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Telegraph
17-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Self Esteem: The pop star's theatrical extravaganza proves she's worth the hype
Last time Rebecca Lucy Taylor – the artist behind the Self Esteem moniker – went on tour, she made no bones about the limited budget at her disposal. But two years on, much has changed. Those shows and their corresponding album, Prioritise Pleasure, earned Taylor a new level of success (and a major label deal), evident in the scaled-up production and hype at London's Duke of York's Theatre on Wednesday night, where all eyes were on the debut of a new tour and album: A Complicated Woman. The show began as a play might: curtain rising to reveal Taylor slouched on the kind of plastic chair you'd see in a school or village hall, her back to the crowd, smoking a cigarette with the energy of an off-duty dinner lady. She's no stranger to a theatre stage – she played Sally Bowles in Cabaret at the end of 2023 – and this five-night West End run leans into that side of her identity. But it was still very much a pop show rather than a play. Taylor – kitted out like one of Margaret Atwood's handmaids in a white headpiece and smock – opened with a new song, I Do And I Don't Care, its spoken word and communal choruses picking up where she left off with Prioritise Pleasure favourite I Do This All The Time. Ten dancers, all sporting the same dystopian get-up, joined the stage as the mood transformed from church ceremony to nun nightclub for second song Mother, a basement throb about immature men: 'I am not your mother, I am not your mum'. So far, so Self Esteem. Theatre designer Tom Scutt, who also worked on Pet Shop Boys' recent Dreamworld tour, helped turn the Victorian theatre into a provincial community centre that, as the evening went on, played host to an AA meeting, a PE class, an aerobics gym, and local disco. Taylor's original trio of dancers were a crucial part of the success of the Prioritise Pleasure tour and the inflated troupe only capitalised on that power, choreographer Stuart Rogers clearly having fun with a larger posse. Everything felt bigger, yet everything felt reassuringly familiar: the 'girl gang' energy, Taylor's frank humour, her lyrics that nail how it feels to be a woman on the other side of your twenties. New songs such as Mother and 69 – a musical rating of sex positions, after which Taylor asked the crowd 'is my dad alright?' – channelled a Charli CXC-style club mood, but as Taylor pointed out in a recent interview, 'every brat turns 38'. The bulk of the night's material operated from this more mature perspective: The Curse's boozy strum, uplifting lead single Focus Is Power, and final song The Deep Blue Okay, which provided the same twinkling piano euphoria as LCD Soundsystem's All My Friends. Self Esteem's strength has always been as a live act, and the theatre provided exactly the right setting for her music: her lyrics earning laughs as if they were lines in a comedy play, the songs wrestled from charity single territory into witty empowerment anthems that found their full strength and natural home as a high-budget stage extravaganza, steered by a leading lady like no other.
The Independent
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Richard Quinn creates a winter wonderland at London Fashion Week
British designer Richard Quinn created a winter wonderland and brought back Dior's 'new look' silhouette almost 80 years later at autumn/winter 2025 London Fashion Week. Quinn, 35, is famed for his classic, retro styling; often leaning into pared-down elegance, and this show was certainly no exception. While the designs looked back to the greats of the past, as did the models, with 75-year-old Penelope Tree being cast in the show – a model who rose to prominence during the Swinging Sixties in London. Quinn encompasses fewer theatrics and edgy thrills than his counterparts, instead opting for refined silhouettes, eye-catching embellishments and old- Hollywood glamour. While his past collections have featured everything from latex to Lila Moss, the king of subversively joyous fashion seems to have stripped things back. For his autumn/winter 2025 show, guests eagerly lined up in the soggy streets of St James, a canopy of bustling umbrellas keenly awaiting to enter. Held in the Royal Horticultural Halls, Quinn transformed the ballroom into a winter wonderland, with a Georgian townhouse emblazoned with his name above the door and wrought iron gates guiding models through a glowing runway lined with street lamps and dusted with snow. It was as though the show was encapsulated within a vintage snow globe. As snow fell from the ceiling, classical strings began to play, and sumptuous silks, poufs and ruffles began to spill out onto the runway. It seems inspiration lay in the likes of Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn. Born in Lewisham, south-east London, Quinn's cosmopolitan vintage style gowns are tailored in a humble studio in Peckham. Despite being famed for his liberal use of loud florals and capacious ruffles; this collection took a more refined approach – showcasing monotoned silks, pitch dark velvets and elegant embellished gowns. However, that's not to say the collection wasn't without his quintessential florals. Large eighties-style roses washed evening gowns, with exaggerated shoulder pads and cinched wasp waists, blending the extremes of striking confidence and soft femininity. Quinn's bridal collection was the jewel in the crown, and it is no wonder his bridal designs are currently booming. Rumoured to be the next Vivienne Westwood when it comes to British wedding gowns, it comes as no surprise that Quinn's designs are flourishing. His breathtaking old Hollywood glamour, floor-length veils and refined embellishments offer the perfect timeless yet contemporary wedding dress. Pluming collars and exaggerated cuffs are classical Quinn motifs, and he injected further fun through silk blouson sleeves, exaggerated shoulder pads and voluminous skirts. As the show came to a close, Pet Shop Boys' upbeat Always On My Mind boomed through the sound system, as Quinn reminded us of the joy of his collection. A-listers sitting front row dressed in Quinn included Olympic runner Keely Hodgkinson, daughter of Oasis star Anais Gallagher and sisters Lady Eliza and Lady Amelia Spencer.
