Barbie. Taylor. The Heat. It’s been a record-shattering summer. To cool off as we head into one of the most unpredictable autmns … here are half-dozen recent music videos that made me go wow-now on the fashions. Who should I see next?! Tell me 🙂
Black Pumas – More Than A Love Song
A intergenerational time capsule of that one summer which should never have ended… The Giraffe Studios sisters (Juliana and Nicola) not only directed this gem, but also designed costumes that dress the characters in self-evident emotional truths. Stylist Sophia Odegaard helps bring out the textures and layers of a moment when nostalgia meets optimism.
The Beaches – What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Paranoid
Stylist Shae Holt delivers a master class on minimalism with cultural depth so subtle yet so profound, the abyss called, it wants its gaze back… All the brooding chics of the silver screen (from Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club to her majesty Kristen Stewart in Twilight) hover like fashion ghosts just off-screen inspiring a melange of contemporary looks.
Iniko – Jericho
This is proper epic couture … Stylist Monica Murillo leads us into temptation a futuristic anti-utopian fashionscape. I don’t need gravity. I just need growth. A welcome (and rare!) proper credits to the designers providing wardrobe warrants amplification: latex gear by Venus Prototype, adornments by House of Malakai, leatherwork by Cecilio Castrillo, masks by Lance Victor Moore, and textile art by Taste of Moon.
Simu Liu – Don’t
It’s not every day that a Marvel superhero drops a single… The ballad of Shang-Chi is surprisingly straight-forward: John Legend meets Billy Joel. Not to overhype this addtion to the already high-octane Simu Liu pop cultural universe, stylist Chloe Keiko Takayanagi brilliantly opted for diverse textures of a “plain” white shirt for this black-and-white video. Heartstrings, eyes of the beholder and taste buds are activated!
James Blunt – Beside You
Between Gran Turismo and the upcoming Ferrari biopic, Hollywood’s affair with elite car racing continues to blossom. All the more precious is this love letter to motorcross… Menswear artist Lee Holden and cast stylist Josef Barrowcliff work with a laconic satorial palette to ensure emotional continuity of the story while maintaing track-ready authenticity of the looks. Sure got our engins revving.
Bakar – Alive!
What do you wear to shut down traffic in the middle of Piccadilly Circus in broad daylight?! Stylist Katherine Fu opts for 50 shades of corporate gray, matching the buildings, the sky, the whole vibe of a capitalist monotany eating at one’s free spirit. A yes-please anthem by a brilliant artist and a grant example of successful single-look music video styling.
Meanwhile … stay august-awesome, stay tuned, stay styled!
If you are enjoying this, encourage me on Patreon or Buy Me Coffee 🙂
Check out previous installments of my Style the Beat series here
BONUS: OH SINEAD!
Behold a rare late performance of a song that has – for better or worse – defined her music legacy. Make sure to check out her interviews about losing mental health battles and finding Islam as well. Oh, Sinead… I will always remember you this way… December 8, 1966 to July 26, 2023.
Post-Paris Fashion 