Fresh from working it out on the “Girl, so confusing” remix with Lorde during a surprise appearance in the singer’s Lollapalooza set Thursday night, Charli XCX heads into her own Friday headlining slot with a new album that quite literally puts fashion at its center: “Music, Fashion, Film.” The title reflects three industries the singer has moved between with seemingly increasing ease, while its cover brings designer Marc Jacobs together with musician John Cale and filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Fashion is right there in the billing.
The album cover for Charli XCX’s “Music, Fashion, Film” photographed by Aidan Zamiri. Aidan Zamiri/Courtesy of Atlantic Records.
Aidan Zamiri/Courtesy of Atlantic Records
In the lyrics, however, it is much harder to find. Only four of the album’s 11 songs contain concrete fashion references, split between runway language, a luxury shopping spree, an attempted wardrobe reform and what may be Charli’s own wedding jewelry.
The lyrics may be sparse with fashion references, but Charli saves plenty of room for clothes in the 42-minute companion film released alongside the album. Directed by Charli and presented almost entirely in black and white, it moves between new visuals, studio footage, clothing fittings and behind-the-scenes material from the album’s music videos.
The relatively short list makes more sense in the context of the record Charli said she wanted to make. In 2024, she told Billboard, “I kind of want to make a Lou Reed record, to be honest.” “Music, Fashion, Film” is not a Lou Reed imitation, but its guitars and pared-back vocals mark a clear departure from the club-driven sound of “Brat.” The 30-minute album is more concerned with creative work, public image and what happens when an artist becomes an industry unto herself than naming designers or describing outfits. Not that Charli cannot multitask.
Charli xcx performs onstage during Spotify Presents: Music, Fashion, Film — Live in Nashville at The Basement East on July 29 in Nashville.
Getty Images for Spotify
Ahead, we break down the songs on “Music, Fashion, Film” that reference more than just style.
‘SS26’
“SS26” provides the obvious starting point. Its title abbreviates the spring/summer 2026 season, dropping the album directly into the fashion calendar. Charli sings about a runway, clothes and fashion itself, although none offers much protection from the end of the world: “Spring, Summer ’26 / When the world is gonna end, no hope for any of it / Yeah, we’re walkin’ on a runway that goes straight to hell / Nothing’s gonna save us, not music, fashion or film.”
The Torso-directed video pushes the idea into an actual Paris fashion show. Carine Roitfeld, Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello, model Debra Shaw and soundtrack designer Michel Gaubert are among the industry figures seated around the runway.
With styling by Chris Horan and the music video stylist credited as Juan Corrales, Charli appears in multiple looks from Saint Laurent, custom and runway looks from Ann Demeulemeester, a black and white Balmain by Christophe Decarnin pointy pagoda shoulder suit jacket courtesy of the Archive X Yana, a cowl neck minidress from 7 For All Mankind, a two-piece suit crafted from vintage lingerie pieces from Lou de Bètoly and pieces by Chrome Hearts.
Still from the “SS26” music video shot by Henry Redcliffe. Henry Redcliffe/Courtesy of Atlantic Records.
Henry Redcliffe/Courtesy of Atlantic Records
Then the show falls apart. Charli loses her balance in towering platform heels, recalling Naomi Campbell’s 1993 tumble in Vivienne Westwood’s Elevated Ghillies. What follows looks more like Carrie Bradshaw’s “fashion roadkill” moment on “Sex and the City”: Charli remains on the floor while the other versions of herself continue around her.
The film pulls the process further into view, showing Charli trying on clothing and shoes, rehearsing her runway choreography and reviewing Polaroids as she and her team construct the video. Ann Demeulemeester and Balmain labels receive close-ups, briefly turning the runway fantasy back into fittings, image selection and work.
‘Card Declined’
“Card Declined” contains the album’s most concentrated shopping list. Charli proposes a spree encompassing a handbag, shoes, jewelry and eventually a Jaeger-LeCoultre. The Swiss watchmaker appears among purchases that grow progressively less attainable, from perfume and a Roche Bobois Mah Jong sofa to an apartment, a personality and an entirely new life.
The film makes the song’s subtext explicit. Cigarette in hand, Charli says, “I like to shop in London, I like to shop in Paris, I like to shop in New York. It’s not really about shopping. I suppose it was more about shopping for, I don’t know, like a new identity.” She then tries on Agent Provocateur lingerie inside the label’s store, moving between looks and poses as if each could produce a different persona.
‘I’m Afraid’
Charli XCX “Music, Fashion, Film.” Aidan Zimari/Courtesy of Atlantic Records.
Aidan Zimari/Courtesy of Atlantic Records.
“I’m Afraid” gets less straightforward. In the album’s sixth track, Charli calls herself a wife, worries she will destroy the relationship and repeats, “take the ring.” She never says which one. Since marrying The 1975 drummer George Daniel in July 2025, Charli has worn a vintage, round-diamond solitaire engagement ring, reportedly sourced from Claude Morady Estate Jewelry, with a chunky, sculptural platinum wedding band. The lyric is primarily about the marriage, not the jewelry appraisal. Still, either ring is possible.
‘Wink Wink’
Then there is “Wink Wink,” which contains the clearest fashion-brand reference on the record. After Charli says that her friend and collaborator Rostam criticized the way she dressed, her supposed solution is A.P.C. The joke depends on the French label’s restrained, minimalist reputation: A.P.C. becomes the corrective for a woman attempting to convince listeners that she has changed, even while repeatedly signaling that she very much has not.
The Aidan Zamiri-directed video carries that joke into her wardrobe without actually dressing her in A.P.C. Instead, Charli cycles through custom Chrome Hearts, Natasha Zinko and Knwls while her performance of newly respectable domesticity rapidly unravels. In one particularly self-referential scene, she hangs pieces from earlier eras on a clothesline, including a 2018 “Pop 2” performance look, a dress from the “party 4 u” video and Brat merchandise. The supposedly reformed Charli is largely another costume.
The rest of the song keeps that makeover at garment level. Charli contrasts going without underwear in the past with now largely wearing trousers. Together, the trousers and A.P.C. are offered as evidence that she has changed. The repeated winks say otherwise.
You can watch Charli XCX’s “Music, Fashion, Film” on her YouTube channel.
