Couture Fashion Week is underway, and the front rows have been delivering almost as much excitement as we’ve seen on the catwalk. This was certainly the case for singer Olivia Dean, who attended her very first Chanel couture show in her “President Barbie” tweed skirt suit.
The ensemble was a couture design – a collarless cropped jacket with a matching mini skirt and statement buttons. She teamed it with silver jewellery, a mini pink handbag and the label’s classic slingback pumps.
We caught up with the star to chat all about the look, as well as her on-stage style, her fashion muses and why she thinks we all need to have a little more fun with our wardrobes.
Please talk us through your look for the Chanel show – what drew you to this particular outfit?
“This is the very first time I am going to be wearing couture so it’s a big moment. When we went into the fitting, I knew immediately that this was going to be the look – it’s really colourful but is still that classic, timeless Chanel. I feel like I am President Barbie. It’s pink, black and white, I’ve got lovely chrome nails and all the jewellery is this beautiful silver so it’s also quite fun. I’m really excited to wear it.”
What makes Chanel such a great fit for you and your personal style?
“The more I learn about Chanel and the heritage of the brand, the more aligned I feel with it. It’s just so timeless and always has been and always will be – and that’s the root of what they do. Everything is about that and that’s what I am trying to achieve with my music – I want to make something that is timeless, so it goes hand in hand with that in a way.”
How do you decide which brands you want to work with?
“I am quite picky! It is all about how I feel with fashion – if I don’t feel powerful or confident or sexy in it, I can’t wear it, I can’t stand behind it. So, at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about to me and that’s what fashion is about – it’s about looking and feeling good.”
How involved do you tend to be with the styling process?
“I am very involved – I am a bit of a perfectionist. I have my amazing stylist Simone [Beyene]. We’ve worked together for a long time and, hopefully, we’ll work together forever. We have really built that relationship and we have such an open dialogue. She knows before I do what I will want to wear – so often she will present a selection or a vision board and then we will fine tune it from there. But it’s never that I am being told what to wear – it’s a dialogue, and also, it’s very playful. I think sometimes people take this stuff really seriously – and it’s like, let’s just have fun. We’re dressing up here – so sometimes I will push myself out of my comfort zone too.”
What kind of fashion makes you feel your most confident?
“When I’m performing, I lean into more glamorous things. I love when I see my favourite artists really doing it well. I went to see Beyoncé and the outfits she was stepping out in, they just really set my soul on fire. I really aspire to that level of glamour and to be able to step into a character on stage. Off stage though, I am quite casual – I wear a lot of black and white and denim. I keep it pretty simple – so when I’m performing, that’s when I really have fun.”
How has your style evolved over the years?
“I’ll tell you, when I was younger, I had absolutely no swag. Fashion is something I have really have learnt so much about now, in understanding what makes me feel good. When you’re younger, you just think stylish is what everyone else is doing, you just sort of copy what you see. Obviously now I do still look up to people but I think I’ve realised that it’s cooler to pave your own way.”
What has been your most memorable fashion moment in recent years and why?
“That’s a tough question – I feel like even the last year alone, I have been able to wear stuff I just never thought I would have the chance to. I’ve worked with some really cool brands and experienced some amazing moments. The first fashion show I went to was for Chanel and I wore this amazing black ballerina dress that was sheer from the waist down. I just stepped out and was like ‘This is crazy, I’m at a Chanel show’. And then on Friday, I am playing at the Pyramid Stage and I’m really excited about what I’m wearing – I feel like it’s a new fashion space for me so that’s really exciting, although I can’t tell you what it is just yet.”
Whose style have you always admired and why?
“My top three, the Holy Trinity, has got to be Zendaya, Taylor Russell and Michaela Coel. I feel like they dress with such grace, decorum and power – they just always get it right.”
What is your ideal getting-ready set-up?
“I’ve definitely fine-tuned it. First off, my team – they’re all women and I just love them all. I always have my speaker on me, I don’t go anywhere without it, so I am always the DJ and I just want a lot of good time stuff, lots of Destiny’s Child. I like everyone to be having a singalong when I’m almost ready, but there is also just a lot of chatting and gossip, it’s always quite lively.”
Fashion has a reputation for being frivolous, but why does what we wear matter?
“Well, it does have reputation for being frivolous, and I think it kind of is to be honest, but what you wear is an extension of yourself and that’s powerful. It’s the same as the way you choose to do your hair, which is so important to me – for me, it’s my power, learning how to do it and what makes me feel good. I think fashion is the same – it’s about how you’re choosing to present yourself to the world, it’s the same as what you’re saying with your words and your actions. And, like I said before, fashion is actually just really fun.”
