Starcrawler are a theatrical rock explosion. The LA band blend punk energy with extrovert songwriting, speaking from the heart throughout.
Recent album ‘She Said’ was released earlier this year, their first since 2019’s internationally successful ‘Devour You’. Hitting the road with My Chemical Romance, Starcrawler completed some of the biggest, most outlandish performances of their career.
It’s the season for dressing up, and the Clash team have been wondering how to create the perfect Hallowe’en fit. Who better than Starcrawler’s Arrow de Wilde to be our guide…?
Alongside an in-depth look at some of her best outfits, she’s also compiled a fantastic Hallowe’en mixtape featuring an off piste look at spooky season.
White & pink ‘arrow pants’ with bandage top & rhinestone blouse (2022):
Earlier this year, we got offered to go on tour with My Chemical Romance, which was so insane. I wanted something new, since it was for such an exciting tour, and the design for this costume was actually one I had designed and fantasized about during the pandemic. I did a quick re-sketch and brought it to Jessica Owens, who made it within a few days. I probably wear this costume the most. It’s one of my favorites to perform in.
PHOTO CREDITS: Gilbert Trejo
Corset with matching lace-up pants & gloves (2020):
I designed this look during quarantine, while fantasizing about the day when I could play a concert again. In October of 2020, we got offered to do a live stream concert and I wanted to have a new look for the show. I asked Jessica if she would be down to make it and she agreed. We would meet on my front porch from a distance for the fittings. Once we had our first tour in 2021, I wore it as my stage costume.
PHOTO CREDITS: Sunshine Mills and Cameron McCool
‘Goodtime Girl’ video (2021):
We did this song for the DC Comics ‘Dark Nights: Death Metal’ soundtrack. When we made the video, we wanted to do something that fit in that DC/Batman world. I scribbled out a very messy sketch and brought it to Jessica, and she made a new drawing of the outfit, and we took it from there. We then decided to turn it into two looks: one being a dramatic suit and one being a more sexy/trashy vibe. Both costumes were mainly inspired by old cartoons of the Joker and Tank Girl, as well as some of the characters from the Dark Nights Death Metal comics.
PHOTO CREDITS: Cameron McCool and Mark Escribano
‘Roadkill’ music video / ‘She Said’ album cover (2022):
When we decided that tuxedos were gonna be one of the visual themes for this album, I wanted to design something that would be a slightly different version of a tux. There’s an old photo of David Johansen from the New York Dolls where he’s wearing this halter-like tuxedo shirt/vest thing. I thought it looked so rad on him, so I based the top design off of that photo. For the pants, I thought it would be cool to have arrows that start at the bottom of the pant leg and point up to my crotch. Arrow is my real name, and I don’t know why I had never thought to put arrows on anything before. I feel like it makes me look like a super villain or something, which is cool because the villains always have the best outfits.
PHOTO CREDITS: Autumn de Wilde
White bat suit (2019):
We played the Jools Holland show in the UK, and I wanted something super dramatic and extra. I brought the idea for this design to Jessica, and we thought it would be cool to add rhinestones lining the spines of the bat wings. That part of the costume is my favourite. it was so cool, the way it glistened when the light hit it.
PHOTO CREDITS: Cameron McCool
‘Bet My Brains’ video (2019):
This look was technically made for tour, but we filmed ‘Bet My Brains’ while on the road in the UK and it became such an important part of the video. This piece was dedicated to 16-year-old me, who made a much shittier version. I had always thought it would be so badass to wear a codpiece on stage, especially as a girl, and I couldn’t think of anyone else who had done it except for old hair metal bands. So, I came to Jessica and told her my idea for the design. I also loved it because it would sometimes really upset old, conservative people.
PHOTO CREDITS: Gilbert Trejo
Distressed rhinestone leotard with matching gloves & stockings (2017):
This was the first thing that was ever custom made for me and it was crafted by Maggie Barry. I had the idea to have this sort of deteriorated/distressed leotard, kind of similar to the costume I made for the “Let Her Be” video, but with more sparkle.
PHOTO CREDITS: Autumn de Wilde and Cameron McCool
Rhinestone Hanes & jockstrap (2016):
These two things were the first stage costumes that I ever made for myself. At first, I had the idea to just perform in tighty-whities on stage, but then I thought it would be cooler if they were encrusted with rhinestones. However, I only had this idea two days before a show, so I went to Michaels and bought two boxes of plastic rhinestones and glue. It was surprisingly more work than I had expected, so I was gluing rhinestones down in every class I had, and my teachers would get super mad because the fumes from rhinestone glue were so strong. I think I even had a few friends from class helping me at one point.
I had the idea for the jockstrap only a few months later, when my Hanes started to deteriorate. Initially, I wanted to buy a proper codpiece, but they aren’t the easiest thing to find. I ended up going to Big 5 with my grandma and buying a jockstrap, and I used the remaining rhinestones from the Hanes to cover the cup.
PHOTO CREDITS: Hedi Slimane and Autumn de Wilde
Let Her Be (2017):
I made this costume for our first music video. I wanted something that looked like scrappy bits of loin cloth that would drape in the right places. but still be sexy. So, I found a child-sized mummy costume from Spirit Halloween, cut it up, added more bandages, and painted it.
