The musician talks about her work with the Alexander McQueen maison, her relationship with fashion, and her upcoming album.

Isobel Waller-Bridge might just be a musical genius. The 36-year-old Brit, perhaps best known for composing the music for her sister&rsquo;s cult-favourite, hit TV show, Fleabag, has had huge success in the music realm, and now the fashion world is taking notice. Waller-Bridge studied music at Edinburgh University, going on to King&#39;s College London and the Royal Academy of Music. She recently did the soundtrack for the movie Emma. (2020), as well as an episode of <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/film-tv/madison-bailey-netflix-outer-banks">Netflix&rsquo;s</a> Black Mirror.

Waller-Bridge composed the music for the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/beauty/alexander-mcqueen-fragrance-collection-2018">Alexander McQueen</a> Spring/Summer 2020 women&rsquo;s show that took place in Paris this past September. &ldquo;I really didn&rsquo;t have any relationship with fashion before McQueen,&rdquo; Waller-Bridge tells L&rsquo;Officiel USA. &ldquo;It was exciting seeing behind the scenes, and the artistry that goes into a collection and making a show. I think since working with them I&rsquo;ve definitely started to understand the role of fashion in art.&rdquo; She mentions that McQueen also gave her a beautiful suit. &ldquo;I feel strong and powerful in it. I&rsquo;m grateful to have found a bit of style that works for me.&rdquo;

McQueenMusic 3.jpg

McQueen has recently started an initiative called #McQueenMusic, allowing for fans to listen and download the music from McQueen shows and events in their own homes. For #McQueenMusic, Waller-Bridge created an exclusive new score for the house, &quot;Suspended in Air,&quot; which was performed on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6Rz6qpT3YM">YouTube</a> by Robert Ames and Galya Bisengaileva. She has also curated a playlist, &ldquo;Energy and Rhythm,&rdquo; on the McQueen <a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2x51gUM1p5rpZ69N3o3Ocg">Spotify</a>&nbsp;Channel. &ldquo;I wanted to curate a playlist for a positive mood, for peace and hope, and for strength,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I look around and I feel the need for community more than ever. <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/black-lives-matter-fashion-beauty-brand-donations">Community</a> is a word so deeply associated with McQueen, and I wanted to reflect that connectivity with diversity and energy.&rdquo;

The sense of community is one of the things Waller-Bridge loves about McQueen, she says it&rsquo;s inherent to their work. &ldquo;The outreach, and creative community projects that McQueen produces that aren&rsquo;t necessarily front-page news all the time, are astonishing and very inspiring. It really feels like Sarah [Burton] and the whole team are listening, all the time, to people all around them. It is reflected in the opportunities made available to people who don&rsquo;t naturally have the advantage, but have the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/men/christian-combs-making-the-band-reboot">talent</a>.&rdquo; The musician admires how Burton discovers creative people all over the U.K. and provides them with opportunities; that the diversity of talent is not just an idea, but something she believes the McQueen house actually puts into practice.&nbsp;

Waller-Bridge recently signed to Mercury KX, a label known for their genre-defying, diverse collection of artists, and is working on her first album for them.&nbsp;&ldquo;It feels really good to be writing without a brief,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s drawing me into a place in my mind I&rsquo;ve not been in for a while, and creatively there&rsquo;s lots in there to unpack. I&rsquo;m finding it really inspiring having the <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/tory-lanez-quarantine-radio-new-album">independence</a> and the freedom to do what I want.&rdquo;

McQueenMusic 2.png

Robert Ames and Galya Bisengaileva perform "Suspended in Air"

But Waller-Bridge also made a deal with herself to not feel pressured to write music during this time. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not someone who likes to write when I&rsquo;m feeling depressed or low. Some people find being in that place can be creatively quite good, but for me, it&rsquo;s not a fruitful place,&rdquo; she says. She&rsquo;s been using quarantine to flex her &ldquo;imagination muscle&rdquo; in a way she hasn&rsquo;t for a while and finds herself inspired by things that aren&rsquo;t necessarily music-related: books, <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/categories/film-tv">movies</a>, paintings. She believes she learns as much from things she doesn&rsquo;t like as the things she does.&nbsp;

With all of her success thus far and an album on the way, Waller-Bridge tells us what she wants people to know about herself and the music she creates. &ldquo;My music is rarely political,&rdquo; she says, &ldquo;my music is about <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/music/charli-xcx-new-album-how-im-feeling-now">feeling</a>. I don&rsquo;t like to try and predict what people want to hear&mdash;I&rsquo;ll just do what I feel and that is always what I know to trust. I always try to make honest music.&rdquo;&nbsp;

Her album is slated for release later in 2020.&nbsp;

Meet Isobel Waller-Bridge, Fashion's Favorite Musical Composer

L'OFFICIEL USA December 2024 - Julianne Moore Cover

Meet Isobel Waller-Bridge, Fashion's Favorite Musical Composer

Tags

Recommended posts for you

Fashion

Mariah Carey Signs off for the Holidays With Chic Aspen Look

Pop culture

How the Royals Are Spending Christmas 2024

Fashion

The 28 Best Dressed Actors and Musicians of 2024

Fashion

See the Most Iconic, Unforgettable Runway Shows From 2024

Fashion

Calvin Klein Reveals Details on Its 2025 Return to New York Fashion Week

Fashion

How to Channel Dua Lipa's NYE Style? 7 Celebrity-Inspired Party Outfits

Shopping

19 Chocolate Brown Accessories You'll Want to Keep Forever

Travel & Living

The 'Mastery and Risk' in Making Vintage Champagne, According to Dom Pérignon