How Sasha Belyaeva Went From Muse to Musician
Sasha Belyaeva’s musical ascent has been a long time coming. At just 20, the Russian-born star has already experienced the life of a fashion muse, making her debut for Karl Lagerfeld in a 2016 Chanel couture show, and since appearing in the pages of Vogue editions around the world. But for the release of her first EP, Greatest Illusion, she is reintroducing herself to the world as a blue-haired, alt-pop chanteuse, in the mold of Björk. The culmination of a childhood dream, it’s the moment Belyaeva has been waiting for. “Do you ever feel like you’ve have always been working on something?” she says. “It’s always been there. The EP is like a missing piece to the puzzle in me.”
A music career has been on Belyaeva’s mind since her days as a “baby Joni Mitchell just arriving in New York,” but bringing the project to fruition took time. “The journey was finding the team of people who could manifest the dream with me,” she adds. The ideal collaborator came in the form of How to Dress Well’s Tom Krell, who served as the EP’s producer. Like many musicians of her generation, Belyaeva took the process into her own hands, working without the backing of a major label. Eager to assume full control, she was unfazed by the prospect of branching out on her own. “It was my responsibility to put out something unbound by a record company; that first project a music artist shares is the one that creates their subculture,” she explains. “We live in an age where people are obsessed with estimating everything; life has turned into risk management. Few rewards are offered for those who don’t take artistic risks, [and] the ultimate risk comes from experimenting.”
Influenced by personal heroes like Sinead O’Connor and Elizabeth Fraser, lead singer of Cocteau Twins, Belyaeva’s sound is one of atmospheric and innovative pop. As artists like Billie Eilish and King Princess continue to change the genre’s expectations, she also hopes to bring something fresh to the table, whether or not it’s well received. “Let’s be honest: Whether you are Billie Holiday or Billy Idol, you want people to react to the vision and the voice,” she says. “Of course I’d like my fans to enjoy my music, it would be lovely if they find it beautiful; if it happens to be that they find it strange and don’t understand it, I’m okay with that, too.”
Thankfully, so far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. After hosting private listening sessions at venues like Osaka’s Church of Light, Belyaeva has been able to connect with her audience directly—but she also can’t wait to share her talents with the world. “For six months I’ve been organizing secret listening events for my fans,” she says. “Up until this point, my music has been just that: secret. The next goal will be performing for the first time in September here in New York, for everyone to experience.”
The fact that her New York dates fall during the collections isn’t lost on Belyaeva. She may have traded the runway for a stage, but she credits the time she’s spent in fashion with honing her resilience. Tasked with traveling, managing her finances, and living on her own at the age of 14, she recalls her modeling days as a baptism by fire. “It’s demanding and risky—so, so risky,” she says. “Life moved very fast, and the gravity of opportunities taken and lost [are] judged by your intuition.”
Belyaeva’s knowledge of fashion is evident in the music video for her song, “Are,” which nods to the hologram projection of Kate Moss used in Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2006 collection. The Jessie McGowan–directed clip serves as a visual expression of Belyaeva’s journey, from past to present. Set to launch on iTunes alongside her EP, the ethereal video isn’t your standard promo, but a statement that Belyaeva is ready to forge her own path. “Do the right thing, not what you are told,” she says. “I’d offer this advice to everyone.”
Originally Appeared on Vogue
