Profile in Style: Yelle

Of all the Gallic dance oddities to cross our shores recently, few acts rival the snap, crackle, pop of Yelle—a trio whose cartoonish frontwoman sings French filthy mots and dresses in neons straight off of Jeremy Scott’s inspiration board. She and bandmates GrandMarnier and Tepr played live at Art Basel Miami Beach, capping off a year of surprising American success that encompassed dance floors, Coachella, and even a near collision with the mainstream.

Photography by Ian Witlen/TheCameraClicks

Julie Budet is the star of Yelle; in fact, she is often misrepresented as the band’s sole member. Her kittenish, colorful wardrobe—think Louise Brooks meets M.I.A.—intrigues the Tecktonik youth, the House of Holland set, and Agyness Deyn. Right now, Julie’s in Jeremy Scott mode, with the majority of her current touring wardrobe of kitschy, day-glo mini dresses and leggings coming from Scott’s Spring 2009 collection—in Miami, his infamous “Let Them Eat Gas” shirtdress nearly upstaged the singer herself. She also champions other madcap designers like Andrea Crews, Jean-Paul Lespagnard, Brian Lichtenberg and the grandmaster of Parisian wit, JC de Castelbajac. But, ultimately, she’s a Rykiel minx at heart, kooky with just a dab of Left Bank intellectualism.