Chloe: “For me, it just depends on the day. Some days I want to feel a lot more edgy and sexy, and other days I want to feel flirty, cute, and cuddly. It really depends on my mood. That’s what being a woman is all about, having different layers to yourself and being able to change—being strong yet delicate at the same time.”
Do you guys share clothes a lot?
Halle: “We actually do share a lot. As sisters, we’re always raiding each other’s closets. I’m always looking for some of Chloe’s tops because I feel like all of my tops are a bit boring. If we have something to do or have an interview, I’m always like, ‘Girl, can I just see what you got?’”
Chloe: “I feel the other way! I feel like you have better tops. Now with quarantine and interviews, all you really need is a cute top and then you can wear sweatpants. It’s all about the tops now.”
In addition to your style choices, you both have been creative in terms of approaching your at-home performances too. Has that been an exercise in creativity?
Chloe: “It’s definitely been a way to exercise our creativity. We give all the kudos to our amazing creative director Andrew Makadsi. He really helps our vision come to life; we’ll collaborate and send a bunch of references, and he’ll just take it to another level. It’s really cool how we can articulate our vision while still staying at home, having fun, and keeping it simple. I’m just happy that I can quarantine with my best friend and business partner so that we can do fun stuff like this.”
How have you both managed to stay creative in general during the pandemic?
Halle: “Staying creative in this time is actually really easy. It’s really inspiring when you’re enclosed with the people that you love and your family. That’s what truly makes me happy. Quarantine has allowed me to connect with myself and realize my greater purpose and what I want in life. Just kind of self-reflecting and meditating—that builds up a lot of inspiration. Even though sometimes it may feel uncertain, we’re trying to stay positive and hopeful. Using every inch of happiness and positivity that we can to light our inspiration fire. But also giving ourselves breaks, and realizing it’s okay to just chill and not do anything some days.”
You have both used your platform for activism these past few months, especially around Black Lives Matter. Why is it important to continue doing so?
Chloe: “For my sister and I, it’s something we can’t turn on and turn off because it’s our everyday lives. It’s our livelihood. We have always grown up knowing, because we are Black women. I am very happy and grateful that the world is finally paying attention to this underlying racism that has been going on for years and years, and I’m hopeful that change will finally happen. Just my sister and I going out there and creating in a male-dominated industry, and letting our voices be heard, we’re standing for all Black women and our brothers. Just being ourselves and letting them know that you can do anything you put your mind to. We’re always thinking about that, and how we can uplift our community in any way we possibly can.”
You released your new album, Ungodly Hour, in June. Now that it’s out in the world and you’ve reflected on it, what does it mean to you?
Halle: “Ungodly Hour means everything to us. When we were in the process of making this album, it actually flowed out a lot faster than usual. Our last album, The Kids Are Alright, took us three years to make. For Ungodly Hour, it took eight months. That is a very short amount of time for us, because we’re perfectionists and we always want to get something right. We’ll do it over and over again. For this album, we had so much to say and we knew exactly what was on our hearts, whether it was us talking about our insecurities and figuring out how to love every inch of ourselves, or exploring love and relationships. It’s this whole journey of finding ourselves, but also knowing who we are at this point in our lives. Releasing this album during this year of change has also been an eye opener. I feel like we always release albums when something is happening. We released our last album, The Kids Are Alright, when all the women’s marches were happening in 2018. And now, with our community of Black people, we’ve always been fed up, but other people are realizing it. We just really hope that [the album] has brought some healing and some peace to our community, and to everyone who decides to listen. That’s all we want.”
Beyoncé has been a mentor to both of you. What feedback did she have for this album, and what have been your biggest lessons from her?
Halle: “I feel like Beyoncé collectively teaches everyone who is a fan of her. She’s always been our inspiration since we were younger, so being able to be on this journey with her and have her guide us along as a fairy godmother is really beautiful. Just being on tour with her and watching how hard she works every single night—she gives it 150%. It’s like, wow, somebody can literally be better than a machine, and still be such a humble and beautiful person inside and out. I truly believe the reason why she is where she is today is because she has such a great heart and is just a kind, regular person. Those people get the farthest in life. We’re always being taught things by her. She had very positive feedback for this album. She barely had any critical notes. She was just congratulating us and saying how proud of us she is in this project. We’re really happy to have her support.”
What does the rest of your summer look like?
Chloe: “The sky’s the limit. I hope more people receive the album, even people who’ve never heard of us before, and we keep kicking butt with the visuals and growing every day. We’ll be staying home quarantining because, sadly, the cases are getting worse here in America. We just want to stay safe, but also have fun at the same time. We’ll be chilling in the sun in our backyard.”
