Nasty Gal has just dropped its hotly anticipated second collaboration with Courtney Love, and it’s a world away from the first.
“This time we took less of a view of referencing the past - although that’s in there too - and modernised my romantic view of things,” Love told The Huffington Post UK.
“I am a maximalist not a minimalist,” she said. “We wanted baroque pieces but ones that were fresh and new.”
The new 24-piece collection symbolises Love’s style evolution from grunge goddess to glamorous Hollywood movie star - teaming luxe fabrics, intricate beading and fanciful flourishes with spotlight-worthy silhouettes.
Love revealed she’s taken “more risks” with the new line, drawing on everything from suffragette outfits, to Jim Morrison’s pirate blouses and a ‘Moulin Rouge’-inspired opulence.
Die-hard fans of the inaugural sell-out Nasty Gal X Courtney Love range, released in January 2016, will be pleased to know there’s still a nod to 90s nostalgia in the form of slinky slip dresses, provocative babydolls, and Love’s signature sparkling tiaras.
Love’s favourite piece from the new Love, Courtney by Nasty Gal line is the ‘Majestic’ coat, £206, a decadent midnight blue creation (pictured above).
“It’s gorgeous and based on a piece from my Edwardian and Victorian collection,” she said. “It was originally made for a bustle dress so it had to be slimmed down.”
Both Love’s daughter, Frances Bean Cobain, and Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso named the ‘Filmore’ maxi dress, £241, as their must-buy item from the range (pictured below).
“It has Hole’s ‘Doll Parts’ lyrics embroidered in this messed-up handwriting around the waist and along the neckline, and if you wear it, there’s no way people are not going to talk about it,” Amoruso told HuffPost UK.
The shimmering, floor-length lace gown also plays a starring role in HuffPost UK’s video homage to the new collection (top), featuring an exclusive and never-before-heard recording of Love speaking about her journey to success.
“You hear the word ‘no’ all of your life,” Love begins. “’No’ is a rule, a limit, a place to fall in line. ‘No’ is a shadow cast, it’s a creeping doubt.”
“I could have crumbled under it, I could have disappeared. Instead, I found my inner bitch and I ran with her.
“I took all those ‘nos’ and I made them my purpose.
“I wrote them into chords, I twisted them into thread, I used them as fabric. I wove them into something new; something beautiful, something loud. something raw. Something that is never, ever finished.
“They turned me into a force of nature, and I made the stage my own.”
Love’s powerful words ring true for her fashion fans - over the years she has established herself not just as a music force to be reckoned with, but a bonafide style icon.
It was the Hole frontwoman’s “rawness” and “I-literally-woke-up-like-this sexiness” that Amoruso felt perfectly embodied the Nasty Gal customer.
And she’s not the only one to cite Love as a Muse: Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci, Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs and Meadham Kirchhoff have all been won over by her rock’n’roll charms.
“Is there anyone from my generation who wasn’t inspired by her?” Amoruso asked HuffPost UK.
“Every cool girl wanted to emulate that rebelliousness and sense of fearlessness. She inspired me then and she still does.”
Clothing from the new Love, Courtney line is already flying off the shelves - so will there be a third collaboration with Nasty Gal coming our way?
“Courtney and I connect over so much,” Amoruso said. “Among all the things we have in common, keeping our cards close to our chest is one of them, so I’m not going to say anything one way or another just yet...”
Watch this babydoll-shaped space. But if you’ve still not got your Courtney Love fix, we’ve rounded up her top style quotes and most iconic outfits below:
On her sartorial words of wisdom...
“Always listen to people smarter than you are in trying new things, and always try new things.” - HuffPost UK
On her ultimate fashion goal...
“I’m looking to do my own line with a backer. Sophia and I had a positive experience, and to do it for the second time will show my backers that I can do this.” - InStyle
On style risks...
“I wish other people would take more risks. I’m not talking about Cher dressed as the Statue of Liberty, but I am so bored of seeing starlets wearing jewel-coloured column dresses. I’d much rather see a WAG get it wrong.” - Elle
On her beginnings as a designer...
“There was a time in 2006 when no designers I liked would dress me, so I started making my own clothes - there were a lot of feathers.
Then, in 2010, I tried what Karen Elson does with ‘20s clothes: I have a really cool collection of flapper dresses, and I was cutting them up and making my own outfits. - Harpers Bazaar
On fashion’s new muse, Frances Bean Cobain...
“I do feel like I am passing the torch of high fashion on to my daughter. She doesn’t borrow much from my wardrobe, she’s finding her own style,” - Grazia
On her fashion addiction...
“My vice now is my clothes.” - Elle
On her one style staple...
“I’m a fiend for bodysuits. I’ve said for the past 10 years bodysuits are gonna come back.” - Vogue
See the entire second Nasty Gal X Courtney Love collection in our gallery below (and yes, there are definitely bodysuits):
