Lana del Rey

Music & Fashion: Lana del Rey

The protagonist of this month is one of the most promising talents of international music scene. Languid look, almost melancholic, fleshy lips and a worm and fascinating voice. Forget Madonna and Britney Spears, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. The new real queen of pop is her: Lana del Rey, born Elizabeth Woolridge Grant. Intriguing and charming as a fairytale character, Lana looks like a modern incarnation of a diva who came form the past and sings love and desolation trough mysterious and melting melodies. 

As a consumed diva, even her personal life seems to look like a movie: from her childhood spent in Lake Placid to the rehab at Kent School in Connecticut because of drug and alcool diseases when she was 15 to the moving in New York when she was 18. Is 2008 when, as Lizzy Grant, she publish her first EP called Kill Kill, that contains the singles Kill Kill, Yayo and Gramma (Blue Ribbon Sparkler Trailer Haeven). Her style is a mix among pop culture and 60's influences.

She is inspired by Fiona Apple, Norah Jones and Britney Spears but also Elvis Pristley and Kurt Kobain (of which she says she shares the anxiety). Is just looking to those artists that Lana understands that she needs to work on herself. She is able to create a world where escape, a world that recalls the golden years of the myths of celluloid and the american dream. Her stage name is derived by the stylistic associtation between the name of the actress Lana Turner and the car Ford Del Rey. That's how is born the character Lana del Rey, characterized by a look of a modern and elegant Lolita. 

In april 2010 she signes a double contract with Interscope and Polydor, and in october 2011 with Stranger Records. In june 2011 she realizes her first single Video Game, a song written with Justin Parker, and in august she publishes am homemade music video of the song on youtube: the song becames a viral success on internet and makes her know to public. A short time after Lana wins several awards like the Q Award for "Best New Thing" and she begins to assert herself as femme fatale of international pop music. 

In january 2012 she publishes Born To Die, one of the best-selling albums of the year that churns out successful singles like Blue Jeans, National Anthem, Born To Die and Summertime Sadness and make her win several awards like GQ Award for "Woman of the year", the BRIT Award for "International Breakthrough Act" and an EMA for "Best Alternative Act". In 2013 she releases the music video of Ride and Blue Velvet.

Lana's strenght is in her songs, full of a pop-trash perversion, focused on femininity, that she expresses with seductive naivety. Lana explains her muisc style as an "Hollywood Sadcore", a new shade of pop music characterized by sad melodies accompained by slow rythms, typical of 50's and 60's, but also influenced by artists like Mariah Carey and Eminem. 

Further an extraordinary music talent, Lana created an almost perfect style ad hoc, a mash-up equipped with a balanced dose of vintage glamour and contemporary delux and an artist with a so cool sense of style couldn't not to be noted by fashion system: she's not only a music talent, she's a catwalk artist. Every designers fight each other to have her on the parterre of their fashion shows. She's a feminine style icon but, at the same time, she doesn't represents an unattainable stereotype: she's the classic girl next door who is always capable to transmit the impression of an "high-street" elegance. Is not a surprise that both big and low cost fashion brands look at her as an inspiring muse. If H&M choses her as testimonial of the 2012-13 f/w campaign (accompanied by a music video realized for the occasion), Mulberry gave her name to a bag... and who wouldn't want a bag called with her own name?

 Her style perfectly reflects her personality. Main elements of it are:

• hair: big hair, 60's style, animated by soft waves that framing her face;
• make up: always perfect characterized by long thick lashes, a lot of kajal eyeliner and red lips;
• nails: she's a big fan of nail art;
• short dresses, often characterized by flared shapes;
• colors: from neutral shades to more bright nuances that perfectly  match and contrast with her red hair;
• skinny jeans;
• ballerinas;
• accessories: from handbags to hair accessories, like the unforgettable floral headband (that she wears in the music video of Born to die).

I like her style so much! It's so sophisticated and studied in details but it's also so versatile and easy to recreate and plus, it has the undescribable charm of legendary 50's and 60's. In this short slideshow her best looks.

What do you think?