It’s always interesting to see how a musicians positions themselves in the lead up to a new album. Often, ushering in a new “era,” as the kids say, means recalibrating their fashion choices ahead of said release. Others may build on past eras with slight, but noticeable, changes. Since announcing her sophomore album GUTS in June, Olivia Rodrigo’s style has fallen into the latter camp—she’s kept her signature Y2K spirit but mixed it with more of a grunge, vampy feel (her recent lead single is called “vampire,” which might explain things).
On Wednesday, the pop star continued her fashion crusade in New York City where she was spotted sporting a cropped t-shirt that featured a print of an Angelina Jolie portrait. While the singer loves a graphic tee, the snap of Jolie actually has quite the backstory. The iconic shot is almost the exact same age as 20-year-old Rodrigo—it was taken by photographer Martin Schoeller back in 2003 as part of his series “Close Up.” The neck-up snap focuses on a pool of blood trailing down the actress’ chin as she attempts to lick it (allegedly, the choice was inspired by the vial of Billy Bob Thornton’s blood Jolie used to wear as a necklace). The original portrait was last on sale in 2016 for a whopping $60,000, but clearly, there are some replicas floating around.
Rdorigo’s pick is most likely a nod to her song “vampire” and, perhaps, a wider appreciation of Jolie’s legacy. The singer did add her own twist to the rest of the look though, opting for a white pleated tennis skirt to pair with her top. She then added in black loafers with exposed socks, gold hoop earrings, and thin sunglasses. Oh, of course, she sported a red lip too.
Following “vampire,” Rordigo released “bad idea, right?” in the beginning of August. Though GUTS releases this Friday, the star has been fully leaning into the spirit of her upcoming album—like when she had a very Gen Z answer when asked about her favorite vampire movie.
“Twilight. Hands down. I know that’s the most basic one ever,” she told Interview Magazine. “The first one’s an impeccable work of cinema. I’ve been obsessed with it since I was so young. My mom found all of these drawings of vampires that I did when I was literally 4 years old. I’m like, ‘God, I was manifesting this from such a young age.’”