Miley Cyrus’s New Visual Album Is an Archival Fashion Dream

Miley Cyrus fans, set your calendar alerts: The singer is releasing her new album, Something Beautiful, on May 30th. Her ninth studio album will feature 13 original new tracks—as well as a visual film directed by Cyrus, Jacob Bixenman, and Brendan Walter, with additional cinematography by Benoît Debie.

Working with her longtime stylist Bradley Kenneth, Cyrus’s forthcoming visual album will also usher in a new fashion era for the superstar, who has always used clothing as a visual extension of her music. This time around, they wanted to fuse a classic and contemporary aesthetic. “The fashion direction is always inspired by Miley and the music,” Kenneth tells Vogue. “This era has a richness and depth that feels both modern and timeless. The looks reflect that same energy. For me, it was about translating the music through the styling into something visual and elevated.”

In Thierry Mugler Couture from spring 1997

Photo: Glen Luchford

Kenneth says the fashion moodboarding for the visual album began back when Cyrus was still in the recording studio. “I’ll sometimes go with her, just to listen while she’s recording, and that’s when I start imagining and dreaming up the looks,” he says. Something Beautiful had a clear cinematic focus, so Cyrus and Kenneth then zeroed in on archival fashions—pulling vintage designs from labels such as Thierry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Bob Mackie to play up the album’s ethereal and otherworldly feel.

“The looks in this project span such a wide range of fashion history,” says Kenneth. “We pulled from designers who’ve been part of Miley’s style story throughout the decade I’ve been working closely with her. Whether it’s Mackie’s drama or Mugler’s powerful silhouettes, these influences have always been there, just evolving with her.”

A special component of the project was working with the team at Mugler: Cyrus and Kenneth pulled a variety of archival looks from the iconic French designer. “We actually hold the record for the largest collection of Mugler archives ever sent to a single individual, which is still surreal to say,” says Kenneth. On the album cover, for one, Cyrus sports Thierry Mugler’s “Spider” look from his spring 1997 couture “Les Insects” collection. “Manfred was inspired by the way morning dew glistens on a spiderweb,” says Kenneth. “It’s a piece that marries fragility and strength in such a beautiful way, which felt perfect for this project.”