Can music exist without the influence of fashion? For designer Emily Daccarett fashion and music can not be separated. Daccarett creates an immersive world of storytelling through music, film, and fashion. Each artistic direction begins with a beat that forms a story.
From the start of her brand, she has fused those worlds together, creating a symbiotic flow between the two. She uses textiles, shapes, and sound as her tools to world building, and gives her audience the chance to step into those stories and experience it themselves. She graduated from Instituto Marangoni in Paris and the prestigious Ecole De La Chambre Syndicale de La Couture Parisienne, where she trained in the French technique of draping and pattern making. Soon after graduated from the Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. She made her runway debut with Concept Shows during LA Fashion Week. Now she is pushing the boundaries of her imagination through synth-pop. Think of Blondie and David Lynch having a baby in 2020 and that’s the direction her music takes.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I like to think I write music that feels like it’s part of a soundtrack. I love film, I’m a cinephile! Whenever you play the soundtrack to a movie you are instantly transported into that world, playing the role of the protagonist. That feeling of escapism is what I try to create with my music. I approach each song like a short film. It has an arc, a beginning, middle, and end that takes you on a journey.
What inspires your writing? Do you draw inspiration from poems, music, TV, or other media?
I draw much of my inspiration from TV, movies, and books! I’m always looking out for a story. Even if I’m writing about something personal to me, I like to put it in a story form so that in the end, it can be for everyone.
What is your favorite song to perform?
My favorite song to perform is Red Light! I wrote this while listening to a documentary about Sunset Boulevard during the 1960s. It focused on the seedy stuff that was happening behind the scenes. Many young aspiring women were tricked into a life of prostitution with the lie that they would one day be able to make it big in Hollywood. Before creating his cult, Charles Manson would recruit girls, many of whom were underage, and pimp them out or take them to work at nightclubs on the boulevard. I hate that in the end we only know of Manson’s name, but all the women who were victims remain forgotten in history. I wrote Red Light to give those women a voice.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
I really admire David Bowie, Stevie Nicks, Kate Bush, Lana Del Rey, Vanessa Paradis, Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin.
Has your musical journey had a deliberate direction or did it simply gradually evolve in whatever direction it found?
I first began writing music for my fashion collections. I needed a song for a short fashion film I had produced to open my first fashion show in LA for LAFW. I fell in love with the process and continued writing for each new collection. After a couple of collections, I decided to take some time to work on my craft and a year later I released my first ep, Cannibal.
Do you have a cherished childhood teddy bear or other stuffed animal sitting on your bed at home?
I have a stuffed Robin Hood doll sitting on my bed. I love him, he moved with me to Paris and now Los Angeles.
As a kid were you ever frightened of a monster under the bed or in the cupboard?
I was such a scaredy cat. It was the monster under the bed for me. I was too scared to dangle my feet on the side of the bed for fear the monster would drag me under.
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Yes, I do! I sing the songs from The Phantom of the Opera.
What movie ending really frustrated you? And how would you change it?
There are many endings that frustrate me and it’s not because of not getting the ending I want but it’s when you can smell lazy writing, unfaithfulness to the source material, or studio meddling as the culprit to a bad ending. There are other times when it’s neither of those things, at least I don’t believe this is the case with The Dark Knight Rises. However, the Dark Knight Rises is such a disappointment as the follow up and end to the Nolan Batman series. I would have asked Tom Hardy to cool it a bit with the voice he used for Bane, it was hard to take him as a threat. The twist with Miranda Tate was weak and felt like it took up time that could have been better used to flesh out Catwoman and make her feel crucial to the story.
What was the last TV series you watched on TV?
I finally finished Demon Slayer! Seriously cannot wait for season 3!
https://www.emilydaccarettmusic.com
