Rae: Stop! So true. It felt more unexpected. Even sonically, it’s just a different energy. I think I’m multifaceted, and this was the perfect way to introduce another aspect of me musically. It felt right to lead with this one. I always knew this was the first.
Wait… first? Is this an album moment?
Rae: sh*t! [Laughs.] Well…
Okay, you’re blushing. and I won’t push you about this on the record. Mel, you said Addison has really good taste. I agree, and it’s something people have learned about you, Addison, over the past year or so. I’m curious: when it comes to fashion, what’s in the middle of the Mel and Addison Venn diagram?
Ottenberg: I wanted something sexy that wasn’t what everyone is giving in sexy these days – which isn’t a diss. There’s so many great looks right now, but I wasn’t getting that from Addison when we were listening to the song. It was a whole different vibe. Spencer [Singer] styled the video, and I like the vintage vibes, and Spencer was up on some of my secret go-tos. Addison got the great white strapless bra from this place in New York, Illisa, which is something that I really gatekeep because if you know about this woman, she’s really the best vintage dealer that I’ve ever known. Madonna’s slip dresses in the “Secret” video are from there. She’s been around for a really long time.
I just loved the idea that it’s really warm – summer – and you’re feeling sexy with your man. Your man looks so great in the most classic way possible, and you feel really alive and fun. But it’s still our kind of fun, which is pretty over-the-top, like an ’80s white bathing suit with rhinestones on it, which on Addison felt very Brooke Shields to me. José, where do you think the Venn diagram is landing when you see this video?
Photo: Lexee Smith
I like what you said about the fun and over-the-top-ness – that is a good intersection between you both aesthetically. There’s a freedom or freewheeling-ness that I always enjoyed about your work, Mel, and Addison as a person.
Ottenberg: Thank you. Okay, I found the tweet. It said, “One way to tell if someone has joie de vivre is if they like Addison Rae”, and that’s it. I feel like we’re both into a nonchalant outrageousness, and I want the over-the-top to look as chill as a jean and a bikini top. I’m not going to do the showgirl outfit if it feels stuffy, but Addison feels comfortable in it. She’s a dancer. That’s where I saw the fashion going.
Something you both mentioned in your Interview conversation was the idea of the TikToker. Addison, you’re the original TikToker – you helped define what that is and what it looks like, and then you started acting and launched a music career. It’s been so fun since you announced this song to see everyone react online. People seem to be very excited. How do you feel about this evolution and the release of this song?
Rae: To be honest, I don’t know. I’m exploring and learning so much about myself. A lot of it has to do with what we mentioned earlier: my openness to evolving and changing. I don’t know what I would do if I weren’t creating; it’s a big part of my life and has always been. When I started on TikTok, I didn’t plan on anything specific happening. I had always had the same dream since I was a little kid, which was to create things. I want to act, I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to perform, I just want to entertain. With TikTok, it was just like, why would I not display this desire whenever I can on a platform? I had Tumblr, by the way, when I was really young. Probably way too young.
I was going to say, definitely too young!
Rae: I was way too young to be on Tumblr, but I had a cool older cousin who had it. That’s where I really started learning a lot about fashion and being curious. Curiosity is such a big part of who I am. I’ve just followed that, and it really means so much that you say all those kinds of things. As long as I’m creating and making things that I love, I feel like I’m doing what my heart wants.
Photo: Lexee Smith
Mel, on your end, you said it’s a pop-girl summer, and you’ve worked with many pop girls. Why did you want to work with Addison?
Rae: Yes! Why do you like me, Mel? [Laughs.]
Ottenberg: I had fun on our Interview shoot, and I just thought she was cool. I definitely noticed Addison in 2020 wearing this floral earth-toned bikini in a hot tub or a pool. I was like, I don’t know what it is about this girl, but she really seems pretty major. My TikTok in 2020 was also the craziest For You Page. This crazy kid started my TikTok for me, so I was just following the craziest people, but Addison would somehow be poking in there. She was tearing it up so hard. As soon as we were working with her, I realised she gets it beyond what I thought and I was instantly impressed by how hardworking and [professional] she is but also her coolness and messiness. There’s a lot that is hyper-produced, and this person was leaving me guessing and I wanted to know more.
Rae: That is also Addisoncore! That’s the ethos of Addisoncore: dig deeper.
Photo: Mikayla LoBasso
Photo: Yasmine Diba
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
