Tunes To Threads
As I eagerly shuffle through racks of thrifted clothing and brush my hand over silks, furs and exciting colors of all sorts of cloth, I have only one goal in mind: find the perfect outfit for my very first concert with Sabrina Carpenter and her “emails i can’t send” tour. If I’m going to make it count, I have to match the outfit with the sound. The sexiness of me, with the sexiness and classiness of my favorite artist’s music.
Image Courtesy: Backward Noise
It’s difficult to imagine a life where fashion and music fail to coincide- in fact it’s almost entirely impossible. Music has existed as a means of expression and, fortunately, so has fashion. When it comes to dressing up for a fashion show or attending a concert, many people strive to select an outfit to best represent their current musical anthem.
We see this parallelism on runways and in music videos, such as Harry Styles’s “Watermelon Sugar,” which showcases a compilation of vibrant outfits on film. There is also Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood,” where she matches the female empowerment against heartbreak with sexy and intimidating black leather clothing. On the other side of the fashion spectrum, with the late 2022 Balenciaga mud show for Paris Fashion Week, distorted music made for remixes matched the all black outfits and an iconic muddy runway. Not only does the music fit like a puzzle piece, but it contributes to the overall effect of the clothing.
Image Courtesy: Entertainment Tonight
In general, feel-good records come with colorful, warm-toned patterns; electronic dance music comes with blinding neon lights and bright costumes. Everything matches, and it is not just a coincidence. Emotions are amped up (pun intended), with the addition of aesthetics that match the overall vibe of any genre of music. Producers and artists strive to combine threads and tunes for the satisfaction of their viewers. At the end of the day, music is not just a listening art, it is a visual art as well.
Being able to express one’s love for music through fashion also adds to the sensation of listening. In the process of preparing my own outfit for the concert, I first considered wearing bright red or pink to represent the love and heartbreak lyricized within Carpenter’s songs. But I wanted to think bigger. For weeks I brainstormed ways to replicate the catchiness and smoothness of her music, because with the connection of music and fashion comes the struggle of trying to match your outfits to the mood. Luckily for me, music videos showcase the most abstract concepts of words and emotions through its fashion. Using this mindset, I decided to match her exact outfit and was able to show up in a sexy corset to compliment the “bad bitch” and fighting back persona Carpenter took on in her “because I liked a boy” video.
At the end of her tour, Carpenter herself commented on everyone’s appreciation for her music through their album-themed fits. This was not just a one way street. Being able to wear something that represented my favorite singer’s music as a whole made me enjoy the concert all together. I matched the vibe, I synced with the emotions and I looked good while doing it.
If you plan on attending a concert in the near future, or spontaneously showing up to a fashion show, be on the lookout for the musical inspiration behind a model's outfit. Maybe put together a few pieces of clothing that are compatible with the music you enjoy. Convey the boldness or pick up the threads of a pitiful tune. Feel the energy and match the harmonious atmosphere. Just let the music speak to you and the clothes on your body.
Strike Out,
Nina Rueda
Orlando
Nina Rueda is a content writer and assistant writing director for Strike Magazine Orlando. An undeniable Capricorn with golden retriever energy, Nina enjoys outlining a novel she doesn’t have time to write, listening to Sabrina Carpenter, and eating Italian food. You can reach her at ninaroody22@gmail.com and @ninaruedaa on Instagram.
