CHARLI XCX

Jacket , bra and skirt, Ā Jeremy Scott. Earrings,Ā Laruicci Collection. Ring,Ā Lou Zeldis, available at Love AdornedĀ www.loveadorned.com. Necklace,Ā Michael Spirito available at Love AdornedĀ www.loveadorned.com. Shoes,Ā Missguided black platform leather boots

photographer / Jason Rodgers

stylist / Michael Fisher

story /Erica Russell

hair + makeup / Pascale Poma

Shirt,Ā Katrin Schnabl. Bra,Pins & Needles. Necklace, Charli’s personal.Ā Earrings,Ā Sugar Scout.

When Charli XCX answers her phone, it is mere hours before going on stage at Wembley to open for mega-pop-rock juggernauts Paramore. Conversational and calm, itā€™s hard to imagine that the 21-year-old is about to perform before a sold-out crowd of over 12,000 in her home country. But then the humanizing excitement bubbles over in her voice. ā€œIā€™m so excited! Itā€™s sort of a historical venue, I suppose, isnā€™t it? Iā€™m kinda freaking out, but itā€™ll go great, Iā€™m sure,ā€ she laughs.

No stranger to ā€œgirl power,ā€ Charli is thrilled to open for Paramore, fronted by fiery Hayley Williams. ā€œI love Hayley. I think sheā€™s a great performer. I love going on tour with like, really kick-ass girls. In fact, I just put together a new all-girl bandā€¦ so itā€™s really getting serious!ā€

Donā€™t get it twisted, though; the pop starā€™s new femme-fatale band-mates are less about serving as eye candy and more about serving up some empowerment. ā€œIā€™ve always wanted an all-girl band, and I looked around for the perfect girls. I just want people to see that girls can actually play and be really good [in music].

ā€œIā€™m really trying to relay that message on my new record,ā€ Charli admits. ā€œI feel like my purpose is to show that girls are massively important. Sometimes we get forgotten about and pushed behind the scenes. People think weā€™re just a bunch of puppets. I wanted to have a girl band so that I can prove that girls are fucking awesome!ā€

Of Charliā€™s female inspirations, Annabella Lwin of post-punk staples Bow Wow Wow has served a huge role in the electro-pop Britā€™s latest musical incarnation. ā€œI really love ā€˜I Want Candy.ā€™ Itā€™s got, like, that upbeat drum beat and that really great rhythm. Annabella is so fantastic,ā€ the raven-haired singer gushes. ā€œSheā€™s so sexy and just owns it. My new album is going to be like that. Itā€™s a very feminine album; itā€™s very sexy. And I feel like thatā€™s what my new song is about, too.ā€


Charli is referring to, of course, her kinetic new single, ā€œSuperLove,ā€ an energetic pop banger with zippy synths, a vibrant guitar riff, and infectious, dizzying rhythms that project the butterflies-in-your-tummy elation of crushing hard on a dream-boy. Barely a month after releasing the music video in September, the Ryan Andrews-directed clip has amassed almost half a million views on YouTube.

ā€œWe filmed it in Tokyo in this cool underground robot bar. We originally had wanted [the video] to have more of a David Lynch atmospheric world, but I felt it didnā€™t fit right with the vibe of the song. My friend Georgia had come back from Japan and told me about this amazing futuristic robot bar with colorful lights, and I was like, ā€˜Whoah!ā€™ Weā€™d been hoping to do a video in Japan for ages. When we shot, I didnā€™t have time to sleep for days. We got off the plane at 4 a.m. and started shooting at 6 a.m. It was crazy. But it was the best video Iā€™ve ever done.ā€
In the video, Charli wanders the streets of Tokyo before descending down the stairs of the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku and into a kaleidoscopic neo-future-world of flashing rainbow lights, laser beams, and giant dancing robots. In the end of the clip, she rides off with a Japanese bosozoku biker gang.

ā€œRyan is really into the movie ā€˜Akira,ā€™ā€ she explains. ā€œWe tried really hard to find a biker gang, and we werenā€™t sure if they were going to show up. So weā€™re on the set of the shoot, waiting, and suddenly we hear a massive engine roar! Over twenty bikers ride up. They were all really nice and really cool. I signed their bikes and helmets, which was really funny!ā€
Charli XCX isnā€™t ready to ride off into the sunset just yet though. If anything, sheā€™s just revving up her engine. With her critically acclaimed official debut album only released this past year, sheā€™s already laying down the foundations for her decidedly ā€œmore popā€ sophomore record.Ā  ā€œI mean, I havenā€™t written loads. Itā€™s not even halfway done, but I am in the planning process. I just rented out the recording studio for the songs. Iā€™ve been listening to a lot of Brigitte Bardot and different pop bands and bratty girlsā€¦ Iā€™m hearing lots of shout-y, brassy melodies. Itā€™s very riot, which is where Iā€™m at right now.

ā€œMy last album ā€˜True Romance,ā€™ was purple in color. I see this second record as very red in color. Iā€™m getting inspired by lipstick stains and red Chanel blazers and vintage Jean Paul Gaultier. I feel like this is the most pop I have ever gone. But who knows? Anything can happen.ā€


Skirt,Ā TOPSHOP. Shirt,Ā Missguided. Shoe,Ā Missguided black platform leather boots. Necklace,Ā Made Her Think skull long necklace. Earrings,Ā Laruicci Collection silver stud earrings.