“I find it empowering to not look like everyone else or follow trends,” carolesdaughter tells HollywoodLife when discussing her capsule collection with KILLSTAR. This brand provides occult luxury to those who, like carolesdaughter, eschew mainstream tastes and fashions. With her collection, carolesdaughter not only selects a number of must-haves for anyone’s closet. She also picks out the clothing she wishes she could have worn while growing up.
“Growing up Mormon restricted me from exploring that part of my self-expression and identity,” she says in an EXCLUSIVE interview. “It feels cathartic to be in this position now to work with KILLSTAR, a brand I’ve loved for so long, and put my own spin on the designs.” Those desires and sensibilities are woven throughout please put me in a medically induced coma, the EP carolesdaughter released earlier in 2022.
“My clothes don’t fit, and I can feel my spine / I can’t give up the drugs, so I give up on life,” she sings on the title track, capturing that feeling of despair after you’re told to live one way, but know you can’t. carolesdaughter’s music shows that when the options are to conform or die, there really isn’t a choice, now is there?
Thankfully, carolesdaughter didn’t give up (in fact, she just released a new song.) And, with her capsule collection and her art, carolesdaughter shows those similarly-minded individuals that there are more options in life. You can dress the way that makes you feel alive, and you can find happiness in all the things others say are “bad.” You can walk around with a purse full of your ex-boyfriend’s tears while greeting the day in your Inferno Room Flares and a smile on your face.
HollywoodLife: As someone who “wasn’t allowed to look the way I wanted to look for a really long time,” how did it feel when you were first approached to curate a capsule collection with Killstar?
Carolesdaughter: It was a true full-circle moment for me and was honestly very validating. I always had a strong vision of how I wanted to look and dress, but growing up Mormon restricted me from exploring that part of my self-expression and identity. It feels cathartic to be in this position now to work with KILLSTAR, a brand I’ve loved for so long, and put my own spin on the designs.
If you could be the Emo Goth Fairy and leave a particular piece from this capsule collection under your teenage self’s pillow, which would it be?
Definitely the Untamed maxi skirt.
Personally, there’s something comforting about dressing head-to-toe in black. Why do you think these alt fashion, best exemplified in this Killstar capsule collection, resonate with you? Like, why do these clothes draw you in over others?
I find it empowering to not look like everyone else or follow trends, and there’s a little bit of something for everyone in this Killstar collection – it’s hard not to appreciate how detailed each piece is.
You’re set to play Riot Fest on the same day that Alkaline Trio and My Chemical Romance headline. If you could go pick out a Killstar piece for Matt Skiba, Gerard Way, or any other member(s) of those bands, what would you pick?
I’d have to go with the Wastelands Button-Up.
You just dropped your ep, please put me in a medically induced coma. If you were to compare each of the seven songs to a piece of Killstar clothing/accessories, what would you pick?
- “please put me in a medically induced coma” — Inferno Room Flares
- “my mother wants me dead” — Britta Corset Top
- “trailer trash” — Carved Up Slashed Tights
- “dead boy (in my room)” – Untamed Maxi Skirt
- “target practice” – Over The Rainbow Knit Sweater
- “audrey” – Afterlife Lace Nightdress
- “cold bathroom floor” – Rest Her Soul Set
Are you ready for “dead boy (in my room)” to be the next big prom song?
You’ll have to ask the PTA about that one.
Finally, what are you carrying in your Blood-Red Grave Digger Skull handbag?
The tears of my ex-boyfriend.