Vogue Japan’s editor-at-large Anna Dello Russo’s weirdly ugly website has a byline that reads, “I don’t want to be cool; I want to be fashion.”
Maybe in Anna’s universe, fashion is all about commerce, and cool is too committal. Whatever, we’ve always thought her hyper-insane outfits were refreshing. Teaching Italian with a boat on your head, for example. When she said she wanted to be a pop star, we even got a bit excited.
Unfortunately, the song and the video are horrendous. “Fashion,” she sings, “is always uncomfortable; when you get comfortable, you never get the look.” Lady, you can do all the yoga moves you want; this video has no look.
The outlandish headpieces, bizarre accessories, and over-the-top ensembles that have become Dello Russo’s signature would surely make Lady Gaga proud. But cramming them all into one incoherent music video is sensory overload. Between the seizure-inducing edits, glitchy graphics, and Dello Russo writhing around in a skin-tight gold bodysuit, it’s hard to know where to look.
While the fashionista nails the “uncomfortable” part, the only look she achieves is confused madness. There are so many conflicting themes and styles smashed together that the video ends up looking like a thrift store exploded. If this was her goal, then mission accomplished. But as a showcase of high fashion, it fails spectacularly.
Dello Russo is better off sticking to her day job as an editor. As a pop star, she makes Rebecca Black sound like Beyonce. The video is a cringe-worthy trainwreck that hopefully stays buried in the darkest corners of the internet. Anna, let’s just pretend this never happened and move on.
