CHAPTERS: Ali LaBelle
Every (life) chapter has at least one memorable moment, sentence, or story.
Every (life) chapter has at least one memorable moment, sentence, or story. What are yours? In my new series, Chapters, I ask creative people to reflect on the stories of their lives and respond to any of the below prompts (in whatever way they wish).
In today’s installment, we hear from the brilliant
—a creative director and the mind behind À La Carte and Pasta Girlfriend—who shares art and literature favorites, travel and creativity musings, and a surprising encounter.— Rachel
Ali’s Chapters
I. Slow Story
I was given a copy of The Artist’s Way probably 10 years ago, but it sat on my bookshelf until 2020 when I finally had time to commit to it. I tend to be a little skeptical of things categorized as “self-help”, but I promised myself I would finish the 12-week program no matter what. Truthfully, I can’t believe I made it to the end—I found morning pages absolutely excruciating, and there was some stuff in there I just couldn’t get on board with—but I did it, and I’m still proud of myself for it. The process helped me reconnect to myself, engage with the world with intention, and develop my creative confidence in a lasting way.
II. Love Story
I don’t think there’s anything quite like sister love. You, Rachel, actually shared a page from Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters the other day that I had to screenshot because it just said it so well: “A sister is not a friend. Who can explain the urge to take a relationship as primal and complex as a sibling and reduce it to something as replaceable, as banal as a friend? Yet this status is used again and again to connote the highest intimacy. My mother is my best friend. My husband is my best friend. No. True sisterhood, the kind where you grew fingernails in the same womb, were pushed screaming through identical birth canals, is not the same as friendship. You don’t choose each other, and there’s no furtive period of getting to know the other. You’re part of each other, right from the start.”
To be fair, I love my friends and wouldn’t say they’re banal or replaceable, but other than that… spot on.
III. Spring Story
My favorite Matisse painting is one called “Tea,” which is almost always on display at LACMA. It’s a large piece that features two women in a garden sitting at a table covered in citrus, a dog relaxing on the ground nearby. All three of them are turned to look at us (the viewer) as if we’ve just entered through the garden gate and interrupted their conversation. Something about the way one woman’s shoe dangles off her foot just takes me to such a relaxing, serene place, one where there’s nowhere to be but in the sunshine having tea.
IV. Inside Story
I’ve read and reread Sloane Crosley’s New Yorker piece “Outside Voices” a million times since it was published in 2018. It’s a short personal story about Crosley’s voyeuristic, all-consuming relationship with her very loud teenage neighbor, whose fairly normal adolescent antics are sonically amplified thanks to the proximity of their apartments. It makes me laugh out loud every single time, and the ending is *chef’s kiss*.
V. Color Story
I sometimes do an exercise when I travel where I document everything I find inspiring, then dissect it all to find trends in what I’m naturally gravitating toward. It’s a way for me to not only engage with the city I’m in and to train myself to notice what’s around me but to then note those things and potentially implement them in my closet, my home, or my work. I went to Italy and Switzerland last fall, and about halfway through my trip, I realized that pistachio green was everywhere. From sun-faded buildings to lacquered crown moldings to metal chairs in town squares and sugar packets in cafes, pistachio green followed me from town to town. I’ve been ultra-aware of its existence ever since, and every time I spot it in the wild I think fondly of that trip.
VI. Travel Story
Speaking of getting inspired abroad, in 2019 I had a transformative experience (not an exaggeration) at Salvador Dalí’s home and studio in Cadaqués, Spain. I had seen photos of the egg sculptures and surrealist swimming pool before I arrived, but walking through the house, I was most taken by the little details in his home that were sort of ordinarily beautiful. Dried flowers stuffed to fill the space between the top of a dresser and the ceiling above it, a tufted banquette with red and gold fringe that fit perfectly in a corner, and jute carpet treads going up his winding staircases… they were these little moments of beauty that just really struck me, more so than the avant-garde ones did. I went home and immediately nailed dried flowers to my kitchen wall and hung tassels on my door knobs just to remind myself of how special it all was.
VII. Long Story
Years ago, totally out of the blue, Jonah Hill followed me on Twitter. Even stranger, when I clicked on his profile I realized that he only followed two people: me and Debbie Harry. Months later I ran into him in person and confronted him about it… it’s a long story, but in retrospect, it sounds like I dodged a bullet.
VIII. Ali’s Story
Ali LaBelle is a creative director and strategist based in Los Angeles, California. She owns a branding studio, Ali LaBelle Creative, where she and a team of creatives build meaningful and imaginative brand identities rich in concept and storytelling. Her unique style of conceptual art direction reflects her thoughtful attention to detail, and her work is a reflection of the many books, films, pieces of ephemera, artists, cities, songs, and spaces that inspire her. She also writes a weekly newsletter, À La Carte, and moonlights as Pasta Girlfriend.
Thank you, Ali!
❤️❤️❤️ Thanks for inviting me, Rachel!
What a beautiful interview concept. Ali is such an inspiration, I can't wait to see who you bring us next. xx