Courtney Love doesn’t sit idle for a moment. The widow of Kurt Cobain is non-stop energy, between working on her new album (due out in early 2014) her autobiography (releasing in December), her new spring fashion collection and several new movie roles, Courtney doesn’t rest…ever! The artistic and ever-outspoken rocker shared some thoughts on fashion, today’s pop stars, sex and more with Fashion magazine’s winter issue.
Courtney shares sex advice from Karl Lagerfeld. “In 2010, I was in the lobby of the Mercer and Karl said ‘What are you doing in a tutu?’ and I said ‘I have a new record out, this is my Gaga look–this is my meat dress’ and he goes ‘You’re never getting laid in a tutu.’ That was when I stopped wearing my kooky clothes.”
On her authentic style: “When I was younger and full of p-ss and vinegar and starting my band, I just wore what I wore. There was no contrivance … it was what I found and was my look. It was utilitarian, I could pack fast, and I was extremely, extremely picky about the dresses and shoes and little plastic tiaras and barrettes I wore.”
On how things have changed with today’s chart-topping singers like Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry, “Mostly everything is contrived now. Miley Cyrus is not setting any trends – if you can’t start a trend, you’re screwed’ ‘I wonder who decided to put her in white mesh and a pair of pasties and a faux fur? It was dumb and trashy-looking. ‘Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry … It’s artless pop at the end of the day, and, yeah, I have listened to ‘Roar’ and ‘We Can’t Stop’ and I love ‘Wrecking Ball’ for a guilty pleasure, but these are songs written by men mostly for pop tarts.”
On her rocky road to being a style icon: “I got really ostracized by [fashion] after I went to rehab in 2006. After I got out, no one would dress me and I sucked it up. I went to Paris, got on a plane and I was only invited to two shows. Two shows! YSL and Stella. Then I met my stylist Panos [Yiapanis], who got me to sit down with Riccardo Tisci and he was more than happy to dress me during the biggest weight gain of my life. He renewed my faith in fashion… it’s really about who you surround yourself with in your career. The next time I went back to Paris was in 2008 and I got invited to a hundred shows and the minute [Givenchy creative director] Riccardo [Tisci] said ‘she is my muse,’ everyone threw clothes at me. That’s just fashion—it’s such a reactive community.”
Courtney has promised a very no-holds-barred look at her life and her loves (including Ed Norton, Billy Corgan and more) in her new autobiography. There are a few she might have to rename, though. “I keep wanting to write this one chapter about a man that I was very much in love with but I just don’t want to name him. I used pseudonyms like Mr. Cat—this guy who was a billionaire and our relationship ended weird.”
The Golden Globe nominated actress is working in two upcoming films. “These are penance parts, they’re good films and good roles, but they are also to show the community that I show up and don’t take drugs.”
Read her full interview with Fashion when it hits news stands on November 11th.
Photos by Getty and Fashion magazine