I'm everywhere I'm so Julia.
On the latest celeb fashion makeover.
Who is she???
That’s the question I asked when I posted this photo, of a major celebrity attending the Balenciaga Couture show, on my Instagram stories.
Blink and it’s Kim Kardashian. Blink again and it might be Bianca Censori.
Both good guesses! But no, this person has not been married to nor styled by Kanye West.
It’s the new era of Katy Perry. She’s had a high fashion makeover ahead of the launch of her upcoming single, Woman’s World.
And it’s a strong look. The slicked-back hair, the faux fur coat, the absence of a top (2024, not a great year for bras either.)
So did it land? Can a style rebrand help signal the cultural shift a highly commercial star like Katy needs? (Her last album, Smile, was released in 2020 and suffered from poor sales. Her next is due this year and still shrouded in secrecy.)
I’m not sure. I see this, and I can’t not imagine a boardroom of people strategising about the New Look (“…yes, Gerald, I think we go with ripped tights, that’s edgier...”)
Katy Perry is still associated, for most of us, with bubblegum pop and rainbows and lollipops. Literally, I hear her music and I think of candy.
Outside of her larger-than-life stage persona, I’ve never really seen her as a star with a strong personal brand. So you get the feeling someone in the room said that needs to change.
It’s not that I don’t think artists should be able to evolve their style along with their artistry. Madonna, Gaga and Taylor Swift have changed their looks as often as they’ve launched a new body of work. Beyonce said “country” and we all got out our cowboy boots.
An image reset can be a powerful tool, when it feels authentic.
And for the record, I think Katy looks amazing. Her stylist, Australian expat Tatiana Waterford, has done a great job with the execution (incidentally Tatiana’s wife, Chelsea Fairless, hosts my favourite podcast Every Outfit. Talk about a power couple.)
It helps that Katy has fully committed, too - she pulls it off from an aesthetic point of view. But it’s such a stark departure, no?
It makes me think about the point Charlie XCX is making in her song “360”, a satirical take on internet culture and its obsession with It-girls.
Charlie sings: “That city sewer sl*t’s the vibe, internationally recognised, I set the tone, it’s my design, and it’s stuck in your mind.”
In the music video, influencers including Gabriette and Euphoria’s Chloe Cherry sit around a table and dissect what it will take to transform an ordinary hot girl into a viral phenomenon like them - but like, a cool underground one.
To me, what Katy’s doing here feels like someone else’s design. Like it’s nothing to do with personal style and everything to do with selling an image to sell records. And I’m not buying it.
Her trying to out-Julia-Fox us is just too obvious.
What do you think about Katy’s new look? Let me know in the comments. X