We’ve seen an uptick in method-dressing from actors and performers of late; the practice seems virtually synonymous with acting and film culture in this particular moment. But FKA Twigs has always taken a singular, character-embodying approach to her public appearances, whether she’s publicizing her forthcoming album Eusexua or her role in the film The Crow, which opens in theaters today.
While method dressing calls for looks that play to the part, so to speak, Twigs’s personal style can’t be so easily decoded. If anything, every outfit—including the brown faux-leather bustier top and sheer boy shorts she wore to an album-listening party earlier this week (made all the more distinctive by geometric-patterned makeup resembling tribal facial tattoos), and the following night’s sultry and glam black vintage Armani slip dress for The Crow’s New York City premiere—is characteristically unpredictable. This is an artist whose homeostasis is a state of constant transformation.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
Of course it’s no surprise that Twigs would bring her own idiosyncrasies to Shelly, her character in The Crow, in order to make her feel more real—and the project on the whole, less intimidating. “The Crow is such an iconic world. It’s very daunting to dive into it,” she tells us on the morning of the film’s premiere. She’s wearing a tawny brown V-neck sweater, her hair pulled back to show off her half-shaved scalp. Indeed, the original 1994 film, based on the James O’Barr comic series of the same name, has become a cult classic for its era-defining dark gothic visuals, as well as for the tragic on-set death of its star, Brandon Lee, due to a prop-gun mishap.
But she’s quick to point out that director Rupert Sanders’s re-telling is ultimately a love story, and one in which Shelly—whose violent murder propels the plot—is more than just a catalyst for revenge; she’s a symbol of purity and hope. To become Shelly, Twigs collaborated closely with the costume-design duo Kurt and Bart, whose past projects include The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Nocturnal Animals, to create a personal style that intersected with her own. Shelly is a character defined by her community, Twigs explains. “She has these cool friends that are getting themselves in trouble. They’re partying, taking drugs, escaping their families. They’re very indicative of a coming-of-age generation of young people really trying to find themselves.”