Singer-songwriter Cosima on her performance at Valentino

And now, in an unusual turn of events, her first opportunity to sing any of the songs live has come not to an audience of her fast-growing fanbase, but instead to the cavernous environment of Milan’s famous Piccolo Teatro at Valentino’s show on the final. the eve of Milan Fashion Week; empty but for a series of Valentino models going through the stalls and gathering on stage to Cosima’s live soundtrack. “It plays into something that I think a creative person working with an audience has been thinking about,” says Cosima. “It’s just that these places have been sitting empty for so long now, and how many people’s lives are connected to all of those places. It’s such a sad thing. And we talked a lot about how amazing it is in a year like this to experience live music, even just for one small minute. ”

Live music at the Valentino show is becoming a tradition under creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, with FKA branches singing his menswear show fall 2020 last year. “When Pierpaolo has a musical, it feels like a collaboration,” Cosima notes. Through a series of conversations and email exchanges, they settled on a line of Cosima’s own songs for a show that aired on Valentino’s social channels yesterday afternoon, while also opting for an unlikely cover to showcase them. opening: Sinead O’Connor’s classic, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” from which Cosima delivered a moving, animated presentation responding to the collection’s quieter view of Pierpaolo’s usual warm-hearted inclinations. “It was a song I used to sing a lot as a teenager, and even though I had it on my list it was one that made me feel a bit crazy singing,” she said. Cosima adds. “But when they suggested it as an option, I felt like the universe wanted me to do it. ”

For the event, Cosima arranged a look from the far back of the Valentino spectrum, with a pointed tuxedo jacket and trousers to suit the mood and decision of the collection. It’s a keen eye for the conversation between sound and style that speaks to Cosima’s background as an early teenage fashion stylist, and is featured on the cover for Is the fun here ?, she notes that she was inspired by “travel advertising and those weird, utopian boardwalks from the’ 50s and ’60s,” in which many Cosimas cavort was worn on a beach in retro swimsuits. “As for how I like to dress myself, I like fringes – either hyper, hyper-feminine, or following into something a little harder and more masculine. So for the show at the concert, we thought it would be nice to go for something really simple, as it is about the music and the collection. And Valentino pants are just the perfect pants: I love how they fall, I just feel very confident and comfortable in them. So I’m going to wear my favorite Valentino pants, ”she said, smiling.

A perfect look for a perfect moment of creative collaboration, then – and also, for Cosima, something of a full-circle moment. “When I was a kid, I would go through these books that my mother would get from the fashion collections every season, and I would read it enough to recognize what each different designer was doing. each time, and play a little game. alone where I had to be able to identify with them. Valentino has always been one of the brands that stood out. “But the simple act of being able to perform again – over a live stream, yes, but for a worldwide audience – was the ultimate best for Cosima.” I love working with people, and Valentino has always been very open to the idea of ​​bringing my art to them, “says Cosima.” This has been very special. . ”