Our Dream Girls: Charlotte Rose

Meet our next tastemaker, Charlotte Rose, self taught artist and model from North London. Charlotte has recently opened her third solo exhibition which features works inspired by nostalgic packaging found on cigarette packets. The juxtaposition of her pieces is based around the aesthetics and branding of a company aiming to sell the 'dream' of a toxic product. Her popularity is recognised by collectors such as Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

We visited Charlotte at her exhibition space in the West End where in typical Cherry Blossom Girl fashion she stole the show emulating the cool rock n' roll style that she is well known for.

A CHERRY BLOSSOM GIRL IS A DREAM GIRL; AN ILLUSIVE, CAPTIVATING WOMAN YOU ALMOST WISH YOU COULD BE. WHO IS YOUR REAL WORLD CHERRY BLOSSOM GIRL?

My real world cherry blossom girl would be Jane Birkin, I find her style and elegance super inspiring. She’s super effortless but also put together! Also without her influencer I would have never cut in my fringe.

CAN YOU SHARE HOW YOUR ARTISTIC CREATIONS INSPIRE THE FASHION CHOICES YOU MAKE, AND WHAT ROLE DOES YOUR ART PLAY IN SHAPING YOUR PERSONAL STYLE?

Within my art style I love bold and vibrant colour and I feel my fashion style reflects this. The majority of my days I wear my paint clothes but I try to make them stylish because I wear them so often, for example I wear vintage Levi’s that are covered in paint with a white vest, sometimes I throw on a pair of heeled boots and go out to run errands, it’s kind of a look!

WHO OWNS YOUR DREAM WARDROBE?

Alexa Chung has my dream wardrobe for sure, I love her really simple but slightly elevated looks. I feel like she’s influenced by the 60's French girl just as I am. Also, Suki Waterhouse has really great style, but her hair colour is lighter than mine so her colour palate is different than what I’d choose for myself. But if I ever go blonde I’m looking to her for inspo!

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM PIECE FROM THE CHERRY BLOSSOM GIRL COLLECTION?

My dream piece from the Cherry Blossom Girl collection is the fluffy clouds Alpaca bobble jumper. It’s such a beautifully constructed piece, it reminds me of 80's Austrian knitwear! Also the Lattice Blossom Jacquard Jacket is really sweet, I’m a sucker for a collar and the box shape is really flattering!

WHAT ROLE HAS TRAVEL PLAYED IN SHAPING YOUR ARTISTIC PERSPECTIVE, AND CAN YOU SHARE ANY SPECIFIC DESTINATIONS OR EXPERIENCES THAT HAVE HAD A PROFOUND IMPACT ON YOUR CREATIVE WORK?

My work is massively inspired by nostalgic American branding and advertising. I think it began with film, TV and literature growing up, most things we watch as brits has some sort of American influence, so I was familiar with the concept of the ‘American Dream’ from before I’d ever visited the US. Last year a group of friends and I went to New York then to LA, it was really great to see the art galleries in NY and visit the Chelsea Hotel and all that good stuff that I’d read about in the biographies of rock stars. LA was cool, I love the Hollywood history, I spent a lot of time in flea markets sifting through boxes of magazines to find old playboys and old cigarette boxes I can use as inspiration for my work.

WHERE IS YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE YOU'VE TRAVELLED TO?

I went to Florence recently to film an art film for the exhibition and was completely blown away by the beauty of the city, the architecture and the insane amount of art. I’m going to head back again to soak it all in as I was only there for a few days, it wasn’t enough!

IN YOUR FAST-PACED WORLD, HOW DO YOU PRIORITISE SELF-CARE WHILE MANAGING YOUR MULTI-HYPHENATE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES?

I’m very good at self care, I love to put myself under pressure and I set really high expectations for myself so to counter the self induced stress I have taught myself to switch off my brain when I need to. I prioritise sleep so for the most part I’m able to set aside the stress of the day and get 8 hours (which for me is a must)! If I sleep well then everything else in my life seems manageable.

I’m lucky in the fact that the majority of my job is painting and creating art which is my favourite thing to do in the world, so when I’m painting I’m truly content.

I love the cinema because it is complete escapism and film is one of my true loves and I walk a lot! It sounds stupid but getting a coffee from the coffee shop down the road really does do wonders for morale haha.