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"As an emo NYU coed, I was an early adopter of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, checking out their first shows in Manhattan&amp;#39;s East Village. Since then, the band&amp;#39;s boisterously branded tunage has taken up permanent residence on every workout, dance-till-dawn, and breakup playlist on my iPod, and vocalist (and fellow NYUer) Karen O&amp;#39;s costumes, designed by her longtime pal Christian Joy, have become eyepopping precursors to the bold looks of Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj.\n\n &amp;quot;At first I wasn&amp;#39;t wearing anything special. [Then] I met Christian, and we had an immediate rapport,&amp;quot; explains Karen, who admires the stylish swag of Elton John and Grace Jones. &amp;quot;She made me a deconstructed car crash prom dress. I remember thinking, &amp;#39;Please, rock gods, let me live up to this dress.&amp;#39; I didn&amp;#39;t know if I could pull it off, but I did. The rest is history.&amp;quot;\n\n Karen&amp;#39;s famous rock alter ego is a far scream from her introverted everyday persona\u2014she describes herself as extremely modest and conservative. It&amp;#39;s the stagewear, Christian explains, that takes her from being Karen to being Karen O: &amp;quot;It&amp;#39;s like Superman changing into his costume and suddenly he can fly.... It gives you something to inhabit and you&amp;#39;re no longer onstage as yourself being vulnerable.&amp;quot;\n\n With more than a decade of consistent, fearless albums and wardrobe changes, Miss O has literally found her strong suit with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs&amp;#39; latest self-assured release, Mosquito. &amp;quot;I like a little androgyny\u2014I&amp;#39;ve been preoccupied with suits and glam rock, but it turns into total psychedelic, Western pimp daddy,&amp;quot; Karen says with a laugh. &amp;quot;These things have been brewing inside me. I feel like I&amp;#39;ve earned the right to wear and rock them\u2014I&amp;#39;ve finally graduated.&amp;quot; Major pomp and circumstance!\n\n Want to know more about Karen&amp;#39;s edgy stagewear, her designer&amp;#39;s inspiration, and her awkward teen years? Read on for our web-exclusive Q&amp;amp;A!"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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