An innocent guitar line, then a record scratch, and an ear-worm chorus made up of layered harmonies that swoop and swell over snarled 808s. “Cardboard Box” was not the ‘fuck him, dump him’ anthem that’s dominated mainstream music over recent years, but an angel-faced confessional reminiscent of early-era Destiny’s Child. Times have changed since the 90s, though, so while Beyoncé, Kelly, and Michele were forced to wear whatever stretched two-piece Tina Knowles had rhinestoned in the back of a tour bus, Jorja, Stella, and Renée are already being inducted into fashion’s hall of fame.
Julien Dossena is the latest designer to have unlatched the drawbridge, dressing the trio in his latest Paco Rabanne collection for the spring issue of Dazed: sheer slips and lace-trimmed negligées rooted by military clodhoppers. Shot by Corentin Leroux and styled by Andra Amelia Buhai, FLO looked more embattled than we’re used to seeing them, decked in metal-mesh mini dresses, LBDs with cascading chain-link skirts, and leather bombers panelled with industrial grommets. Each look was taken from Dossena’s SS23 offering, which debuted on a steel-grated runway last summer – it was about chaos, hedonism, and anger, with wipe-clean trench coats, latex baby doll dresses, and long-line kilts which contrasted hard with soft and femme with fetish.
Barely out of their teens, FLO entered the popscape at a time when many were lamenting the demise of the girl group – the chemistry, the symmetry, the hair flicks – but in less than 12 months, the girls have scored the BRIT’s Rising Star Award and are now rumoured to be supporting Beyoncé on her Renaissance world tour. With the help of Dossena and co, it’s a destiny (perhaps) fulfilled. Click here to read the full interview with Jorja, Stella, and Renée in the latest edition of Dazed and click through the gallery above to see Paco Rabbane’s SS23 collection in full FLO.