Monday, April 26, 2010

Inspired by the Music of Interpol

Interpol is my go-to band on depressing, rainy days, and just guess what kind of day today is. I enjoyed my previous posts on fashion inspired by the music of Metric, so I decided to do the same thing with Interpol this time. And here we go...

"Obstacle 1" from the album Turn On the Bright Lights

Interpol's lyrics are usually very cryptic. While they don't necessarily tell a clear story, they do a phenomenal job of invoking an emotional response. The vague, poetic lyrics coupled with the sound of a particular song paint an incredibly vivid picture of the emotional state being portrayed. Obstacle 1 feels like a song about a hopeless, unrequited love and a desperate attempt to win over the object of those affections. It has a heavy and dark sound relying on reverb effects and Paul Banks' distant, Ian Curtis-esque vocals to illustrate simple sorrow. I didn't want to rely too heavily on Interpol's Gothic influence when interpreting it in fashion, but I tried to convey the sorrow and heartbreak in a more subtle way. Also, I wanted it to be friendly for gray and rainy days (like today).


"Evil" from the album Antics

This song has a sleeker sound and is more up-tempo and polished than "Obstacle 1." The dark, sophisticated vibe translated here into a more sexy-yet-professional look. I stuck with grays and blacks since they can portray "evil" as well as sleek sophistication. The subtle animal print accents give the outfit a touch of a more daring, exotic look which is a reference to a couple random bits of lyrics in the song.


"The Heinrich Maneuver" from the album Our Love to Admire
(Watch the video here.)

Being the most upbeat and least depressing of these three songs, I wanted to lay off the heavy use of black and make it more of an accent here. The girl in this music video wears a light, flowing dress which was an indirect inspiration for the light blue tunic. Since this IS Interpol we're talking about here, this song isn't a sunny, happy tune so I added sleek, black accessories to the ensemble. This song is about frustrated love (kind of a theme with these guys) and the dark heart pendant is meant to be a nod to that.

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