NYLON - June 2008 - (Page 58) SHE’S SO UNUSUAL Cyndi Lauper’s idea of hell may just be a practical pantsuit. “There are some of us who, as we get older, don’t want to become straight,” she says in her thickas-glue New York accent, “and look like a conservative I don’t know what… to me, that’s a nightmare.” It’s not surprising, coming from a woman who, through decades of changing tastes and trends, has remained a true original. Raised in Queens, Lauper’s penchant for zany-colored hair and thrift-store garb extends back to her teens. After eschewing a career in art, she started the band Blue Angel (named after the Dietrich film) in 1978. They released an album, but for Lauper, fame would be a solitary affair––her 1983 solo debut She’s So Unusual sold 11 million copies and earned her a Grammy. But it wasn’t just Lauper’s music and signature raspy, octave-meandering vocals that had fans swooning: It was her madcap style, gloriously on display in the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” music video, one of the first in heavy rotation in the early days of MTV. Lauper’s hair was spiked, shaved, and dyed a myriad of colors (often all at once), and her makeup was a dazzling array of clashing, disco-ball hues. She was never afraid of accessories, often piling on hundreds of beaded strands, multiple mismatched earrings, lacy gloves, and bizarrely patterned tights at the same time. And Lauper’s wardrobe was an eccentric mish-mash of thrift-store treasures– –she worked for a time at New York vintage institution Screaming Mimi’s, and owner Laura Wills was her stylist in the ’80s—with everything from frilly tutus and velvet capes CYNDI LAUPER HAS ALWAYS PLAYED BY HER OWN RULES, IN BOTH MUSIC AND FASHION. BY FIORELLA VALDESOLO to oversized men’s blazers and skinny suspenders. She was a punk rock Rainbow Brite, and the public was totally enchanted. Even though Lauper’s style has evolved over the years, she has never lost her taste for the absurd––she reportedly had everyone in the delivery room wear tiaras during the birth of her son––and her devotion to hair dye. In recent years, her cropped ’do has spanned the color spectrum––featuring fuchsia, canary yellow, stark white, and black stripes. “I gotta say if there’s anybody I look up to, it’s Vivienne Westwood,” she says. “But history is my main inspiration.” Lauper constantly references other decades in both her dress and music, and she has never been afraid to take chances with unconventional silhouettes and color combinations. “I started to get more tailored in ’94 but I still used bright colors,” she explains. “I like Nikki [Fontanella, her stylist], because she is always able to embody the classics and make it a little rock ’n’ roll, since I don’t like too straight of a thing.” Lauper’s free-spirited style sensibility is apparent in the artwork for her latest album, Bring Ya to the Brink, a high-octane collection of new dance songs mixed entirely by Jeremy Wheatley (of Goldfrapp and Kylie Minogue fame) which sees her toying with the idea of the traditional housewife in twisted ’50s frocks. Expect equally outrageous get-ups when she hits the road this summer for her second True Colors tour which, besides being a nonstop dance party, will focus on raising awareness about human rights issues and, this year, encouraging people to vote. Lauper, who will turn 55 in June, remains just as blissfully unusual as when she first emerged. clockwise from top left: janet macoska/retna ltd. gary gershoff/retna ltd. john spellman/retna ltd. bob leafe/retna ltd. album art courtesy of stefanie schneider. clockwise from above: tulle, not cotton, was the fabric of her life; only lauper could make spandex capris look cool; patterns are meant to be mixed; an image of lauper from her new album sleeve; she’s not afraid of any kind of volume. Omnichord, trombone, electric bass, and Appalachian dulcimer Steven Spielberg asked Lauper to be the musical director of the film The Goonies. Lauper sang the theme song for Pee-Wee’s Playhouse. The covers for She’s So Unusual and True Colors were shot by Annie Leibovitz. Lauper contributed to an album recorded by wrestlers in 1985 under the pseudonym “Mona Flambe.” hall of fame myspace.com : cyndilauper / Time after time, you can log on and listen to the newest tunes from this fashion icon. http://myspace.com/cyndilauper
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