Exclusive: Sabrina Claudio, Rising R&B Stunner, Steps Into the Spotlight With “Stand Still”

Sabrina Claudio sticks out like a sore thumb. Nestled in the corner of an English leather couch at the back of the Hudson Hotel’s Library Bar in Manhattan, she’s sitting still as people swirl around her, drinks in hand or shooting pool. Set against the dimly lit, dark-wood space, the rising R&B singer, who just released her second music project About Time this month, acts as the perfect foil to her surroundings, dressed in all white. Still, she looks right at home. She’s practiced at carving out spaces for herself: First in Miami (where she was born and eagerly wanted to leave), then in Los Angeles (where she relocated to pursue a music career just two and half years ago), and now in New York (which she’s only visiting for a whirlwind two-day trip).

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It’s fitting, then, that the 21-year-old sought to capture a similar juxtaposition in her music video for “Stand Still,” one of the twelve songs on About Time. On the track, Claudio addresses the way that time stops moving when she and a lover fail to communicate what they want, not realizing that they ultimately share the same feelings. “Time stands still / While we stand here / Don’t wanna fight you / I need the same as you,” she croons with her smooth, haunting voice in an attempt to reassure her partner. Yet, the video, which is premiering exclusively today on Vogue, shows the singer dancing fluidly across a sprawling loft in Downtown L.A. at different times of the day. “It wasn’t interesting to me to do something that was too on point,” she says. “The song is about time standing still and pretty much being frozen in a certain moment, so I wanted to represent the opposite.”

It’s a simple concept, but one that extends beyond “Stand Still.” Specifically, “movement” may seem like a one-off idea explored in a very physical way through dance, but “moving”—both figuratively and literally—is what has allowed Claudio to chase her career and what sets her apart from other singers. As a teenager in Miami with Hispanic roots—she’s half-Cuban and half–Puerto Rican—she grew up listening and learning how to dance salsa and merengue. “Dancing was what I thought I would be doing for the rest of my life,” she explains. Claudio ultimately put dancing aside when she began covering songs on YouTube and Twitter at the age of 14 (a quick search produces covers of Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy,” Willow Smith’s “Female Energy,” and Beyoncé’s “Heaven,” among many others), but salsa and merengue’s sensual rhythms had stuck with her by that point. “I love the type of music that comes out of Miami, but it’s not the artist that I want to be,” she says. “Still, growing up in that environment helped me musically because it influenced certain sounds [in my music]. I would find a random instrumental that I thought was super dope, and I would fit the melody over it.”

It took a relocation to L.A. for her first music project, a seven-song EP of original music titled Confidently Lost, to materialize. “When I think back to Miami, it’s a whole other life for me because I was so unhappy there, and it’s not because of Miami. It was just because of me as a person,” she says. “I was working with people from Miami that were always trying to influence me to go down a different genre [than R&B], and I was always like, ‘If I don’t leave Miami, I’m not ever going to get to do what I want.’ I feel like L.A. is my actual home.” With About Time, she’s comfortably come into her own by writing the majority of the music on the project and conceiving the visuals for her music videos on her own—two efforts that have ultimately rewarded her with a 27-stop North American tour with 6lack this fall.

Beyond her music, moving across the country also allowed her to shed her former image—living in Miami meant exploring different phases without really feeling comfortable in one. “I went through a gothic phase at one point,” she remembers. “All black: black lipstick, purple lipstick. It was very weird, and then I went through a phase where I wore shoes with no less than a three-inch platform.” She now gravitates towards pieces that strike “timeless, sexy, and simple” tones. This means opting for silk slip dresses, body-hugging separates, and gilded accessories from West Coast brands like Reformation, LabNo25, Haati Chai, and Revolve. She observes, “Going from Miami to L.A., it’s such a different scene. In L.A., it’s always dressing to impress. Miami is not, unless you go to South Beach. [Miami] style can be very generic. It’s very casual.”

Claudio also credits her stylist, Kristine Urzua, with cultivating her newfound interest in fashion. Though interestingly enough, she and Urzua do not share the same sense of style. “It’s funny, I always tell [Kristine] that if I didn’t know her, I’d think she’s from Miami. She’s free-spirited,” Claudio laughs. Where Urzua gravitates towards a colorful palette and bohemian pieces for herself—Miami style staples—Claudio prefers to keep it low-key. For her own wardrobe, the singer and her stylist tend to stick to a palette of neutrals. ”Blacks, browns, grays, whites,” Claudio says. “Anything that you don’t really have to think about when it comes to matching or putting something together. Muted colors. I don’t do bright ever in life.”

For the “Stand Still” music video, this philosophy was briefly set aside for a forest green bubble-sleeve wrap top and a sunray-pleated pair of pants, both from Keepsake the Label, which were meant to evoke a high-fashion editorial. “When I told my movement coach what the outfit was, she was like, ‘Really, you want to wear that?’ Because the top and the bottom have so much material,” she recalls. But it’s precisely this outfit choice, with its draping and its flowing fabric, that lets her demonstrate her fearlessness and free spirit. Yes, she may have found a new look to embody her new lifestyle, but her willingness to deviate from it for the sake of exploration highlights Claudio’s defining quality: Whether musically, emotionally, or sartorially, she refuses to stand still.

Selena Gomez on Partnering With Puma and Sharing Closets With The Weeknd

Selena Gomez has made herself at home—here, in a dimly lit studio loft, filled with Diptyque candles that smell of blackcurrant and roses. “I was totally being moody and just stretching in the bathroom,” she says, welcoming us in with a friendly wave. “I always want to have this kind of bathroom vibe with candles.” It marks the quiet, happy start to her next chapter: Today, Gomez will announce a long-term partnership with Puma, for which she has shot images for the brand’s Phenom sneaker launch. It is the first in an ongoing series of projects, as she has been tasked to design product and help direct future campaigns.selena gomez puma

No doubt Puma hopes Gomez will inject the brand with her trademark authenticity, which has famously drawn more than 127 million Instagram fans. She certainly puts herself into everything she does and everywhere she goes. Take this candlelit studio, for instance. Stacked neatly on a wood coffee table are black and white Polaroids that Gomez had snapped just the night before. “My friend Petra’s been teaching me,” she says of Petra Collins, the downtown photographer who directed Gomez’s music video “Fetish.” She fans them out, revealing a series of beautifully grainy images—of Petra adjusting the strap on a shoe, of herself and her boyfriend, The Weeknd, linking arms in black tie. It feels intimate in a natural way—a taste of that genuine warmth.

Dressed in a black Puma tracksuit (cropped zip-up hoodie, pants cinched at both ankles), she sits down on the couch, tucks her bare feet beneath her, and begins to chat.

Congratulations on the collaboration; it’s an exciting one.
I know—I’m really excited. When it comes to this whole world of fashion—that’s what I’m going to call it—I think it’s become this collaborative thing where streetwear and fashion blend into one. It’s a really beautiful thing because I see girls now feeling sexy in not even necessarily workout clothes, but clothes you could go work out in, then put on a cute pair of shoes and go out after. That’s what’s so crazy about now. Even just throwing something over a workout pant or just sweats, you kind of feel like you can do whatever you want.selena gomez puma

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What is your personal take on the whole athleisure trend? Is it something you wear often?
Every day? [laughs]. I think it’s important to feel confident in what you wear. That’s all I really care about—I want to make sure anything I put on, I feel good in, because how you’re feeling on the outside really does affect how you are on the inside.

What do you wear for an actual workout?
When I’m at home, it can be very intimate. Maybe just a sports bra and maybe some little spanky kind of cute things. And when I’m out, then it’s the typical: something slouchy that feels sexy that I can take off. It’s about layering and cute little socks.

Socks? What kind of socks?
I add little chains to my socks because it adds a little charm, a little sparkle to it. Little anklets, actually. Me and my assistant got a bunch from Japan when I was on tour. I went through this whole phase where I would just wear the anklet around and shower in it. It’s effortless. I lose things—for me, it’s got to be on me, you know what I mean?

Generally speaking, do you put much thought into what you wear out?
It depends. I don’t like when people feel like they need to put things together or be stressed about that. That’s what’s really cool about what Puma’s been doing lately. It’s all these pieces that you know are going to look good together, so it’s just kind of throwing this on, throwing that on.

I mean, at this point, my boyfriend and I share closets, and [we’re] just kind of throwing different ideas around. Sometimes I’ll throw on his Puma stuff and just go out with my shoes. I’ll just wear that as a little cute date-night dress or something to the movies. You want to feel confident in it. When you start stressing about it and feel you have to create this image . . . you shouldn’t feel that way.

What pieces do you two share the most?
Hoodies. Staple hoodies.

So how do you feel about sneakers?
They’ve been so changing my life [laughs]. I actually forgot how to walk in heels, you guys. I’ve been figuring out the past few events I’ve gone to, I’ve forgotten how to walk in heels just a little bit. I’m like Bambi, trying to figure out how to get my legs under. It’s the craziest thing because you get so comfortable [in sneakers], and now you can just wear them everywhere. Now that I’m in the city—I’m going to be here for a little while—it’s even better. I can walk anywhere, I can put on a cute dress with them. My entire closet is sneakers and cute boots and now a few heels.

How many sneakers do you have in rotation right now?
Oh gosh. Just in New York? Probably like 20 pairs, but that’s not counting [those in] my home in L.A. Now that I’m a part of this [Puma] family, it’s nice because I’ll get to pick out ones that look good with everything.

When you were packing your 20 pairs, did you keep any sort of strategy in mind, or want to pack a specific range of them?
Yeah, because you have the sport, where you know you’re going to go do something active and want to make sure you feel comfortable. Then there are what I call the untouchables, where someone steps on it and you gasp. Those are the kinds of shoes everyone has, especially guys. I think guys have that on lock. Then you have the ones where you know you’re going to walk around and do what you have to do. It also depends on what mood I’m in: the simple high tops, black, white, platforms. It’s in my vibe.

What about colors? Anything you gravitate toward in particular?
I feel my colors are usually primary, sometimes secondary. Look at my sixth-grade arts stuff coming back to me [laughs]. Now I love the little soft colors of red or pink or blue. I’m such a classic person, so when I add a simple taste of color, I like it to feel not overpowering, for me personally.

Do you remember your first pair of sneakers?
Oh yes. I think I wanted the shoes with the wheelies at first, remember those? That’s what I wanted more than anything. I also don’t know what I was doing—it did not work out for me very well. I think I wore them once, I’m not even kidding.

I’ve been working since I was 7, so the earliest memories of me are when I’m on Barney [& Friends], which is so funny. I talked about this the other night, but that style is coming back. I was literally 7, but the way those shoes with the socks that fold over . . . it’s so kind of now. Not that I was creepily watching myself on Barney. We were just laughing about how I was on Barney because it becomes a joke amongst friends. But those are my earliest memories. Then getting older, you go through different phases.

Would you say you’ve been in a sneaker phase lately?
Yeah. For me, I started just wanting to feel grounded. I took some time off, and I needed to kind of take a moment for myself because all of this has been overwhelming. So I used to just walk around my house barefoot or with socks, and everywhere I would go, I would wear a sneaker from that point on. I’ve always worn sneakers, but I’d say in the past year, for sure.

In terms of workouts and overall wellness, what kind of approach do you take?
When it comes to that stuff for me, I love feeling like I’m getting all the stress out. I’m not a very aggressive person; I’m more emotional. So not to be cheesy, but my stretching and all of that really makes me feel like I’m getting stuff out. So I like to do that a lot throughout the day. Sometimes in front of the fireplace, so it just feels warm.

Looking ahead at this collaboration, is there anything you feel inspired by right now?
I have to be honest, coming to New York has been very inspiring for me because I’m living here for a minute, and I’ve never lived here. I’ve come for 10 years for work, but you’re here, do a job, and leave. And this is kind of a huge staple city for streetwear—I get so many ideas just walking to get coffee every morning that I wouldn’t get in my car in L.A. My friend Petra [Collins] . . . I walk around her area. We went to Queens the other night to have Italian food. And I really like that.

How Cara Delevingne’s Showstopping Press Tour Wardrobe Came Together

Promoting a big film means traveling the globe and donning one great outfit after another for photo ops, interviews, and premieres. That requires a game plan. This summer no one was more committed to the task than Cara Delevingne, who traversed the globe for her sci-fi flick Valerian. Delevingne’s schedule of press dates lasted nearly six months and featured pieces from everyone from Alexander Wang to Maison Margiela. To pull it all off, Delevinge relied on her longtime stylists, Rob Zangardi and Mariel Haenn. The power duo behind Delevingne’s daring wardrobe brought their A game, creating a cohesive series of looks that can only be described with one word. “I think the overall mood for Cara is ‘badass’,” said Haenn on the phone from Los Angeles. “There are so many different variations on that and we’ve kept switching it up for each premiere.”

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Working to incorporate the film’s science fiction theme without utilizing the genre’s fashion clichés, Haenn sought to highlight both the power of Delevingne’s special agent character and the mood of the runways. “We always try to use a little bit of the movie’s theme because it allows us to have a starting point,” says Haenn. “It wouldn’t make sense if she was wearing these futuristic, structured clothes while promoting a Victorian movie. Still, there’s a fine line between using the theme and making things too costumey.” Using the collections as reference when requesting specific looks, Haenn stresses the importance of keeping each look in sync with her client’s outspoken personality. “You always have to keep her in mind, and say, ‘Okay, this is an amazing dress, but it doesn’t really fit with who she is, so we’ll save it for someone else.’ ”

Though Delevingne’s status as a former model often allows her to pull off the kind of extreme fashions few starlets could, Haenn felt keeping the focus on her current work was important. “She’s out there promoting herself as an actress instead of a model,” says Haenn who admits that Delevingne’s versatility was a draw. “When we first started working with her, we were excited, because she’s a supermodel, but we quickly learned we needed to make sure that we were representing her actress side and not just dressing her in all these super avant-garde fashion looks.” Finding the appropriate balance meant taking into consideration the beauty changes brought about by Delevingne’s onscreen roles—especially the shaved head she sports thanks to an upcoming part in romantic drama, Life in a Year. “I remember when we first saw it. I was like, ‘Wait. Is this real?’ And it was right before the MTV Movie Awards,” says Haenn, who quickly got over her initial shock. “It was an ‘Oh, shit’ moment, but I absolutely loved it.”

The surprise change had an instant effect on the outfit selection. “You know I hate the word edgy, but the new haircut allowed us to do things we maybe wouldn’t have done before,” says Haenn. “It sets a different tone and direction.” From the drawn-on silver strands to match her Chanel couture suit at the Met Gala, to the rose gold dye job Delevingne sported with her Atelier Versace minidress at the Mexico City premiere, her hair—or lack thereof—has become a key part of each look. Getting things just right means trial, error, and plenty of laughs in between. “It just feels like we’re hanging out with our friend, and having a party except we’re trying on clothes,” says Haenn. “She doesn’t ever say no. If she doesn’t like something she’ll let us know, but she trusts us enough to experiment. We try to fit as much a possible, so we can see how everything looks on because sometimes there are things that she wouldn’t ordinarily think that she likes. But then when puts it on she’s like, ‘Oh my God I love this.’ ”

With hundreds of dresses to choose from and an impressive repertoire of statement pieces, it’s hard to settle on a single standout look, but the 3-D printed Iris van Herpen Couture that Delevingne chose for Valerian’s Los Angeles premiere was hard to beat. Sculptural with metallic construction that called to mind Fritz Lang’s Metropolis android, the dress was the perfect distillation of the science fiction theme. “It just felt like the right moment. [Rob and I] are big fans of Iris so we’re always looking for an opportunity to use her collections,” says Haenn, who admits a surprisingly practical reason for saving that dress for L.A. “Because it is 3-D printed it’s really delicate. We didn’t want to pack it with other clothes and risk damaging it.” The logic behind the choice may have been pragmatic, but standing out next to Rihanna is no small feat and Haenn chalks up the magic of the moment to Delevingne’s star quality. “It’s Cara, she just owns whatever she’s wearing.”

Princess Nokia Sports a Fresh, Fast Food–Inspired Look in New “G.O.A.T.” Video

Princess Nokia (aka Destiny Frasqueri) seems to dramatically switch up her look each time she releases a new record. From the cheeky Victoria’s Secret Angel–style lingerie of her “Versace Hottie” phase to the femme cyberpunk vibe of Metallic Butterfly, the New York rapper consistently explores different sartorial modes to fit her ever-evolving musical stylings. And with the release of her nine-song mixtape 1992 last year, she perhaps unsurprisingly took the project’s title quite literally, channeling the relaxed look of an early ’90s tomboy with her baggy T-shirts and Calvin Klein intimates.

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Princess Nokia recently announced that she would re-release 1992 along with six new songs, and today debuted one of those new cuts, “G.O.A.T.,” with a video that she directed with Smart Girl Club collective cofounder Milah Libin. While Nokia’s white bikini top and ripped jeans recall the outfits one might see in the blistering summer heat of Dinkins-era New York, she more explicitly reps her hometown with a cherry red Yankees hat that matches the muscular ATV she stunts in. Perhaps taking a cue from ’90s legends Dipset, Nokia flashes a banana yellow bandana underneath her cap, which matches the golden arches emblazoned on her red letterman jacket. Towards the end of the video, Nokia spits that she “took the weirdo shit to another level / And I’m killing it,” and as she raises her hands high, the McDonald’s logo on her sleeve glistening in the sun, it’s hard to argue with her.

Pamela Anderson Flirts With a ’50s Look on a Visit to Julian Assange

Since becoming a fixture in London’s fashion and social scene, the actress and activist Pamela Anderson has embraced a return to Old World feminine glamour with her wardrobe. And earlier today while visiting the Ecuadorian embassy, Anderson again dressed with a full-on feminine tack in a flirty Dhela dress peppered with a cheery tropical graphic motif.

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The look was in keeping with Anderson’s recent shift from overt body-con dressing to a more elegant wrapping. Playing off the dress’s pattern was an equally graphic Goyard tote while simple black stilettos and cat-eye shades amped up the retro ’50s vibe.

Queen Elizabeth II Borrows a Look Straight Out of Kate Middleton’s Playbook

Look who's borrowing from the Duchess. Earlier today at Buckingham Palace, HRH Queen Elizabeth II stepped out in a baby blue coat and coordinating dress that easily could have been culled from her granddaughter-in-law Kate Middleton’s high-fashion wardrobe. The monarch often sports pastel shades and, for today’s garden party, Her Majesty dressed in the shade from top to bottom, even amping up the monochromatic effect with festive accessories.

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The Queen donned a tonally coordinated topper and sheath featuring a subtle floral motif for contrast and a ladylike finish. This was given a dose of extra elegance thanks to an aquamarine and diamond brooch, while a bow accent at the waist cleverly drew its inspiration from the version adorning the Queen’s proper topper. A tonal umbrella was Her Majesty’s finishing accent along with buckle-trimmed loafers and a top-handle bag.

Meet the Designer Behind Beyoncé’s and Erykah Badu’s Game-Changing Headpieces

One recent balmy Tuesday in Los Angeles, Beyoncé and Jay Z walked into the Opening Ceremony on La Cienega Boulevard and came back out with a pair of headpieces. These were no ordinary hats, of course: The discerning duo had discovered the work of Kelsey Fairhurst, whose sculptural hair wraps rethink the medium entirely.

Fairhurst was born and raised in Ohio, where she studied fashion design. Shortly after graduation, she moved to New York to become a graphic designer for the CFDA; her line began as a passion project, done on the side. Smartly, she decided to start small, thinking back to the simple turbans she used to keep her hair back during her student days as she cut and sewed through the night. “It was something I could 100 percent fund myself,” Fairhurst explains, adjusting the matte black version wrapped around her own scalp.

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On a table, she lays out a series of bandana-like strips of leather and velvet, denim and silk. Her technical game changer was a bit of flexible wire, placed along the inside edge of each piece like a bra’s underwire, which allowed Fairhurst to bend each one into fantastical shapes. “That was my aha moment,” she says of the expanded styling options, three of which are modeled here by Seashell Coker.

Working out of her tiny Bushwick apartment, Fairhurst assembled the early prototypes and brought them to the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator in South Williamsburg, which took on production duties. When the first batch was ready, she cold-emailed Opening Ceremony. It immediately began stocking the line in New York and L.A., and now also sells it in Japan. It’s been hard, store managers say, to keep the architectural wraps in stock. Recently, Fairhurst shares, Erykah Badu independently bought one in bright silver and put it on Instagram, winding the ends upward to jut out from her forehead like a unicorn’s horn. “I literally freaked out because I’m a huge Erykah Badu fan!” Fairhurst says, adding that she’s now working on a custom creation for the artist.

Up next is a second collection slated for early fall, for which Fairhurst plans to expand into clothing—think tube tops and halters, twisted around the neck and body. “The possibilities,” she says, “seem endless.”