Interior cover of Florence + the Machine CD "Dance Fever." Florence Welch is standing in front of a black backdrop with large, red and pink flowers painted on it. The backdrop also has several white moths. Florence is wearing a long, red dress with a large flower at her throat. She has a dark red cape that looks to be made of velvet. Her long, red hair is down and there is floral fabric on her head. She is looking up and to her right. The album is from 2022.
art design family music observations

Pre-Raphaelite Florence – Styling Musicians & Bands

by Mary

Hubby bought me the entire collection of Florence + the Machine compact discs (CDs) for my birthday. There are five albums:

  • Lungs (2009)
  • Ceremonials (2011)
  • How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015)
  • High As Hope (2018)
  • Dance Fever (2022)

I had heard the song “Dog Days Are Over” from Lungs quite some time ago and was impressed with both the song and video.

Over the past year, I looked up more of the band’s videos on YouTube (my gateway for finding new music and revisiting the videos of my youth) and became hooked. Hence, the CDs from Erik.

While the band is called Florence + the Machine and was formed by Florence Welch, Isabella Summers, Rob Ackroyd, Christopher Lloyd, and Tom Monger, Florence has become the primary focus, with her strong voice, striking beauty and long, red hair.

As a child in the 1970s and ’80s, I grew up with large album covers, magazines like Tiger Beat, and MTV’s music videos. I used these visuals of musicians and bands as clues to their personalities. Musicians and bands tell stories through how they dress as much as they do through their songs.

In examining the covers and inserts of Florence + the Machine’s CDs in date order, I can see an evolution in Florence’s look. While she seems to have always had a penchant for long, flowing dresses, in the photos from the earlier albums, she can be seen in more average street clothes (most of these are on the inserts).

Cover of Florence + the Machine album "Lungs." It shows Florence Welch looking down to the right, her long, red hair tied up in the back. She is wearing a sculpture of lungs made of leather, which are hanging from a white ribbon around her neck. Her dress is see-through and seems to be made of strands of metal. The album was released in 2009.
Cover of Florence + the Machine album “Lungs.” It shows Florence Welch looking down to the right, her long, red hair tied up in the back. She is wearing a sculpture of lungs made of leather, which are hanging from a white ribbon around her neck. Her dress is see-through and seems to be made of strands of metal. The album was released in 2009.

 

Cover of Florence + the Machine album "Ceremonials." It shows Florence Welch in a shiny, black dress with a V-neck. She is leaning on a mirror, with a reflection of both her back and front appearing. The album was released in 2011.
Cover of Florence + the Machine album “Ceremonials.” It shows Florence Welch in a shiny, black dress with a V-neck. She is leaning on a mirror, with a reflection of both her back and front appearing. The album was released in 2011.

 

Cover of Florence + the Machine CD "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful." The album features a black and white photo of Florence Welch looking at the camera. She is wearing a dark, nondescript top. The album was released in 2015.
Cover of Florence + the Machine CD “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.” The album features a black and white photo of Florence Welch looking at the camera. She is wearing a dark, nondescript top. The album was released in 2015.

 

Cover of Florence + the Machine album "High As Hope." Florence Welch is seen in a long, light peach colored dress. Her long, red hair is down and over one shoulder. She is holding a flower and looking at the camera. The album is from 2018.
Cover of Florence + the Machine album “High As Hope.” Florence Welch is seen in a long, light peach colored dress. Her long, red hair is down and over one shoulder. She is holding a flower and looking at the camera. The album is from 2018.

However, when I saw the images in the most recent album, Dance Fever, I was struck by how much she looked like a Pre-Raphaelite painting come to life.

Cover of Florence + the Machine CD "Dance Fever." Florence Welch is dressed in a long cape over a satin dress. She has two large flowers (peonies) in her hair on either side of her face. A moon and branches are behind her. A large cartoon moth in orange is above her. She is looking slightly up and to her right, not at the camera. The album is from 2022.
Cover of Florence + the Machine CD “Dance Fever.” Florence Welch is dressed in a long cape over a satin dress. She has two large flowers (peonies) in her hair on either side of her face. A moon and branches are behind her. A large cartoon moth in orange is above her. She is looking slightly up and to her right, not at the camera. The album is from 2022.

 

Back cover of Florence + the Machine CD "Dance Fever." Florence Welch is lying on a chaise longue, wearing a long, sparkly black dress with a black shawl with pink flowers on it. She has a large black flower in her hair. She is looking toward the camera. There is an image of water in gray behind her. The album is from 2022.
Back cover of Florence + the Machine CD “Dance Fever.” Florence Welch is lying on a chaise longue, wearing a long, sparkly black dress with a black shawl with pink flowers on it. She has a large black flower in her hair. She is looking toward the camera. There is an image of water in gray behind her. The album is from 2022.

 

Interior cover of Florence + the Machine CD "Dance Fever." Florence Welch is standing in front of a black backdrop with large, red and pink flowers painted on it. The backdrop also has several white moths. Florence is wearing a long, red dress with a large flower at her throat. She has a dark red cape that looks to be made of velvet. Her long, red hair is down and there is floral fabric on her head. She is looking up and to her right. The album is from 2022.
Interior cover of Florence + the Machine CD “Dance Fever.” Florence Welch is standing in front of a black backdrop with large, red and pink flowers painted on it. The backdrop also has several white moths. Florence is wearing a long, red dress with a large flower at her throat. She has a dark red cape that looks to be made of velvet. Her long, red hair is down and there is floral fabric on her head. She is looking up and to her right. The album is from 2022.

 

Small fold-out poster from inside the Florence + the Machine CD "Dance Fever." Florence Welch is standing in front of a backdrop with a painting of the ocean and sky in gray. Her long, red hair is down. There are lavender flowers in her hair on her left side. She is wearing a long, pale peach or pink dress with a long robe made of lace. She has her left hand resting on the back of an ornate, antique chair covered in pink fabric. A mass of dying plants is on the floor between her and the chair. She is looking up and to her right. The album is from 2022.
Small fold-out poster from inside the Florence + the Machine CD “Dance Fever.” Florence Welch is standing in front of a backdrop with a painting of the ocean and sky in gray. Her long, red hair is down. There are lavender flowers in her hair on her left side. She is wearing a long, pale peach or pink dress with a long robe made of lace. She has her left hand resting on the back of an ornate, antique chair covered in pink fabric. A mass of dying plants is on the floor between her and the chair. She is looking up and to her right. The album is from 2022.

Quick, now that you’ve had a look at these images, do an online search for Pre-Raphaelite art and see how many of them could have used Florence as a model … long, red hair, floaty, romantic dresses, and all.

This is deliberate styling. I suspected Florence had a professional help with this look. After watching the videos for songs from Dance Fever, I noted they were all directed by Autumn de Wilde, who is also credited with “being the creative mother of this album and holding [Florence’s] hand all the way through.” The liner notes are on the back of the fold-out poster pictured above.

According to this article from Rolling Stone UK, de Wilde is a “veteran music photographer.” I looked up the article a moment ago to find out more about de Wilde and was surprised to find that Florence has long been influenced by Pre-Raphaelite art, so my recognition of the style on her album was dead on and shows how well my art history classes in college stuck with me.

As I was thinking about the styling of musicians and bands, I wondered a number of things.

At what point are stylists or other visual professionals (like photographer de Wilde) introduced to musicians to help them create a cohesive look?

Does having such a professional on board, especially early on, affect a musicians or band’s popularity? Do they get popular faster when they’ve got this help?

And, how much of the individual musician’s sense of style is adapted by the stylist into the musician’s professional persona?

In the case of Florence Welch, with her preference for long, romantic dresses and Pre-Raphaelite art, it appears her own sense of style drove her look for Dance Fever, though Autumn de Wilde likely helped her refine it.

It will be interesting to see how her look evolves over the years.

Which musicians or bands do you like to watch for their stage personas? Whose styling is your favorite?

Thoughtful comments welcome.