MAHOJIANO NA SOLANGE KNOWLES

We recently started seeing Solange Knowles at our favorite bands' gigs, rocking couture bunny ears, a luxe turban, and shoes so awesome, we could barely pay attention to the music—and the more we got to know the singer, the more we fell in love with her songs, her perspective, and—of course—her sensational style. Though she might have a super-famous older sister with whom she shares her Aphrodite-like looks and virtuoso voice, she's definitely her own woman through-and-through. A mother, a sister, a daughter, an artist, musician, writer, and singer…Solange wears many hats, and channeled a bit of love from each of them to create her third studio album, to be released later this fall. We met up with Solange at The Standard Hotel to gain a little insight into how she maintains her inspired style.


Who are your style heroes?
"My mom in the '70s and '80s! She was a bad bitch. Sex and the City totally jacked her steez on the camels. I have a pic of her on a camel ride in Egypt in the '80s serving the hell out of that desert! Also, Diana Ross, The Fela Kuti Queens, Björk, '70s-era Chaka Khan, Chloë Sevigny, '90s Erykah Badu."

What's your secret style weapon?
"Shoes! I'm all about the shoes! I order a ton of them online and play with my entire wardrobe until I find the right shoe. Unfortunately, so many people get it right from the head until the ankles. The shoe is very important. I can't even fuck with you if your shoe game is slacking."
Tell us a little bit about working on the new album.
"I went up to Santa Barbara, found this house on five acres in the mountains and invited a bunch of amazing musicians to come live there with me for a month and just experiment. We woke up around 10 a.m. and made music until midnight, all of course while drinking good wine, picking avocados from the trees outside to make guacamole, and maybe enjoying a joint or two. I left the process a little crazy, but I really feel like I came into my own."
Musically, how is it going to be different from your previous records?
"'80s jams for sure! Early Chaka Khan, '80s Janet Jackson, S.O.S. Band, Prince, and of course the great Michael Jackson! We went extremely natural and raw when it came down to the production. Blowing into beer bottles, playing flower vases, tapping on chairs with pencils, and even recording a house party we had for Memorial Day as a sample. My previous record was extremely inspired by '60s Motown, and was very conceptual and polished. With this record, it was completely opposite. We kind of partied our way through an album. It was all about letting loose, and the boogie was very important."
solange-knowles-nails-style-5a.jpg
Above: Chanel purse; Calgel manicure. Enlarge Image
You mentioned being inspired by Janet Jackson's "Pleasure Principle" video. Janet was a famous younger sister who really carved out her own identity and sound. Do you ever feel you have to work harder to differentiate yourself from your older sis?
"If anything, I feel like if I didn't have a sister who was a huge star, no one would think twice about how I look, because they would have no one to compare it to. I would just be another gal who wears loads of vintage or counts Grace Jones as inspiration. But because I'm Beyoncé's sister, I'm an easy target to say, 'There's no way those two had the same parents, and have one be naturally this way...this has to be a ploy for her to appear cool!' It makes me want to pull out pictures of five-year-old me next to nine-year-old her wearing a tutu over polka dot stockings and an old scarf over my head. It would be so much easier for me to put on a little black dress, straighten my hair, and sing about dancing in the club, but it's not my job to prove anything. I'm here to make music, to inspire myself. I'm not selling my likability, I'm sharing my journeys. If you don't like it, believe it's real, or understand it...then keep my name out of your mouth."