Tag Archives: Cliff Martinez

Colleen Nika photographed by RANKIN

I want to introduce you to Colleen Nika. Colleen and I were first “facebook friends” before meeting in real life at the after party for Beady Eye at Norwood. I immediately fell in love with her Frank Tell dress and shortly after that with her acerbic wit and sly observations. She is a woman who loves fashion but has a passion for music. As the fashion editor at Rolling Stone she’s created the must-read  daily column, Thread Count, in which she explores the relationship of style and music. Not only that, the girl DJs, makes her own music and runs Nightvision, a platform she launched to introduce nonconformist international sounds to new audiences. Here she answers my questions about fashion + music and who we should be paying attention to in 2012!

What inspired Thread Count?
It was born out of a need to prove that the interplay between fashion and music is more relevant than ever and that there should be an editorial platform dedicated entirely to exploring and chronicling that relationship. And I pilot that ship.

Courtney Love

Is there a decade or period that you think was particularly amazing in terms of the intersection of music and fashion?
Yes, the ’90s, and it was so unscripted and untainted by forced collaborations and celebrity-helmed lines. I’m a big subscriber to the heroin chic aesthetic, which I know isn’t PC, but elegant decay fascinates me. My musical tastes are built on that dichotomy, too, so it fits. The ’90s seemed more or less built on the juxtapositions of glamour and destruction, and the styles of Shirley Manson, Kim Gordon, PJ Harvey and Courtney Love became fuel to fashion’s fire.
Kate Moss and her fragile model ilk were the runway versions of that ideal, that high glamour, low life tension. That was the birth of luxe grunge. I also adore the technophilic rave styles from the era; there’s obviously a huge resurgence of that now and I’m trying to pinpoint why that is. It’s more than nostalgia; it’s trying to rebuild the idea of a future, so tech fabrics and electric hues convey that well.

HURTS

What was your favorite fashion/music moment of 2011?
Seeing HURTS, the most attractive, dramatic, and well-dressed band in music, play at Mulberry’s party in London. It was a moment of aesthetic bliss. They looked and sounded so good, and for a sublime hour, that’s all that mattered.

Grimes

What current artists do you think have the most interesting fashion sense?
Nic Endo,  Fever Ray, Phlo Finister, Shirley Manson, Bjork, Nicola Roberts, Grimes and HURTS.

Musically who do you listen to at the moment?
I’m always working on mixes, so that. Aside from that, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo score (as a combined visual and sound, the most grotesquely stylish aesthetic experience of the year–right up my alley). Trent Reznor is a core influence for me and the perfect synthesis of pop and uncomfortable extremes. I also love the Baader Meinhof Komplex score and other works by Vangelis, Jarre, Clint Mantsell, and Cliff Martinez. Artists on heavy recent rotation: Biosphere, Prurient, Araabmuzik, Zomby, Jon Brooks, November Novelet, Drexciya, Tropic of Cancer, and Regis.

What inspires you about NYC?
I honestly consider myself internationally-oriented but I love being able to walk everywhere here and always find something new while being around the corner from familiar comfort. And there’s still some oddities to be enjoyed amidst the over-commodification. I’m here to help accentuate those aspects.

Be sure to check out Thread Count and follow Colleen on twitter!