Lana Del Rey doesn’t think about style—or so she claims. As the singer told Vanity Fair magazine earlier this month, “style was never my forte. It wasn’t something I set out to create.”
But it seems Del Rey, who first gained attention in 2011 when her “Video Games” single became a viral hit on YouTube, is all about style. The way I see it, like any pop star, this self-described “Gangsta Nancy Sinatra has simply invented a persona and is just enjoying playing the part.
After the, now infamous, January 2012 Saturday Night Live performance, where Del Rey appeared to be a self-parody, she bounced back with a vengeance—with three 2012 MTV Europe Music Awards nominations and being the newest face of H&M. As part of the Swedish fashion label’s 2012 Autumn/Winter campaign, Del Rey’s seductive face is splashed everywhere. She even stars in a David Lynch-inspired commercial, performing her rendition of the 1963 Bobby Vinton hit "Blue Velvet". The commercial, which shows Del Rey in a plushy, pink sweater with matching pink leggings (you may need to look twice to see she’s actually wearing pants), even includes a very Lynch-esque creepy, little man. And, no surprise here, Del Rey is a huge Lynch fan. Lynch told Artinfo in July 2012, “Lana Del Rey, she’s got some fantastic charisma and—this is a very interesting thing—it’s like she’s born out of another time,” Lynch said. “She’s got something that’s very appealing to people. And I didn’t know that she was influenced by me!”
So, what’s next? Del Rey is set to release Born to Die -The Paradise Edition on November 13th. The album is essentially a re-release of her original January 2012 debut-album, Born to Die, but with eight new tracks, including the Rick-Rubin produced single “Ride”. In October 2012, she also revealed to Vogue Australia that she has her eyes set on Hollywood, telling the magazine, "Hopefully I will branch into film work and stay there. That will be my happy place. I'd like to stay in one place for a long time."
