Synth-pop trio Blusher on dream boots, airport outfits and wardrobe malfunctions
image via @blusher.mp3/instagram
words by kaya martin
A special episode of Hey, I Like Your Style with Jade, Lauren and Miranda.
We know personal style is a journey (I’m looking at you, Tumblr years) and our series Hey, I Like Your Style! dives into the fashion psyche of our favourite creatives. We’re talking the good, the bad and the 2007.
While the internet has made our fashion icons feel closer than ever before, even the most effortless of outfits came from a closet with some (well-dressed) skeletons. Clickable product tags, photo archives and lives chronicled in 30-second clips just don’t tell the full story.
Discover more new sounds in FJ’s Music section.
These are the stories behind the wardrobes, exploring how we develop our personal style. There’s a brilliance behind the way we choose to express ourselves, and at FJ, we know every outfit has a story. For this instalment of Hey, I Like Your Style!, we enter the wardrobe of Jade Ingvarson-Favretto, Miranda Ward and Lauren Coutts of Blusher.
The synth-pop trio burst onto the scene with their made-for-the-dancefloor tracks. Fusing futuristic beats, ethereal vocals, infectious energy and lyrics about partying, friendship and girlhood, they’ve won the hearts of some high-profile fans across the world and earned opening slots for artists including Sugababes and Tove Lo.
Their latest single, Racer, sent them stratospheric. When I catch up with them to chat about their personal styles, they’re in New York midway through a tour with Swedish band NOTD.
Hi Blusher girls! Could you start by telling me a bit about your personal styles?
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Miranda: I’m very into low-rise at the moment. I’m very into things that are basic, but just that 30 per cent more weird than your regular thing, whether it’s a little bit of a sci-fi influence or a little bit more costumey than than a regular piece.
I love long skirts and flowy stuff. I love things that are autumn-coded – I think my colouring is very autumn, so I love things in that colour palette, like brown, green and orange. And I love turtlenecks, the ’60s, mod fashion and the ’70s. It’s kind of a retro-future situation, I think.
Jade: I really like styles that’re a bit more ethereal or a bit cutesy, something that’s on the border of being cute or hideous. It toes the line. I love to elevate things with accessories, like I’m wearing this beanie at the moment that I put a ton of earrings in. I love charms and little trinkets and things that hang. I love vintage stuff too, anything between the ’50s and ’70s. Like an an ABBA elf crossover; fairycore I suppose.
Lauren: My style is pretty firmly ’90s rom-com vibes. I guess I watch a lot of ’90s rom-com-type shows and movies, but I also just love things that are minimalist but have small surprises. You think that it’s just a normal shirt or jacket, but it has one tiny detail that is so strange. And I love interesting colours and things that are really well-tailored and fitted.
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As a group, what would you say your major style influences are?
Jade: For this era in particular, it’s very sport influenced – sport, femme, high fashion sort of stuff on the Pinterest board. We love those vintage adidas boxing boots that come up your calves and we’re on the hunt for three pairs for a show.
Miranda: We draw inspiration from a lot of different things outside of music. I think for fashion, we really want to create our own image or almost a character for the band that hasn’t really been done in that same way before.
What makes a great stage outfit?
Jade: We move a lot in our show and if we’re spinning or moving our hands, stuff that really exaggerates that looks so cool on stage, especially textures and reflective materials.
Lauren: Because it’s so high energy, I think the clothes have to be practical for that. We just want to be confident and comfortable enough to jump around and get on the floor and do everything that we need to.
And have you ever had a wardrobe malfunction on stage?
Miranda: Oh my god, so, so many dude. There was an entire tour we did where I had to wear a strapless bra, and pretty much every night, I would end the set and the strapless bra – it would be somewhere. I’d be like, ‘Oh, okay’. You have to do a strategic turn to the back of the stage to ‘drink some water’.
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When you’re off stage, what type of outfits do you gravitate towards?
Lauren: I think that even off duty, we’re all looking for stuff that is a little bit weird and interesting. We kind of have that natural desire to stand out a little bit, even in the airports and in our day-to-day lives.
Miranda: I think if we weren’t doing music, we’d still be experimenting with fashion, just as something fun.
Who do you think are the best-dressed bands or artists in Australia?
Lauren: I really love Phoebe Go. I think she has such a great handle on what suits her for the music, but also her personal style. It’s maybe a cop out because we’re friends.
Jade: I really like Mallrat’s style – very cool.
Miranda: Memphis LK, because I feel like she gives me anime vibes or a little bit Harajuku slash UK which I love.
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What’s the most treasured piece you have in your suitcase right now?
Miranda: Mine’s honestly this shirt that I’m wearing right now because it’s finally cold enough. This is vintage merino wool lace. It’s totally see-through but because it’s merino, it’s really warm. I’ve been wearing this out all day in New York and it’s really protected me, which is awesome. I got it from Zinc in Brunswick.
Also a vintage Nike hat that I have. When you wake up at 4am to get a flight, there’s no time to do your hair.
Lauren: Miranda messaged us to be like, ‘should I buy this hat? It’s more than I’d usually spend on a hat.’ It’s one of those things where you’re like, ‘yeah, this is meant for your head.’
Miranda: I got it from Stupid Vintage on Chapel St.
Jade: I have this red-burgundy leather jacket I got in Sweden that I love, that I’ve been carrying with me, and also some bluey silver sci-fi sunglasses that I got from the same shop. Those two married together, they come with me everywhere.
Lauren: I feel like our show outfits for this tour are some of my favourite things that we’ve worn on stage, for sure. They are by this Melbourne brand, Toile. You know that store Error404? We went in there like, ‘Alright, new era, we gotta get something we all really love.’
To keep up with Blusher, head here.
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