Charlotte Lawrence Cosmopolitan Interview and Fashion Shoot
Early this spring, the singer Charlotte Lawrence shared some personal news with her 800K+ Instagram followers: She was grounded. Not in the go-to-your-room-young-lady sense—the 20-year-old bought a house this year and is officially out on her own—but in a shit-just-got-real sense. She had tested positive for COVID-19, so Charlotte locked herself down.
Everything was going to be okay for her, she assured fans, but supportive messages were not what she was after: What would *actually* help was staying informed and, if you weren’t feeling so hot, “for the love of god, self-fucking quarantine or you’ll be on my shit list,” she posted on March 18.
At a time when the threat to young people was being downplayed, “honestly, I felt like I had a responsibility to say: This is a real thing!” the artist—whose voice has been stuck in your head since at least summer 2019, when her moody hit “Why Do You Love Me” hit airwaves—said, frustration bursting through. “I was super sick. My dude was really fucking sick. It was scary.” Ultimately, Charlotte isolated for almost 50 days.
As of now, she’s fully recovered. And while sure, it would be wonderful to be doing this interview from some chic hotel or from the road on a low-key, socially distanced tour, Charlotte is taking this call from the comfort of her bed—one of two places she primarily prefers to chill these days.
The other: the studio—which is really anywhere with a guitar and good acoustics. In 2020, she’s made it a point to keep playing and singing every night. Sometimes these solo performances make their way to Instagram: gorgeous cover songs that contrast with the edgy pop vibes that made her famous, but also provide clear proof of a talent with serious staying power.
And the thing is, despite her smaller orbit—or maybe even because of it—she’s managed to turn this bizarre time into a period of hyper-productivity. See: the visually stunning music video she made for “Slow Motion” that’s a lesson in the virtues of pared-down production, (much like this road trip-inspired fashion shoot). See also: the ‘80s-inspired Alesso collab coming out very soon; a new single in November; a full album drop in January. (Read on for deets about those upcoming debuts!)
“I think we grow when we’re a little afraid,” she explains, looking back on this year. “Having this scary illness, buying a house, releasing a whole project—I feel like a full-on adult.” So while, of course, she’s looking forward to getting back out there IRL again, for now she’s making the most of this moment. And at least when it comes to her career, Charlotte is exactly where she wants to be.
Table of Contents
First of all, can you talk a little bit more about your COVID-19 experience? You were very frank about it at a time when other people were … not so much.
As much as people can believe that COVID is scary, personal connection to it can be the thing that makes that realization stick. My boyfriend and I got it so early that it wasn’t even really a thing in the States yet—and we were out that week with friends, so I felt important for me to post because it was like: If I was with you, be safe. Even now, my close circle is taking it seriously, but there are so many people who are being stupid. So I wanted to do my part because I thought maybe it would help prevent other people from getting sick because they would take it seriously and wear a mask.
Watching the video for “Slow Motion,” you’d never know that it was a three-person production. How did you pull that off?
We had to keep it super small to be safe, so it was just director Tyler Shields, choreographer Tia Rivera, and me, which turned out to be really freeing. I’m so used to being on set with a million people and so many opinions. But as much as I love and respect all the pros, it was really empowering to do this by ourselves and be in total creative control.
For example, when it comes to my everyday appearance, I like to keep things simple—I don’t wear much makeup, I’m not really one to brush my hair. So for the video, I wore red lips and that was it. I picked out the clothes I wore. I didn’t compromise on anything. The final result was authentically me.
What else have you been up to while the world is paused?
Well, I have a puppy, Win, who is my little best friend. I get up early every day to feed her and take her on walks. I also bought a house this year and I’m living on my own for the first time, so getting used to that. I feel like a true adult. My big thing these days is dishes. Before the night ends, I have to do the dishes. I can’t leave them in the sink. My parents are shocked.
I also realized, during quarantine, that I don’t need to compromise what I want to do to make somebody else happy. I used to be such a people pleaser: I’d say yes to doing things even if I didn’t feel like hanging out or going anywhere. Obviously we all have the best excuse to stay home right now. But now it’s like: If I want to stay in bed all day, I’m staying in bed. Or if I want to work all day, I’ll do that.
You’ve also been giving some great Instagram concerts.
You know, I have a very back-and-forth relationship with social media. I’m grateful for it because I wouldn’t have a career without it. But I also think it can be horrible for your mental health, so I decided during quarantine that I was going to focus on using it to share my music, not scrolling through stories. I play the guitar and sing every single night, whether I’m writing something or covering someone else. A lot of pop songs start off as acoustic melodies, so I wanted to share that side of myself. Once my EP comes out in January, I’m planning to start work on an acoustic album.
You’re voting for the first time this year. What are you thinking about, going into November?
Even if I woke up one day and thought ‘I’m never using Instagram again,’ I would stay on it just to post about voting. We are the voice of the future. Our president is a morally corrupt human being. His views—on women’s rights, on immigrants, on everything—sadden me. It’s been upsetting every day for four years, and I know I don’t want to live through four more years of this. But we can’t just expect it to go our way. That’s why it’s so, so important for young people to vote. You can’t get what you want unless you step up.
Credits: Photographs: Eric Ray Davidson; Stylist: Cassie Anderson; Hair: Laura Polko using Naturelab Tokyo; Makeup: Kelsey Deenihan using Lorac Cosmetics; Production: Crawford & Co Production.
On Charlotte: First look: Miu Miu jumpsuit and belt. Miron Crosby boots. Roxanne Assoulin earrings. Shourouk ring. Bounkit ring. Second look: Staud top and skirt. Maryam Nassir Zadeh heels. Roxanne Assoulin earrings. Third look: Fendi top, shirt, and skirt. Nicholas Kirkwood heels. ARK Fine Jewelry rings. Omi Woods earrings and necklaces. Gucci suitcase, fashionphile.com. Fourth look: Maggie Marilyn top and skirt. Stuart Weitzman heels. Fifth look: Brock Collection dress. Rochas platforms. Larkspur & Hawk earrings. Sixth look: Valentino top, skirt, boots and belt. Lana Jewelry necklace. Seventh look: Carolina Herrera dress. Miron Crosby boots.
When some one searches for his required thing, therefore he/she wants to be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.
You will find all the discounts on fashion trends at Fashion
Fantastic beat ! I would like to apprentice while you amend your web site,
how can i subscribe for a blog site? The account helped
me a acceptable deal. I had been tiny bit acquainted of this your broadcast provided bright clear idea
Hi to all, how is everything, I think every one is getting more from this web page, and
your views are nice designed for new people.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on and. Regards
After exploring a number of the blog articles on your web site, I
really appreciate your technique of writing a blog.
I saved it to my bookmark site list and will be checking back soon. Please check out my web site as well and let
me know how you feel.
If some one wishes to be updated with hottest technologies
therefore he must be go to see this web site and be up to date
every day.
I’m not that much of a online reader to be honest but your blogs really nice, keep it up!
I’ll go ahead and bookmark your website to come back in the future.
Many thanks
It’s amazing in support of me to have a web site, which is good in favor of my experience.
thanks admin
I am actually grateful to the owner of this site who has shared this impressive post at
here.
We are a group of volunteers and starting a brand new scheme in our community.
Your site provided us with helpful info to work on. You have done a formidable job and our entire group will likely
be thankful to you.
Hello! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any problems with hackers?
My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended
up losing months of hard work due to no backup. Do you have any methods to stop
hackers?
An impressive share! I’ve just forwarded this onto a colleague
who had been conducting a little research on this. And he actually bought me breakfast because I found it for him…
lol. So allow me to reword this…. Thanks for the meal!!
But yeah, thanx for spending time to talk about this matter here on your web site.
Nice post. I learn something new and challenging on blogs I stumbleupon on a daily basis.
It’s always helpful to read through content from other authors
and practice something from other sites.
Great post. I will be going through many
of these issues as well..
I’ll right away grab your rss feed as I can not find your email subscription link or
newsletter service. Do you have any? Please permit me recognise so that I could subscribe.
Thanks.
Magnificent items from you, man. I’ve be mindful your
stuff prior to and you are just too wonderful. I actually like what you’ve got right here, really like what you are stating and the best
way during which you are saying it. You make it entertaining and you still take care
of to stay it sensible. I can’t wait to learn much more from you.
That is actually a tremendous site.