Fashion's Sassiest New Act, Charli XCX, Will Bring Dalmatians, Strippers, and Plenty of Raunch 'To Charli and Jack Do America'

Charli XCX performs in Scotland on July 11. Photo: Getty Images

Since pop music 2015 often feels like one big high school, how great would it be to imagine a production of Grease cast entirely of millennial music’s biggest and brightest names? You’d have Nick Jonas as Danny Zuko, Justin Bieber as bad-boy Kenickie, Meghan Trainor as beauty school dropout Jan, and I think we all know who would play too-perfect, too-blonde Sandy. But the other easy-to-call role would be that of tough-talking, ball-busting chick Rizzo. It’s a part that Charli XCX was born to play.

Charli practically auditioned for the part in last year’s video for “Break The Rules,” the class-cutting hell-raiser that was an early taste of Sucker, the U.K. singer’s second album that was chock full of like-minded bratty tracks that were pop with a punk edge. There was “London Queen,” “Doing It” with Rita Ora, “Famous” (with its brilliantly subversive video send-up of selfie and social-media obsessed kids), and the rousing middle-finger title track whose lyrics may keep it from ever getting radio play, but is nevertheless a blast.

Style-wise, Charlotte Aitchison is a designer’s dream—at least for playful designers who like to break the rules. Early on she repped for that most iconic of outré Brits, Vivienne Westwood, as well as countryman Henry Holland, and more recently, the color-splashed creations of Clio Peppiatt. She’s become nearly as synonymous with Jeremy Scott as Miley Cyrus. At last year’s American Music Awards, Charli rocked no less than five outfits of varying degrees of glam and trash. Standout looks for her this year were a sharp pink Moschino tux she wore to the Grammys, a plaid Westwood suit at the amfAR gala in Cannes in May, and a crazy Viktor & Rolf creation she wore at a party in Paris during couture to mark the tenth anniversary of the duo’s “Flowerbomb” fragrance.

Charli’s aversion to playing by the rules extends to her music promotion duties. While some might say there’s life left in Sucker, which was only released in December, Charli’s been bursting at the seams with excitement in recent interviews to talk about her next record, a more electronic, club-friendly effort masterminded in large part by SOPHIE, the shadowy genius who’s an ally of the giddily clever London-based PC Music collective. But before that, the young rebel has months of touring to tend to—including a much-anticipated co-headlining jaunt of the U.S. with her pal Jack Antonoff (aka the frontman for Fun and Lena Dunham’s boyfriend), lovingly titled Charli and Jack Do America. Yahoo Style touched on all that and more, and even learned of some new fixations—tennis, Bloodhound Gang and Dalmatians—when we got on the phone with the irrepressible Charli XCX, fresh off a festival gig in London.

Yahoo Style: Charli thanks for the time, especially considering you just played a show tonight. Soon you head to San Diego to start the tour with Jack. It’s quite a whirlwind. Do you like that pace?

CX: Yeah I kind of want that. But I’m also writing my new record as well, I’m kind of in the middle of that, which is great. So that kind of gives me time to be creative, which I need.

YS: The Charli and Jack Do America tour starts July 21. Will there be a whole new look and set and outfits for this tour as compared to what we’ve seen you doing at the recent European festivals?

CX: Yeah there’s definitely going to be new outfits, for sure. But in terms of the stage I’m going to go with the same theme, with the huge heart lollipop and the flashing amps. Because I haven’t taken that full show to America yet and I really want people to see it.

Charli XCX in Viktor & Rolf with the designers during Paris Couture Week. Photo: Getty Images

YS: And a longer set, I imagine?

CX: Well, it’s a co-headlining tour so Jack will do an hour and we do an hour as well, plus there’s a support act. So it’s really a full-on show.

YS: About the same length as the Girl Power tour you did last year?

CX: Yeah but different songs, it’s gonna be new songs—well, not new ones from the new album. But I’m gonna play at least one song from the punk record that I made before I put out Sucker which no one has ever heard.

YS: What’s the name of that song?

CX: It’s called “Mow That Lawn.” And so I’m very excited about that.

YS: Will there be any covers? You’ve done “Money” in the show in the past.

CX: Yeah, I’m gonna do Bloodhound Gang, “The Bad Touch.” You know that song? “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals/ So let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel.” [laughs]

YS: Wow! Is that a long time favorite?

CX: Yeah I used to sing it in the playground when I was 7, weirdly enough! I just thought it would be like a funny, dumb song to cover!

YS: And what about new songs? I know you’ve been talking more lately about how excited you are for the new songs you’ve worked on with SOPHIE and others. Will any of that be in the show?

CX: No that’s all for the new album. So it’s all really under wraps until that comes out. It’s gonna be a totally different sound, completely different visuals. That’s gonna all come out in one go.

YS: SOPHIE debuted some of those songs he’s worked on with you at the PC Music Pop Cube event in Brooklyn in May, and people were really excited to hear them. There were even titles reported at the time, like “Let’s Ride” and “Throw It Up.” Were those even accurate titles, and is that stuff that is going to be on the record?

CX: The titles weren’t accurate, but yeah some of that stuff is definitely gonna be part of the next record, for sure.

YS: He is such a fascinating guy. Seems to be a really unique character.

CX: Yeah he’s highly intelligent. And it’s always nice to work with people who—he’s not really just about music. He’s about music in an inspiring way, it’s multi-dimensional for him. And it is for me too. The video is at least as important as the song for SOPHIE it’s very crucial to make a song sound like nothing else. I’ve had a really great time working with him.

YS: You’re moving in a more electronic direction, but I think there has been there’s been an impression for a long time that you’re a bit of a rocker at heart, and Sucker kind of reinforced that idea, especially some of the songs that didn’t get as much attention, like “Body Of My Own” or “Gold Coins,” those songs feel like have a real punk spirit to them. So I guess my expectation was that you were going to go even more rock-y moving forward. But it sounds like that is not the case.

CX: No, I mean I have always loved pop music and loved hip-hop, and my favorite music experiences are going out to clubs. And I have never really made a record where I’ve been able to do that on stage. I’ve always had a band and always played stuff that’s not really pop electronic, so I really want to go down that road. And the other thing is that I always change, and I will always strive to change. I mean the next album after the more pop electronic album I’m sure will sound completely different. For me to stay interested in what I’m doing, I have to see things really evolve and challenge myself.

Charli XCX in Juicy Couture. Photo: Getty Images

YS: In these last couple of years you’ve occupied a pretty unique place in terms of the way you’re perceived as kind of being in between the indie world and the more mainstream pop world. The only other person I can think of that seems to get love from both camps is Sky Ferreira. Do you think there is too much distinction made between those two worlds and do you agree that you are seen as kind of a bridge between them?

CX: That’s interesting. I actually think that people really don’t make much of a distinction between what is indie and what is pop. And maybe that’s just me pushing my view onto it. Because I don’t see it. I feel like if a song has a good hook, whatever genre that is technically, I see that as a pop moment. I also think in this day and age as well it’s a lot about personality and the way you convey yourself as an artist. I mean I can’t really speak for Sky, but I know myself, and I can’t really convey myself in the way that a pop star in 2015 is “supposed” to convey themselves. And I think that is maybe why I am in this weird middle ground, because I’m not looking to please everybody, even though I am making pop music which kind tends to want to please everybody. If I end up doing that naturally, that’s fine, I’m happy to do that. But I’m just trying to make music I want to make and be very honest and open with what I write.

YS: On to style. Recently in your live shows you’ve been wearing a zebra print outfit. But you said that’s gonna change for America?

CX: Yeah now it’s gonna be changing to Dalmatian.

YS: Dalmatian?

CX: Yeah [laughs] And I collaborated with this UK designers called Clio Peppiatt. She custom made all these pieces for us that are co-designed with her and my stylist. It’s really cool, very kind of cartoon-y and French, like Parisian night out. But like, more of a tacky strip club.

YS: I saw the Glastonbury set online, and that was a different outfit. More of a schoolgirl thing, right?

CX: Yeah that was just something I decided on like five minutes before we went on. I was just like, “Shall we just be schoolgirls today?” It was actually my actual uniform from my old school, even the tie.

YS: Do you and the band always dress similarly?

CX: Yeah. Sometimes I will wear something different. It changes.

YS: Do you feel like your own style, the looks that you like to play with, has evolved over these last couple of years?

CX: Definitely. I think I have definitely become more in touch with my femininity, and dressing in a sexy way.

YS: In the past were you reluctant to look too girly or too sexy?

CX: I just think it wasn’t what I was into. I was into platform shoes and that was kind of my shit. And to be honest I think I’m going back that way a little bit. And also I’ve always been into like schoolgirl fashion, and like tennis. I think I’m really into tennis right now.

YS: Tennis? Is this like a Wimbledon influence?

CX: Yeah I think so. [laughs]

YS: You’ve had some great looks this year. The tux at the Grammys, that Westwood suit in Cannes…

CX: I love Vivienne!

Charli XCX in Vivienne Westwood at a party for the designer. Photo: Getty Images

YS: And then there was that Viktor & Rolf flower thing, I couldn’t tell what was going on with that.

CX: Well it was this huge structural dress that kind of felt like five dresses made into one. It was so huge I couldn’t even sit down. But it was amazing because their things are really like art pieces, you know?

YS: I imagine when it comes to outfits for tour, things have to be a little more mobile and functional than that?

CX: Yeah sometimes. But I still like platform shoes and stripper style too when I’m on stage. But yeah, my drummer has to sit with her legs open so it’s not good for her to wear a skirt that she can’t do that in. Like a really tight mini skirt or kilt or whatever.

YS: And as for that upcoming US tour, Charlie and Jack Do America, can we expect some stars and stripes, some kitsch-patriotic thing?

CX: Well, I’m not American so…but we might do some kind of American road-tripping situation! Like hang out with cowboys or something, I’d be up for that!

YS: Finally, your next single from Sucker is “Need Ur Luv”?

CX: Yeah well that’s still TBD, but yes.

YS: You did that song with Rostam Batmanglij from Vampire Weekend, and even performed it with him months ago on Letterman. Anything you care to say about that particular song, or about working with Rostam?

CX: It’s one of my favorite on the album, and it’s a song that I wrote in Sweden. I flew Rostam out to Sweden, we were kind of staying there in this amazing Swedish countryside mansion, and we would just write songs under these huge chandeliers. And we also worked a lot at his place, and he just became a really good friend of mine, someone I really trust. He’s always brutally honest with me, and that’s really nice, to have someone who is so talented he can do that for you. He is very talented and special, and he’s also sometimes so frustrating to work with. [laughs] But that’s good because he is the absolute definition of a perfectionist.

YS: You sound so excited about that next record. Is it gonna be before the end of the year? Or not until next year?

CX: Possibly, possibly. I can’t promise, I’m kind of aiming for that. But I don’t know if that will happen.

Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff’s Charli and Jack Do America tour kicks off on July 21 in San Diego.

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