BN— There’s also an element of like the “cutesy-sexy,” like that Ashley Williams cat skirt.
CP— Oh, and random animals. I've sent you that really shiny horse.
BN— Oh my god, the shiny horse— what are they called?
[For reference, they are referring to the Akhal Teke horse, otherwise known as the ‘Golden Horse’ for their distinctive metallic sheen.]
BN— Clara, what kind of movies did you like as a little kid?
CP— Oh my god. So I realized that, in retrospect, I was really attracted to mise en scène and like, that was what qualified movies as good. So movies that I thought had good costume and set design. You know, a movie that I loved as a kid was Josie the Pussycats, which is a satire on the music industry. I think most of that flew over my head when I was little. Now I have friends with record labels, and I appreciate it more. But the costumes in that are insane. I also loved really bright cartoons. And I did love musicals, things that I could sing along to. I think I was a theatrical child. I never did theater, but I would put on performances for my siblings, and I would sing everything. I liked things that had really well dressed teenage girls in them. Movies for me weren’t just entertainment. I would see someone, and I’d be like, ‘That’s who I want to be.’ Freaky Friday, or Mean Girls. I'd see an adult girl, and be like, ‘I want to be an adult girl, so I can wear whatever I want.’ What about you, Bella?
BN— I really liked old movies, ones that had sets that were all built out. I was fascinated by set design. The Neverending Story was a huge one for me. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a major one for me.
I really love this sense of silliness that you’re both drawn to— the duality between the silliness and seriousness in some of these things. You both have this sense of humor about fashion and art, with also this extensive knowledge about it. It feels playful.
BN— For me, being surrounded by things that make me happy to look at gives me genuine joy. And being surrounded by those things doesn't let me sink into anything dark. They kind of keep you afloat. So I feel like it's also a life raft in this vehement collecting of strange objects or strange items of clothing. I just bought a shirt with an anthropomorphic rooster riding a chariot with pigs. It was a sweatshirt that was cut up. It's so cool.
CP— The phrase, ‘life raft’ is an accurate descriptor. I need visual stimulation for my sanity, and having these things around me that are fun and whimsical really just helps me to be a stable, sane person. And I can think about the humor. I like clothing that is so playful. If I can only own statement pieces, that would be my dream wardrobe. And I'm kind of getting there. I mean, I think things like the Jeremy Scott Adidas bear jacket that I have with the matching bear shoes. Like I really want the matching pants, by the way. I'm keeping my eyes peeled. They're gonna be expensive, so I'm just sitting tight, waiting to find the perfect pair. But I just need something that isn't just going to make me smile. I think I like making other people happy. I like to make other people smile when I walk down the street, and they're like, 'Oh, I've never seen anything like that before!' I think fashion can be a really social thing. Because while I'm expressing myself, I'm going out into the world, and other people are seeing it. And so being able to start that conversation is really nice, just doing it with my clothing. Because sometimes it's overwhelming. 'How do you talk to someone?' 'How do you start a relationship?' Just expressing your truest self with what you're wearing, and expressing that sense of humor, expressing whatever's going on inside-- just let people know straight away who you are.
About a year ago, Bella and I hung out, and we did a little photo shoot. And what was really interesting was that we bonded over being aesthetically attracted to messes. Like my apartment, we made it a complete mess. We threw clothing everywhere, and we kind of use that as scenery. And I think that attraction to something that looks like a tornado hit [my apartment], there's beauty in having every piece of your life just strewn out across like that. I think that we're on the same page about how just letting everyone see the mess within can be so beautiful. Because I'm not gonna lie, my apartment looks like that all the time. But for someone to be able to capture that, and make it beautiful, and understand that every day I play dress up with myself, and every day I have to clean up that mess.