{"id":1380,"date":"2025-04-17T18:07:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T18:07:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/?p=1380"},"modified":"2025-04-21T03:04:27","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T03:04:27","slug":"behind-lisas-futuristic-coachella-looks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/behind-lisas-futuristic-coachella-looks\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind LISA\u2019s Futuristic Coachella Looks"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Designer Asher Levine<\/a> is both hyper and exhausted as we chat over Zoom. He\u2019s calling in from his sunny Los Angeles studio. \u201cThis was the unit where the Mulleavy sisters started Rodarte,\u201d he tells me, with a glimmer in his eye. \u201cI found it on Craigslist.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s still \u201clanding the plane\u201d after a mind bending month, since stylist Brett Alan Nelson<\/u><\/a> called him to request two looks for international superstar LISA\u2019s big Coachella moment. LISA\u2019s Coachella vision board was chock full of Levine\u2019s machinations (like his 2020s VMAs look with Doja Cat<\/a>), so they naturally turned to the maestro himself to pull off their futuristic vision. Lauded for his high-tech techniques that utilize form-fitting moldings, intricate pattern making and live electronics, Levine has become a go-to designer for performers looking to create something genuinely novel. \u201cThe entertainment industry has kept me going [because] everyone always wants something new for the stage,\u201d he shares.<\/p>\n

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For LISA\u2019s Coachella set, Levine \u201cexplored [a] spectrum [that went] from sharp and scary to ethereal and dreamy,\u201d he shares. The first look \u2014 a silver, pewter bodysuit comprised of alien-like scales and spikes \u2014 was met with wild applause when the pop star revealed it beneath an oversized puffer. For the second look, he created a light-up body suit, outlined by luminescent tendrils and buoyed by glowing shoes. \u201cThere were electrical wires running all over her body. She needed to make such a fast, quick change that we cut the legs off,\u201d he shares. He then decided to put the legs\u2019 lights on LISA\u2019s shoes. \u201cWe were working on that up to the show, so the show was the first time we saw all the shoes and the outfit turned on,\u201d he shares, amazed at his team\u2019s own handiwork. \u201cTo be able to do what we do, you need a little literal army,\u201d he beams.<\/p>\n

All in all he\u2019s still deeply exhausted by the pace and madness of pulling off such high tech fashion moments so quickly, but his this major feat is a chance for Levine to flex his studio\u2019s high octane efficiency and excellence. \u201cWe have three different departments: sculpture, fashion and tech. We’re all creating elements that fit together. Everything has to be engineered together. And when there are so many different components, there are higher margins of error,\u201d Levine tells PAPER<\/em>. \u201cI was really impressed with my studio and my ability to manifest this so quickly. I’m seeing the pictures that LISA posted yesterday, and I’m like, \u2018What the fuck?\u2019 I really like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

PAPER<\/em> chatted with Levine about his process working with LISA, his studio\u2019s unique design techniques and the joy (and struggle) of maintaining a fashion brand.<\/p>\n

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Tell me about how this moment with Lisa came about and what that call was like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It usually starts with a text from the stylist, Brett Alan Nelson<\/u><\/a> saying, \u201cHey, can you talk?\u201d And then I’m like, \u201cOkay, what does Brett need?\u201d It actually wasn’t that long ago. It must have been a month before Coachella. So then he’s like, \u201cHey, I’m talking to LISA\u2019s camp. They have references from the 2020 VMAs with Doja Cat and your look with Grimes.\u201d I worked with Brett on all of those looks. LISA\u2019s inspiration for the first villain look was a cyborg, like a full muscle suit, and the year before, we did the Doja Cat muscle suit.<\/u><\/a> I always like to pitch different options. I like to hear what they want and then go, \u201cWhat can I put a little twist on?\u201d There was a cyborg look that I pitched that was silvery and pewter. But I love reptile references. I have this reptile humanoid, lizard humanoid on my mood board. So then she chose that and I was like, \u201cBitch, let’s fucking go.\u201d <\/p>\n

And then for the light up look, they gave me many references. They gave me translucent insects with glowing veins and glowing fungi, so I took two approaches: a flowery approach and a bulb approach with round and clear bulbs. She gravitated towards the tendrils. I’m still landing the plane, because I am telling you … I would wake up [for the past month] with the sketching going nuts. There was just an insane amount of details.<\/p>\n

Your work is always so intricate. Was this look particularly difficult to pull off?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you have enough time, nothing’s really difficult, but it’s the crunch and the experimental processes. A lot of this deals with chemistry, and sometimes materials don’t catalyze properly. We have three different departments: sculpture, fashion and tech. We’re all creating elements that fit together. Everything has to be engineered together. And when there are so many different components, there are higher margins of error. This is my eighth full light-up bodysuit. I’ve perfected a lot of the technique. I’ve gone through the problems that arise. I was really impressed with my studio and my ability to manifest this so quickly. I’m seeing the pictures that LISA posted yesterday, and I’m like, \u201cWhat the fuck?\u201d I really like it. I was able to explore this kind of spectrum from sharp and scary to ethereal and dreamy.<\/p>\n

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Tell me a little bit about the tools you use to make this happen so quickly.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’ve been using AI as part of my creative process even before Dall-E was open to the public. I definitely work with various AI tools to generate and see what I like and what I don’t like. It\u2019s a whole new workflow actually. For instance, AI helps me generate a lot of intricate work that I would have had to do by hand \u2026 I mean, at the end of the day, everything is done by hand. When people say, like, \u201cOh, you’re using AI. That means it’s doing the work for you.\u201d No, we’re doing the same amount of work. I’m still busting it to make it happen. It allows us to create things in different ways. It’s a whole new toolset. For instance, with Doja\u2019s 2020 VMAs look<\/u><\/a>, I did every scale by hand for the base print. So I make a base print, and then that is the map for the 3D layers. But this time around, the different AI tools helped me get a base, but it still required a good amount of graphic artwork to then apply it. <\/p>\n

I’ve also trained myself in CLO 3D, which is a pattern making software. So LISA\u2019s team actually sent me her body scan. I said, \u201cI will only do this if you have a body scan, because I do patterns on digital avatars now to make the process more streamlined and efficient.\u201d Most people can’t do this. I swear. At one point we had so many people here in the studio. Once I make the patterns and do the graphic work, I’m supervising, which feels great. I can make anything with my hands, and pattern anything and sew anything on a machine, but to be able to do what we do, you need a little literal army.<\/p>\n

I’m sure it’s nerve wracking when she actually puts it on because it’s all so form-fitting and intricate. What was it like when she actually tested it out? <\/strong><\/p>\n

The opening look was amazing. We shot the background content, which is her in the suit and we actually had larger spikes and big spikes on the back. There were so many spikes on the upper region that it was catching her hair. We modified that a little bit, but that was pretty much set. It was the light look that took some more development. There were electrical wires running all over her body. She needed to make such a fast, quick change that we cut the legs off, because it takes time to put legs on when you’re wearing a really tight body suit. We had one more rehearsal. We cut the legs off, so we rehearsed with that once. But then I’m like, I don’t want to waste these light up tendril pedals because we cut the legs on the legs. So I was like, \u201cLet\u2019s put the lights on the shoes.\u201d So then we moved the lights to the shoes. We were working on that up to the show, so the show was the first time we saw all the shoes and the outfit turned on. <\/p>\n

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Is there a reason why the time frame had to be so condensed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

God, right. What the fuck? [Laughs] <\/em><\/em>Seriously, thank you. I’m grateful for all the music work, but it’s always like this. This is why I’m like, \u201cOkay, I’m in Hollywood. Let’s go into movies.\u201d This is also why we\u2019re focusing on our Alien Gel Bag<\/u><\/a>. I basically run a high tech couture label, right? You need you need your high end client, but then you also need something that a lot of people can buy. <\/p>\n

I did the whole fashion model when I started in 2010. I did the runway shows in New York Fashion Week with the buyers coming in. It definitely takes the right strategy to make a sustainable brand. And my strategy was to invest in things that are new: invest in research and development and all of the time to make all of these new processes that make people go, \u201cWhat the fuck am I looking at?\u201d I want something that’s new and looks new. There’s such a hyper saturation of everything, even good stuff now. And that’s why the entertainment industry has kept me going is because everyone always wants something new for the stage. <\/p>\n

Does the anxiety and stress of designing in this high stress time frame ever not feel worth it at this point in your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Right now, it feels worth it. I know other designers that they’re like, \u201cNo, that’s too much PTSD.\u201d Honestly, I do have a lot of PTSD from a lot of projects that I’ve gone through. But I’m still excited, and especially when there’s such good aesthetic alignment like this LISA project. I couldn’t be fucking happier. It\u2019s so on brand, because I\u2019m all about human evolution, next level biomimicry; it really worked out aesthetically. I even have my lizard Lenore who\u2019s like my daughter. I was joking with LISA and said, \u201cOh my god, I have to bring Lenore.\u201d At the next fitting LISA remembered and was like, \u201cOh my God did you bring your baby?\u201d So then I brought Lenore the next time, and it was so cute. Lenore rode LISA\u2019s back.<\/p>\n

You were at the actual show at Coachella?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I was there 15 minutes before the show started. Sarah Landry was coming off, and my ears were going to explode. It just happened so fast. I had to set the lights up and make sure everything was connected. There was 45 minutes to change the entire stage and for the previous stage crew to change over to the new stage crew, so we had to plug in the transmitter, send a pulse, and make sure that everything’s connected. LISA is such a professional. Seeing her from rehearsal to the show itself: I really have a respect for all the hard work that she does, and she’s a great performer. She knows how to fucking move her body.<\/p>\n

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Photography: Gabriele Di Martino<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Designer Asher Levine is both hyper and exhausted as we chat over Zoom. He\u2019s calling in from his sunny Los Angeles studio. \u201cThis was the unit where the Mulleavy sisters started Rodarte,\u201d he tells me, with a glimmer in his eye. \u201cI found it on Craigslist.\u201d He\u2019s still \u201clanding the plane\u201d after a mind bending […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1382,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1380"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1400,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1380\/revisions\/1400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1382"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.scubadiscounters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}