In “Tuya,” Rosalía’s new song and music video, the Spanish singer takes viewers on a stylish tour around Tokyo. “I was inspired by Japanese instruments to create the musical arrangement of ‘Tuya,’” she says. If you’ve stalked the star’s Instagram page before, it’s no secret that she loves the Japanese city, and often travels there—so she wanted to take a moment to spotlight its beautiful culture and style. “Japan makes me want to move slowly, delicately,” says Rosalía. “It is beautiful no matter where you look at it. I admire the dedication they put into the little things—it inspires me with everything. Absolutely everything is a ritual.”
While Rosalía describes the song itself as “a connection—or an erotic encounter—with another person,” the singer says she wanted the video to have an entirely different feel. “The video [is centred around] a foreign girl in Tokyo who is alone all the time,” she says. “I found that juxtaposition interesting for the visual part.” Of course, in doing so, she couldn’t help but infuse the video with a heavy dose of cool-girl fashion as well. (It’s a signature Tokyo element, after all.) “I was having fun creating looks in Tokyo the day before the shoot,” she says. “The looks represent the playfulness from that moment, and also are part of the visual context of Tuya, where sensuality plays an important role.”
For the video, Rosalía wanted to capture the special elements that make up Tokyo style—that is, the artful way that locals can combine pieces and patterns in an effortless way. It’s a decidedly different approach to her fashion aesthetic during the “Motomami” era, when she focused on sleek black leathers and moto-inspired looks. “I find inspiration in the freedom of mixing of patterns and colours that happens naturally in Japan,” says Rosalía. “I’m also a fan of how the 60-year-old ladies dress: They look gorgeous every day when they dress up to go shopping in their neighbourhood. I remember being in Kyoto and wishing that I can grow old with as much style as them.”
Some of the star’s favourite ensembles from the new video? “The yellow Marni suit was associated with vitality, Vivienne [Westwood]’s corset with eroticism, and Margiela’s Tabi [shoes] seemed perfect to me, as they were an element inspired by traditional Japanese Jika-tabi footwear,” says Rosalía (who also sported towering Vivienne Westwood shoes as well.) As for her favourite one-of-a-kind piece, “I found my Hysteric Glamour t-shirt [while] digging on the Internet on a lucky day,” she says, “and every time I wear it, it makes me happy.”
Now that her new video is out in the world, Rosalía says she’ll now get right back to work on her ongoing projects. She’s currently wrapping up the last of her “Motomami” tour in Europe, for one. But she’s also excited for a little summer R&R. “I am really looking forward to August, when I will finally get the time to read and watch movies,” she says. “For now, I’m not going to give away anything yet, but I really want to set foot in the studio again!”
This article was originally published on Vogue.com.
