Originally published in our third print issue, Giacinta Frisillo interviews Clarissa Woods on her style and influences.

Interview by Giacinta Frisillo

Clarissa Woods is an artist living in Govanhill. She performs as a singer, rapper, actor, and model. She’s just dropped a new eight-track EP called Honey I’m Gone, but luckily for us, she is very much here.

Hey Clarissa! What are you wearing today?

I’ve gone for a very early ‘90s West Coast, LA-vibe look: a Snoop Dogg, Nipsey Hussle-type style. I have on a checkered shirt, some khaki cargo pants, and then underneath, a cute crop top to switch up the vibe. That style was all about oversized checkered shirts, cargo pants and Converse, but I’m wearing a pair of Jordans to bring in 2021. I’ve never been to LA in my life, but I love LA. I’m inspired by LA.

Do you have a favourite article of clothing?

I don’t have a favourite anything. I like lots and lots of different things, different styles, different textures, different colours – just everything!

How do you decide what to wear?

I would definitely say my moods. Sometimes I feel very LA-Snoop Dogg-gangster and when I do, that's what I'm all for. But sometimes I feel really girly or moody. I'll just dress what I feel. If I see something that really inspires me, I'm like ‘how can I do that my own way?’

Is deciding what to wear onstage different than deciding what to wear to the shops?

Sometimes and sometimes not. My last performance was in support of Deno, a big UK artist from London. I usually go all out, but that night, when I went to the changing rooms I remember the young dancers complimented my skin and I just had this feeling like, ‘why don't I just go on stage au natural?’, go on like one of the crowd instead of trying to do too much. It's not all about glitz and glam. When I dress to perform, I just think: what would I feel good in? What can I move in? What's not going to restrict me?

What or who inspires your style? Do you have a style icon?

Cartoons influence me. I guess it goes back to colours and feeling good. I've never watched a cartoon and felt bad. Colors, just in general make me feel alive and childlike? I feel relaxed. Rihanna also influences me. Her Vogue Italia shoot is not the typical kind of images you see. It was like what she was bringing back out the early 2000s with unique cuts and styles.

Where do I get your look?

A lot of clothes I get from little boutiques on Instagram. One of my favorite Instagram stores is Hart-Work. She has loads of different limited shirts or whatever and she just reworks them.

Who else has influenced you?

My dad is Scottish and my mum's Mauritian. So when people see us together, there's a lot of confusion and questions. I'm lighter complexion than my mum and seriously, as a kid, she fascinated me. I used to stare at her. She was like the most beautiful, elegant woman I'd ever come across. The way she spoke, how she dressed, how she got herself ready, conducted herself, her beliefs and how she treated people – just everything as a whole. My whole family in general really had an effect on me. Family and definitely my heritage. I go hard for that.

A lot of times, people just see black and white, not mixed-races. There has been a change, but I think there's so much further to go. Racism will die out when this humanity stops making it a thing and putting it onto the younger generation. Kids should just be able to love one another, and not have all this kind of stuff come into it that really doesn't matter.

Find Clarissa at Clarissaw