" it—and it's not representative of his more subdued day-to-day look. When the blazer is off, his wardrobe—a blue polo shirt in particular—is directly inspired by Muhammad Ali. "My character is very studious," Justice says. "I learned that a lot of intellectuals wear blue—Jeriana and Catherine told me that blue was a 'smart' color."

'70s Style He'd Like to See Return: Justice would be happy to see afros and sideburns make a comeback—and, coincidentally, he's already rocking both. "The best thing about '70s fashion is that it was really tacky, but also really cool," Justice says.

Fun Fact: "I can't wait to turn 21. Not so I can drink—so I can get in to whichever New York City club I want," he says.

HERIZEN F. GUARDIOLA

Plays: Mylene

Backstory: She's the daughter of Pentecostal parents who, like her romantic interest Books, is at the tail end of her teenage years—that precarious time when we feel the urge to act more adult-like than most adults.

Personal Style: Because of her strict parents, she's torn between the rules she's given and the freewheeling rules she wants to live by. She manages small victories, such as rolling up her skirt a few notches when she's on her way to school, but it's not until night comes that her inner diva comes out swinging.

A scene in the pilot in which Mylene enters in a stunning dress is one of the biggest wow moments of the episode. Herizen describes her character as a "butterfly," and the dramatic entrance encapsulates her transformation into full-blown disco queen.

'70s Style She'd Like to See Return: Contrary to what her character might prefer, it's not the disco garb: "I'd like to see more of the Converse with the long socks. Or the headbands. Basically anything tomboyish, even the T-shirts from the '70s were better than the T-shirts we have now."

Fun Fact: She's also under 21, but, she says, "I never have any problem getting into any place in L.A."

YAHYA ABDUL-MATEEN II

Plays: Cadillac

Backstory: If the show has anything close to a pimp, it's him. The character holds court at Les Inferno, the Bronx's most popping disco, and does so with enough verve and flair to justify the leading role in a yet-to-exist film about the birth of the Hustle.

Personal Style: He discos, he threatens—"There's nothing safe about Cadillac," says Yahya—he wears enough jewels to outfit his own spot on 47th Street. He'd look right at home on a vintage cover of Jet magazine, from which the style inspiration for his character derived. Walt Clyde Frazier—who brought pimp fashion to the mainstream—was also an influence. The result is like a peacock with full feathers on display. As Yahya—who in real life prefers crisp white tees tucked into black pants to canes and fur coats—describes it, "At one point he looks like a gingerbread man, wearing this peanut butter-colored suit. And he's just weighed down with all this jewelry."

'70s Style He'd Like to See Return: Yahya would like to see a resurgence of shirts tucked into high-waisted jeans. "I want my legs to look so long that it seems that I could get from one end of the room to the other in a single step."

Fun Fact: He studied architecture before becoming an actor, which might explain his love of minimalism. But it does nothing to explain just where the hell he learned to move so well. "I never had any training. The first dance I ever learned was for the show, and it was the Saturday Night Fever dance."

SHAMEIK MOORE

Plays: Shaolin

Backstory: One big influence on the show you might not have expected, especially when it comes to Shameik Moore's character: Kung-fu flicks. Each of his leaps is accompanied by a whoosh, and whistles and chimes accompany his appearance at times as if he were Bruce Lee."I always wanted to be in an action movie, and this is the closest thing I've done," Moore says. "My character is kind of like a superhero. He's a bold strike, he's edgy."

Personal Style: Not only does he wear signature red Puma Clydes, which San Juan, the costume designer, calls "the sneaker to have in 1977," but he also rocks a red lambskin leather Members Only-esque jacket and a mesh tank.

'70s Style He'd Like to See Return: "The mesh tank top should come back," Shameik says. Jaden protests: "Those things are the worst, man.They're so uncomfortable, especially when you're sweating. Other people can wear them, but I'm not." Does it cause chafing? "Yeah. It's awful," Shameik admits. "They put fake sweat on us, so it wasn't comfortable."

Fun Fact: "I've been writing a short film for myself—I'm going to direct and star in it," Shameik says. "So I was paying attention to everything Baz said to set up a shot, or what he didn't like, or what the cameramen were doing to get the shot right. I was paying attention to everybody playing their roles. This whole process was like college for me." Is Jaden going to be in the short film? "If he lets me!" Jaden interjects. "Man, me and Jaden, we're going to do some dope shit together." Shameik says.

JADEN SMITH

Plays: Dizzee

Backstory: Jaden describes Dizzee as, "shocking, very different, kind of strange"— not a huge stretch for the actor—and a graffiti artist who literally draws on his clothes. Just as Jaden does in real life: "Dizzee is a writer, and he writes on everything,—walls, clothes." Jaden says. "Just like me. I draw on different things in my wardrobe that adds character and stories." Shameik backs him up: "First time I went to his place, he was drawing on shirts and jackets. He gives them to fans, too." Jaden clarifies: "Oh yeah. I sell them sometimes."

Personal Style: The most significant item Dizzee wears is a custom vintage denim vest with a fur collar. Lady Pink, one of the most prominent graffiti artists of the '70s, added some of her own art to his clothing, giving it an authenticity that helps bring '70s style to life in a way that elevates the items above the cartoonish and into a kind of magnified realism—something that can also be said for the show as a whole.

'70s Style He'd Like to See Return: "I'd like to see people rocking that fur," Jaden says. "That'd be real strange. Like, I'd want it to be on so many people that I could crowd surf on fur. That's not good, though. Because of the animals. It'd have to be fake fur. "

Fun Fact: Jaden wore a grill throughout the interview — possibly the same one he sneezed out of his mouth a few weeks ago. It didn't make for clear speech, but it looked pretty dope.

Photos by: Tyler Joe