Artist: Vanity
Title: "Fashion Week"
Label: North Hill Records
Genre: Synthpop
Lyrics: Vanity
Production: mISTER_b
Taken from Culture UncutVanity pushes on with her
Odyssey campaign by dropping a third single from the record from out of nowhere, which is the type of antics Vanity's fans have come to expect from her, as she rips up the rule book to play her own game. While we've seen her previous single releases struggle to make much of an impact, Vanity recently insisted that the music from this new album "wasn't designed for chart success". Whether that's believable or not, we can't help but feel "Fashion Week" is a last attempt before the album's release to gain that long awaited number one that she's deep down craving for.
"Fashion Week" is a full-out dance track that captures the listener's attention from the very start, it's fun, catchy and most importantly, much more commercial than the previous two singles she's released, "Space Lover" and "Garden of Love". We're putting that down to the lack of production credit from Vanity this time round, as she leaves it solely up to mISTER_b to provide the track's beat. Thankfully, it leaves us with a well-produced pop track combining Vanity's energetic vocals with slick layers of synths that make for an equally appropriate catwalk anthem or club banger with thanks to the song's heavy dance beat.
It's no secret that Vanity's a huge fashion lover and in a way, it feels like out of the current crop of pop stars, she's one of the few that can convincingly pull off a song like this as she claims, "I dress like fashion week". We're not sure how entirely true that is due to her eccentric outfit choices, but we'll let her have her fun. It's a song purely dedicated to fashion and confidence within your looks, it's cocky, it's brave and it feels like classic Vanity, something that's been missing from her previous releases. While her other two singles felt slightly try-hard, this feels more natural to her as an artist and more of a statement. Nothing will guarantee her that this single will fare any better than the previous two singles from
Odyssey, but we're glad to see she hasn't lost the ability to write a fun pop song.
In an official letter posted on her site to announce the new single, Vanity wrote,
"I'm extremely excited to reveal to you all my new single, 'Fashion Week', a song that I've been waiting to unleash for such a long time now, this is definitely a special moment for me as an artist. My beliefs have always been to live life by being brave, bold and confident. I want to inject that mentality into as many of my fans as I can with this new single, an ode to art and fashion, something me and all of you certainly have in common. I want you to enjoy it, listen to it & on your way to work tomorrow, strut your way to your office as if the whole world's watching. Live life creatively and be imaginative, the pavement is your catwalk. Our bodies are a blank canvas before we shape our identities with the art in our wardrobes, enjoy the moment and dress to your own taste. Make it your new job to turn as many heads as you can on the daily. I love you."
"Fashion Week"Got the looks and the attitude
A look so mean and a walk so rude
I pray to fashion like it's all that's holy
Kill it on the daily like Naomi
Strutting on these pavements like a supermodel
Golden girl with the gift and the sparkle
Now work it down the runway, down the runway
Down-down-down the runway
If you live it and love it and breathe every sequin
And you're setting the trends for every season
Pose on these streets like I'm the cover of a magazine
Lookin' as flawless in person as I do on the TV screen
It's all in la technique
I dress like fashion week
I dress like fashion week
Mon cœur est fait de plastique
Mrs mystique, chic freak
J'aime la mode et de la musique
I dress like fashion week
I dress like fashion weekGot the face and got the shape
Like real life Photoshop cause nothing's outta place
Go down in hell as pretty as a picture
Go down in hell as a gorgeous sinner
Dress me up and I'll be your harajuku girl
Blonde curls takin' over the world
Now work it down the runway, down the runway
Down-down-down the runway
If you live it and love it and breathe every sequin
And you're setting the trends for every season
Pose on these streets like I'm the cover of a magazine
Lookin' as flawless in person as I do on the TV screen
It's all in la technique
I dress like fashion week
I dress like fashion week
Mon cœur est fait de plastique
Mrs mystique, chic freak
J'aime la mode et de la musique
I dress like fashion week
I dress like fashion weekAnd turn, and turn, and turn
Now work, now work, now work
Gonna spend all our money like we're rich
Now snap those fingers, bitch
And turn, and turn, and turn
Now work, now work, now work
Gonna spend all our money like we're rich
Now snap those fingers, bitch
It's all in la technique
I dress like fashion week
I dress like fashion week
Mon cœur est fait de plastique
Mrs mystique, chic freak
J'aime la mode et de la musique
I dress like fashion week
I dress like fashion week
MUSIC VIDEO
The video opens with Vanity seen in a deep red leotard, her hair long and straightened, her look notably a lot more conventionally sexy than her usual avant garde appearances. She's seen lying on a huge bed in the middle of a lavish looking room, scenes alternating between her singing the lyrics to the camera and also suggestively thrusting her hips upwards as she lies back on the bed, her hands roaming over herself.
For the pre-chorus, a softer moment in the song before the hard-hitting chorus, Vanity lays naked in a bare, all white room, lying on top of a strategically placed cloth to cover her modesty. She sings the lyrics passionately, her love of fashion evident in her delivery and body language.
As the chorus arrives, Vanity is once again seen in another white room with a giant stage taking up the space, decorated with bright pink flowers around the structure. She's joined by a large group of dancers, standing on a podium in the middle of them, her and her dancers all dressed in white outfits as they dance in sync to the track.
For the second verse, Vanity looks similar to how she does in the last scene, instead opting for a white leotard as she keeps her hair long and straightened throughout the video. She poses in front of a background of flowers, boldly looking into the camera as she presents the playfully arrogant lyrics, "Like real life Photoshop cause nothing's outta place / Go down in hell as pretty as a picture / Go down in hell as a gorgeous sinner".
We see another shot from the very first scene in the video for the song's pre-chorus, Vanity on her hands and knees on the bed while she sings the lyrics, once again posing in a sexually suggestive manner. This cuts to a new scene, where Vanity sports a striking all black look with heavy eye make-up while a toned male model runs his hands over her body.
The second chorus to "Fashion Week" is a visually striking moment in the video where Vanity and her dancers perform another dance routine which lasts throughout the middle-eight. This time, they're seen in a luxurious blue and gold room with a pool in the background, Vanity is seen in a revealing outfit with heels while all her dancers wear matching gold costumes, energetically performing the routine.
For the final chorus which ends the song with a bang, Vanity performs one final dance number, this time in a futuristic set-up, wearing a metallic silver bustier and matching skirt while her dancers contrast her in simplistic black outfits. The routine is one of the most complex seen throughout the video's duration, ending with a dancer swinging her round as he lifts her up. She wraps an arm around him to support herself and flutters her eyelashes playfully to the camera, before it fades to black.
