Ooooh, look how pretty she is! Lorde covers the July issue of Vogue Australia – this is her first-ever Vogue cover and it’s really cool. Lorde is only 18 years old and her style has been called “goth prom” and “weird.” Whenever I see her, she just reminds me of that sort of half-goth, half-grunge style that was wildly popular in the ‘90s. Lots of black, lots of flannel, combat boots and long, crazy, wild hair. What I like about this Vogue Australia editorial is that it looks authentic to Lorde – she’s transitioning into a more mature style while still keeping it comfortable and goth-prom. She tweeted one of these photos with the message: “feeling like an eccentric old-money 70s californian in givenchy for @vogueaustralia.” Ha. Here are some highlights from the interview:

Her journey: “It’s crazy going from living in a country that feels kind of small—and I’d never traveled, really—then coming to L.A. or New York for the first time, and meeting all these people outside your group of friends from high school. The world has expanded for me in this incredible way. It’s cool, and I’m very lucky that I get to surround myself with creative people who are clever and good at what they do.”

Her mother, Sonja. “I still forget to eat dinner or forget to do my laundry, so she keeps me moving.”

She loves living in New Zealand: “It is easier to have a normal life back home. I think everyone knows that they’re going to see me around, that I’m going to be buying gum from a gas station or whatever. The shine rubs off when you’re like: ‘Oh yeah, my friend met her in the supermarket the other day.’ I think people are much more chill about it. Yeah, people are good there, respectful. I love living in New Zealand.”

Her childhood: “I went to a lot of David Lynch films; I read a lot of strange books; I loved to go to the museum all day. I was that kid. I liked to hang out with people older than me; I didn’t really know what I wanted to do. Writing and singing were just a hobby.”

Offering her EP, The Love Club, for free: “I just thought people my age would appreciate it. I wanted to put the EP up for free because being a teenager and not having a credit card—I mean, who has a credit card at 16?!”

Her debut album, Pure Heroine, selling millions: “You also realize how seriously people are taking what you’re doing and how they’re savoring every word and living inside the songs.”

Her style evolution: “As I get older and a little bit more comfortable in myself, I’m like: ‘Yeah, I will wear that really pretty, feminine outfit, and I’ll feel strong in that as well. But I do love a perfect pair of pants, the perfect collared shirt, and I wear sneakers, heavy shoes. I like Acne, I like Céline, and often I’ll buy a pair of men’s pants or whatever. I don’t discriminate in that way.”

Attending the Met Gala: “That was crazy. I’ve definitely never been to anything quite on that scale. I wanted to put all the cutlery and the plates in my handbag and leave them because they were very beautiful!”

[From Style.com]

I can’t even imagine what it’s like being from such a beautiful country like New Zealand. Yeah, no wonder she doesn’t want to leave and no wonder she always returns home. “Home” is like a vacation destination. Lorde seems so grounded and I hope she stays this way. I hope Taylor Swift doesn’t drag her into stupid Mean Girl crap, you know? Taylor is 25 years old going on 13, whereas Lorde is like a 40-year-old stuck in an 18-year-old’s body. I worry about their friendship.

Photos courtesy of Vogue Australia.