issue 1
disrupt the norm.
disrupt the norm.
Ellen; What is it that you love about Stevie Nicks?
I love that she was carefree and basically did what she wanted; it inspires me to do the same and to do things that I genuinely enjoy. Her music makes me feel free and lets me connect with who I am on the inside. She lets me escape.
How do you feel she has influenced your personal style?
I take inspiration from her flowing dresses and bold silhouettes mostly. It sounds silly but I feel a bit like a fairy if that makes sense? Just able to be who I am and be a bit less constrained compared to when I’m wearing jeans all the time, but only when it’s warm enough in England of course!
Which song of hers is your favourite?
Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac if I’m in a more mellow mood; it still has substance, whilst feeling relaxing at the same time. But then I also love Don’t Stop if I need to dance and let go; that one’s really good when I’ve had a drink or two!
Do you think music still has an impact on our fashion choices, say compared to how it did when Stevie Nicks first rose to fame? I think it definitely does, but in a different way to before. You don’t have to belong to one genre or subculture within music; you can take inspiration from so many different places so easily. Maybe it’s because people are more open minded, and they can experiment with their musical identity; its not so rigid and conforming anymore.
Would you say streaming music has influenced this?
Oh absolutely! When we listen to a song now, we automatically have a full new playlist made for us of similar songs that we might like. It’s so readily available we don’t rely on what’s around us to determine the music we hear anymore, but we can discover other music in one click, as opposed to buying a full record.
When you walk down the street you don’t now see a group of mods, rockers or teddy boys, but instead a mix of individuals who you can’t always pinpoint to one genre. The cliques you used to see are harder to find. Gone are the days where you bought songs on a record or even a CD; we don’t have to be so loyal to our favourite artists. We have the ability to pick and choose whatever music whenever we want. I remember being in my dad’s old car, it was so old it had a tape player, and I would get so excited to choose which tape to play. My 6-year-old self had a thing for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Now, I can’t help but reminisce and wonder if that would happen if I were born only 6 years ago. If, instead, now I would scroll through his phone and choose a playlist that might not even be his. This makes me angry. Angry because a memory so simple yet so full of joy has been taken away from someone else who came after me. That memory I have of my dad and his tapes and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers would be so different now, and I just can’t let it go.
Ella; How did you discover Billie Eilish? I think one of my friends might have been playing her music and I had to ask who it was. The first song I heard was ocean eyes and I remember thinking I hadn’t heard anything quite like it before - her voice and the music behind it was so unique I just wanted to hear more.
What is it in particular that you love about Billie Eilish’s style? I love that she continued to be true to herself and wore what she wanted even when she received hate for it. People hated what she wore because it was different and maybe a bit unsettling, but she did it to protect herself and her body. Now look at fashion; you can’t say the youth of today haven’t taken influence from her in one way or another. Baggy silhouettes and garish prints are everywhere, even if they’re worn differently, I think it was through the help of Billie Eilish that they became popular in the mainstream.
How do you feel when you listen to Billie Eilish’s music? I feel like she understands me, if that makes sense. Everything I feel like I can’t express she just does so well. This helps me just process my feelings better and sort of understand what I’m thinking.
Which song of hers is your favourite? I can’t choose between idontwannabeyouanymore or lovely because they’re both emotional and I feel like I relate to the lyrics of these songs the most. They’re meaningful and definitely different to other songs I’d heard before I found Billie Eilish.
Do you think music still impacts people’s style as much as it did maybe a few decades ago? I think it’s hard to say because it’s a very different time and certain things have changed. Music artists can be seen as ‘influencers’ to the younger generations and directly have a say in what we wear, whether they mean to or not. But at the same time the subcultures we used to see just don’t exist as strongly anymore, and these were a direct link to someone’s music preferences.
Social media means we have more of everything; exposure, consumption, choice. You have access to every piece of music you could probably think of, without even needing to leave your bed. In a way, we’re spoilt for choice. We have the possibility to broaden our horizons and discover things we would never have had the chance to before. So, this gives me some hope that my memories won’t really be ruined by Spotify, even if it does change them. I shouldn’t lie and say that I think this is a bad thing either, because I would truly be lost without it. I would be lost without the music I love, which just so happens to be on Spotify in my perfectly organised playlists and, of course, I have one for each of my moods. I guess I simply want to take inspiration from ‘the good old days’ and respect the order of an album every once in a while. It can’t hurt to look back and think "things were better back then", but we say this whilst forgetting about how we had to rewind the tape every time we wanted to re-listen to the album, or how the CD got scratched and ruined the song. We all listen in different ways. We all listen to different things, but that doesn’t mean we’re all that different from each other. So, be (un)conventional. Listen to your music how you like it, however that may be. No matter how we appear on the outside, we can all feel the same on the inside. I would say we all come back to music at some point, or in some way.
To be unconventional is to create your own version of you. To stand out from the crowd when ever yone else blends in. It m ay b e u n c o m fo r t a b l e , i t m ay b e embarrassing, but that is where we can surprise ourselves and create something incredible. Boundaries are there to be pushed and prodded and poked. Rules are there to be broken and bashed and bruised.
An insight into o u r r e l at i o n s h i p s to music and the effect this has on s t y l e a n d fa s h i o n .