Magazine

Secret Stars: Daft Punk and Karlie Kloss in Inspired New Eveningwear

What do we feel like rocking tonight? Anything but old-school eveningwear. Karlie Kloss teams up with Daft Punk to prove just how inspired a night on the town this month can be—whatever your generation.
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Look like the most chic replicant from Blade Runner at the EDM-centric Electric Zoo festival on Randall’s Island, which kicks off at the end of the month. Chloé cream space-age shift ($1,795) overlaid with a jeweled cage dress; shift at Barneys New York, NYC. Salvatore Ferragamo silver minaudière. Alexis Bittar for 3.1 Phillip Lim earrings. Daft Punk wears Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane throughout (with their own trademark helmets and gloves, of course). Fashion Editor: Tabitha Simmons.Photographed by Craig McDean
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Photographed by Craig McDean
FUTURE SHOCK
Look like the most chic replicant from Blade Runner at the EDM-centric Electric Zoo festival on Randall’s Island, which kicks off at the end of the month. Chloé cream space-age shift ($1,795) overlaid with a jeweled cage dress; shift at Barneys New York, NYC. Salvatore Ferragamo silver minaudière. Alexis Bittar for 3.1 Phillip Lim earrings. Daft Punk wears Saint Laurent by Hedi Slimane throughout (with their own trademark helmets and gloves, of course). Fashion Editor: Tabitha Simmons.

What do we feel like rocking tonight? Anything but old-school eveningwear. Karlie Kloss teams up with Daft Punk to prove just how inspired a night on the town this month can be—whatever your generation.

“Is that really Daft Punk?” The refrain was echoed in several languages on a recent afternoon as a burgeoning swarm of tourists and local professionals scrambled for their iPhones to capture the electronic-­music duo decked out in their full-robot-helmet regalia and strolling down West Forty-second Street with Karlie Kloss. Soon the mob began blocking traffic, attracting the attention of three of New York’s Finest, who had one very direct question for Daft Punk: “Can we take a picture with you?” With a silent nod, the robots obliged—and within minutes, Insta­gram was inundated with hashtagged snapshots of our shoot.

Watch our video of Daft Punk and Karlie Kloss on the set of their Vogue fashion shoot.

The next morning, the Parisians behind the masks, Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo—whose fourth studio album, Random Access Memories, debuted at number one in 31 countries when it was released in May—go completely unrecognized at Gemma, the restaurant in the Bowery Hotel. “We consider what we do a Wizard of Oz situation,” Bangalter says. “It’s one guy behind a curtain pushing all the buttons.” Or in this case, two. Over espressos and yogurt, the pair reference Quentin Tarantino and Maurizio Cattelan as inspirations, praise the vision of Kanye West (whose latest record, Yeezus, includes four Daft Punk collaborations), and could clearly go on for hours on the subject of Hedi Slimane. “He was one of the first people to hear the new album,” Bangalter says of the Saint Laurent designer, who has created all of Daft Punk’s looks since they first met more than a decade ago.

Random Access Memories, which features disco legends Giorgio Moroder and Nile Rodgers alongside Pharrell Williams and Julian Casablancas, has been widely praised for its ability to look backward to move forward. “In 20 years, some of the collaborators on this album might not be here anymore,” de Homem-Christo says, comparing their skills to those of a couturier. “It’s an opportunity for us to pay them homage.”

After breakfast, the most iconic of-the-moment music duo on the planet are scheduled to head off to an undisclosed location. There’s just one problem: Without their stylish disguises, they can’t seem to attract the attention of the one person they need right now—their waitress.