Admit it – even if you are one of the editors or bloggers or other professionals who claim to be at a fashion show for “work” – lots of times you’re actually just sitting there rocking out to the amazing runway music! I mean you’re probably pretty exhausted anyway…and you can look at the show photos later to verify the details of the clothes that just whizzed by…but the spectacle…the lights…the chills down the spine…the MUSIC…these are the things that hit you in the moment. A great fashion show is like a slightly-understated-and-somewhat-arty-though-still-big-budgeted Broadway musical – only with really tall actresses and an exceptionally talented costume designer. And the music! Nothing is more important to a fashion show than the music – nothing else can lift a mediocre show or kill the vibe on a great show quite like the music – not the casting, not the set design, not the lighting design, not the clothes themselves.

Pre-streetstyle I used to soundtrack fashion shows for a living…and as the season approaches, I still slip into this mode where I’m somewhat subconsciously keeping an ear out for great new tracks. While there are many ways of approaching things when working on show music (familiar tracks? unusual cover versions of familiar tracks? retro/1920s-1990s period music? unreleased/exclusive tracks? remixes? live band playing?), one approach that often works well is this – predicting which brand new artist/which brand new track is going to really blow up in the coming months AFTER the show. Such that everything about the show seems to be looking ahead to the coming season…predicting the future…showing the way forward. “Oh and while you’re at it, could you make sure that it’s just a really amazing tune? That it has the right tempo for the girls to walk to? With some on-point lyrics and chills-down-the-spine atmosphere? Plus it should probably be a remix – something that’s a bit hard to find and wasn’t pulled straight off the album. And please make sure that it’s either unreleased or was only released in the week or two preceding the show. Thanks!” It can be hard to tick all the boxes…but in my estimation, “Royals” (The Weeknd Remix) by Lorde does just that. It’s my choice for “most ubiquitous track of the global S/S 14 collections”. It’s a great track – enjoy it now before you’re sick of it. xx Mr. Newton

If this isn’t your song of the summer then maybe you should consider upgrading your summer?