Jul 30, 2026 10:30pm IST
Charli XCX Opens Up About Featuring John Cale, Marc Jacobs And Martin Scorsese On Her ‘Music, Fashion, Film’ Album Cover
Charli xcx recently sat down on Apple Music’s “The Zane Lowe Show” to share the story behind the cover art for her project “Music, Fashion, Film”. The musician explained how she managed to bring together legendary musician John Cale, fashion icon Marc Jacobs and iconic director Martin Scorsese for a single image, calling the experience an unforgettable personal milestone.
Setting the stage for the shoot, Charli xcx admitted to feeling stunned by the lineup she assembled. "I have to pinch myself to get a reality check and be like, oh my God, these three people are on my album cover," she told Lowe during their conversation.
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When Lowe asked if she was physically present for the historic shoot, Charli xcx confirmed that she was right alongside her close collaborator, photographer Aidan Zamiri. The pressure was immense, not just because of the star power in the room, but due to hard physical deadlines for the release.
"Oh my God, yeah, we were there. And it was such a cute day being real," she said. "Like Aidan and I, Aidan was shooting it as I said, and we were obviously so nervous 'cause it's like three legends in the room at the same time. We were right down to the line. We had to hand in the vinyl artwork the next day, like no question, otherwise we would miss the vinyl deadline, you know, all that boring stuff. And so we were like, oh my God, if we don't get it now, we're f***ed. And we did. They came, it was amazing, and it was the first time they'd all kind of been in the room together. I think Marty and Marc had possibly met before, but it was a lot of kind of nervous energy all round, which was also quite sweet."
Lowe pointed out the intense aura of Velvet Underground cofounder John Cale, noting, "Yeah, 'cause John Cale doesn't f***ing play either."
Charli xcx agreed with his assessment, reflecting on the weight of having Cale alongside Jacobs and Scorsese. "No, he doesn't. He doesn't play. It was one of those days where I was like, wow, I'm really gonna remember this for the rest of my life, and this is probably never gonna happen again. And I felt very emotional being in that room with those three people and my best friend shooting the image, I was like, wow, this is... Going back to selfish, I was like, this is one for me. Because they mean so much to me. And I think everybody probably has their own sort of trifecta of music, fashion, film. And for me, it's them."
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