Lana Del Rey and the “coquette-ification” of Americana
Lana Del Rey has been a highly influential figure since she burst onto the scene with her first EP Born to Die in 2012. Her haunting vocals and production reminiscent of the mid-20th century had listeners worldwide hooked, and her bold retro style cemented her icon status early on. With influences ranging from Priscilla Presley to Nancy Sinatra, she embodied the glamour and deep melancholy of Old Hollywood, framing her modern plights in a vintage filter.
Lana tackled painful and often taboo topics in her music, singing of torrid love affairs poisoned by addiction, greed, power imbalances, and the pitfalls of blind ambition. She was able to turn fantasy out of her tragedies by framing them in the sepia-toned windfall romances of Old Hollywood films. Del Rey never shied away from her love of Americana, and unapologetic patriotism of another time. This evolution is unveiled in most of her work, especially in the music videos for songs like “National Anthem” and “Ride”, where she fully embodies the spirit of Americana.
Americana is the feeling of wind in your face as you ride on the back of an older man’s motorcycle on a desolate strip of desert road; Americana is the first sip of beer at the first dive bar off a highway; Americana is Elvis Presley’s iconic voice crooning from a dusty jukebox in the corner of the room and the freshly lit cigarette hanging loosely from the lips of your latest fling. Americana is believing in the America that used to be, and the person you want to become.
While the official definition of “Coquette” refers to a woman who manipulates men to do her bidding through her charms, the aesthetic itself derives most of its hallmarks from mid-century staples of girlhood; frills, lace, knee socks, soft pastel color palettes, natural and dewy makeup, and most importantly pink ribbons. The childlike innocence of the fashion tied to an inherently suggestive title is reminiscent of previous iterations of this aesthetic, the nymphet and Lolita, named after the infamous and stomach-churning Nabokov novel of the same name, which Del Rey also has a song named after.
This Coquette aesthetic seeks to capture the childlike naiveté of youth, rebelling against the hyper-sexual culture of the modern age and finding solace in the presumed innocence of sheltered and prolonged girlhood whilst remaining an object of desire. Similar to the strict and puritan idea of femininity often empowered within ballet, but with a more romantic and melancholy underbelly. It is intrinsically tied with the romanticization of hyper-femininity and what it meant under mid-century gender roles.
Although Del Rey’s personal style does not fall under coquette, opting for a more bohemian style during performances and casual Americana in her day-to-day life, her music is often cited as a direct inspiration and essential aspect to this aesthetic. The essence embedded in her music, viewed through the lens of Americana, forms the core of Coquette—an ethos centered around escapism through nostalgia. Both Coquette and her music seek to return to the perceived simplicity of the 50s and 60s, when American culture appeared more homogeneous, and the idea of the American Dream and white-picket fences remained intact for those willing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, or by their pink ribbons.
Sources
https://www.sportsmensamf.org/lana-del-rey-and-americana-is-there-crossover/
https://www.nme.com/features/lana-del-rey-norman-fucking-rockwell-american-symbols-2543636
https://www.nylon.com/fashion/coquette-aesthetic
https://cherwell.org/2022/01/20/the-dark-side-of-coquette/
Lana Del Rey – Ride Monologue (2012)
Strike Out,
Miami
Writer: Monica Ayesa Rodriguez
Editors: Camila Lara, Priscilla Fernandez
