Fashion

How I turned anxiety into a source of empowerment: Meet pop sensation Mabel, GLAMOUR’s August digital cover star…


Mabel may have scored the highest grossing single by a British female in 2019 so far with Don’t Call Me Up, and be on the cusp of releasing her aptly named (and hotly tipped) debut album, High Expectations. But today, on her GLAMOUR digital cover shoot, she is concerned with other pressing matters: Love Island.

Mabel wears a full Estée Lauder look: Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup in Tawny, Revitalising Supreme, Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, Set + Refresh Perfecting Makeup Mist, The Illuminator Radiant Perfecting Primer, Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium/Deep, Oh Naturelle! Palette by Violette, Micro Precision Brow Pencil in Dark Brunette, Brow Now Stay-In-Place Brow Gel in Clear, Double Wear Lip Pencil in Spice, Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Covetous Nude, Lip Volumizer

Mabel wears a full Estée Lauder look: Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup in Tawny, Revitalising Supreme, Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, The Illuminator Radiant Perfecting Primer, Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium/Deep, Pure Color Envy Eyeshadow Palette (Teal shade) with Double Wear Stay-In-Place Eye Pencil in Emerald Volt (for base), Oh Naturelle! Pure Color Envy Paint-On Liquid LipColor by Violette in Nude Tease, Lip Volumizer

Mabel wears a full Estée Lauder look: Estée Lauder Double Wear Stay-In-Place Makeup in Tawny, Revitalising Supreme, Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Complex, The Illuminator Radiant Perfecting Primer, Bronze Goddess Powder Bronzer in Medium/Deep, Oh Naturelle! Palette by Violette (on eyes), Pure Color Envy Lipstick in Powerful, Set. Blur. Finish Perfecting Pressed Powder in Translucent (over lipstick to mattify)

“Oh my god, I lost my remote last night so I couldn’t watch it – and then found it in the fridge. I was freaking out about missing it,” Mabel laughs, as we get stuck in on the Amy and Curtis drama. The struggle is real – even for those riding high in the charts.

But despite her down-to-earth nightly pursuits, as the daughter of ’90s pop icon Neneh Cherry and the super-producer behind Massive Attack and All Saints, Cameron McVey, 23-year-old Mabel has music – and success – running through her veins. “I was always roller-skating around, listening to our big record collection, which my mum has had since she was a kid,” she recalls.

But even from an early age, Mabel was determined to do it her own way. This is no ‘daughter of’, situation, she insists. “I do feel like I’ve achieved my success off the back of being myself,” she says, citing three bootylicous babes in particular as her key inspiration for forging her own path. “I feel so lucky that I grew up in an age of independent women with Destiny’s Child and Missy Elliott. It made me very sassy in a good way.” Beyoncé, can you handle this?

This sass-piration has seen Mabel go from an introverted teen – who, after learning to play piano at five years old, spent her spare time song writing – to a Brit Award-nominated artist. After a guest appearance in Skepta’s Shutdown video in 2015, she was spotted by the rapper’s creative director, Grace Ladoja, and was signed by record label Polydor. In 2017, she went viral with her song Finders Keepers, before going on to score three top-10 singles and live out every girl’s – and let’s face it, guy’s – dream of touring with Harry Styles.

But Mabel isn’t just in the music industry because of circumstance – she sees it as a necessity for her own mental health. “Music has always been my therapy,” she confides. “The first 12 years of my musical relationship was very much for myself; it was like a journal. I was a teen who had a lot of anxiety and depression.”

In fact, her depression was so severe that aged 17, she felt forced to leave secondary school in Sweden, where she was raised. She explains: “When I started school, other kids were a bit more carefree and I was always wondering, ‘What happens if I do this?’ And, ‘Does this person like me?’ I was always overthinking. I had big questions about things like death and war from a very young age. I learnt how to read when I was really young, and I’d pick up books and newspapers when you don’t have the emotional or mental capacity to understand it.

Neon Leather Dress by SPRWMN, Rings by Monica Vinader 

“I got to about six years old when my parents realised it was crippling. I had terrible insomnia and crazy night terrors. That’s when music came into it and I started playing piano and journaling. I feel so lucky because I grew up with parents who understand it. They would listen to all my anxieties. Talking about it stopped me from catastrophising. They didn’t see it as a negative I needed to get rid of.”



Has dealing with anxiety ultimately made her into a stronger person, I ask? “Yeah definitely,” Mabel replies without hesitation. “It’s given me a crazy emotional capacity. I really feel a lot. Without that thought process and the bad things, I wouldn’t be as good a song writer as I am. Most art is our way of processing things. That’s why music was so life changing.

“When I wrote my song OK last year, I woke up and it was a really bad day and I realised I had three options: I could cancel my session or pretend I’m fine. Or,” she continues. “I could go and tell everyone how I’m feeling because there’s nothing embarrassing about having anxiety. Those are the magical moments where I’m glad I’ve gone through what I have. I can turn them into music that will make other people feel less alone.

“By pushing past the fear, I feel more confident than ever. It was a terrifying process though. When I created the album, it’s like looking at yourself under a magnifying glass. You’re not necessarily going to like what you see, but I’ve come out the other side of it and I’m OK with the good and the bad.”

Away from music, Mabel has also turned to beauty to help build her confidence: “I’m always myself, but beauty helps with my confidence and to get into character. How I do my glam helps me be that person on stage.” In fact, the Estée Lauder #WearConfidence strapline that accompanies the foundation she is wearing as we chat today has a special meaning for her. “It really means, for me, being comfortable in yourself and that’s a journey that took a long time for me. I am confident now, but that’s really come from working on myself and feeling beautiful in every aspect.”

Jacket by Longshaw Ward, Top & shorts by GCDS, Rings by Monica Vinader, Earrings by Giovanni Raspini 

With her rich mixed heritage – she describes herself as, “born in Spain, Swedish, Sierra Leonean and English,” – Mabel confesses she didn’t always find it easy to feel comfortable in her own skin. “In the society we live in, everything has to be labelled and people like to put things in a box. I always felt like people were dissatisfied with the answer when they asked me where I was from. I felt not white enough to be white and not black enough to be black. You just want to fit in and be normal when you are young. Then I grew up a little bit, became an adult and I realised it’s a privilege to be from all these amazing places. I don’t have to decide where’s home. I am who I am.”

I wonder whether coming to terms with herself was made ‘easier’ by having a strong female role model – by the name of Neneh Cherry – at home? “For sure,” Mabel replies immediately. “What’s crazy, though, is that I never thought of my mum as a pop star, it was just normal. Then I started doing what I do and realised it’s hard out here. What she was doing at the time was insane and people related to her just being her. When I was a teenager, I thought that in order to be successful I had to be a certain way, but my mum is such a perfect example of how you can break all the rules by being yourself – and that letting your personality shine through is all you need to do.”

Female solidarity is clearly built into Mabel’s DNA, as she passionately tells me, “I don’t want people to come to my performance and sing back to me, I want girls to sing to each other!” Singing for the sisterhood is out in full force today as Mabel walks around the warehouse location, blasting out songs by her female peers from her portable speaker and singing fellow chart-topper Anne-Marie – her current favourite – at the top of her lungs. But with only 30 female acts featuring in the UK Official Chart Company’s top 100 songs in 2018, compared to 91 male acts (including collaborations, there are actually fewer women in the UK charts now than there were in 2008), women in music are still having to overcome huge obstacles.

“Studio environments are still very male dominated,” Mabel says. “I’m always trying to work with as many females as possible and they’ve been such a vital part of making my first album. Having that second female perspective in the studio has been key for me. It’s important to encourage young females to dare to get in those rooms.”

Does she experience everyday sexism? Ever the optimist, Mabel answers, “I try to focus on the positives and what we can do to work together. The conversations are the most important thing and we need to be talking about getting more females in studios and on festival line-ups. But most importantly, there is definitely more love and support between women than there ever has been. The sense of competition between Christina or Britney or Beyoncé – that’s not a thing any more. We’re standing together in a different way.”

Chain dress by Poster Girl, Earrings by Simon Harrison, Chain Necklace by Mulberry, Necklace by Giovanni Raspini

In light of such hurdles, music has shown Mabel a lot about her strength as a woman, too. “It’s taught me that my opinion is important and needs to be heard. I’m writing songs like Don’t Call Me Up, which millions of women have related to. I get messages every day from people saying, ‘You helped me break up with an arsehole boyfriend I’ve been with for years,’ or ‘I finally changed my number and stopped seeing this douchebag.’ If I hadn’t dared to get into rooms, fight my corner, stand my ground and find my voice and be brutally honest in my lyrics, then there wouldn’t be other women relating to it.” This boy, who also has douchebag former boyfriends, can relate too.

With her empowering mindset, Mabel is also moving the needle of music away from male-centred narratives to a new and unique take on Girl Power. “Finders Keepers is different for a female because there are so many songs about not wanting the girl, her being too clingy and girls always wanting relationships,” she tells me. “Finders Keepers is about saying to women that sometimes our side of the story isn’t necessarily always heard.”

When I catch up with Mabel on the phone five days after our shoot, she’s already in South Korea. Such is the life of a pop star on the global rise. With much talk of artists reaching peak exhaustion – Sam Fender, the Brit Award Critics’ Choice award winner this year pulled out of Glastonbury due to ‘burnout’ – Mabel is ensuring she doesn’t meet the same fate.

“The world is crazy now, there are so many pressures, social media and things to live up to and I care so much about what I do that sometimes it’s important to disconnect from it,” Mabel says. “An important thing for me is exercise, moving and being present with my body, whether it’s yoga or swimming. Also connecting with my parents every day, is important for me because no matter how grown I am or how much I’m standing on my own feet, they’ll always be my mum and dad. Being a grown-up is crazy, so it’s nice to feel like a kid sometimes and get rid of some responsibility.”

As a confident Independent Woman, Mabel is only looking forwards, but on this meteoric rise what has been her peak pop star moment? Plot spoiler, it doesn’t involve Harry Styles. “When I went to Australia and I really wanted to go chill with some kangaroos,” Mabel laughs. “Sydney Zoo weren’t doing any tours that day, but someone pulled some strings and got me the VIP kangaroo experience. Any other time someone used my name I’d be absolutely mortified, but if it was going to get me to those kangaroos then they were more than welcome. It was the best day ever.” Mabel, keep hopping along and never, ever, change.

Mabel’s debut album, High Expectations is released on 2 August.

Shoot Credits: Photography by Vicky Lawton, Makeup by Maria Asadi, Hair by Rio Sreedharan, Nails by Rebecca Wilson, Styling by Avigail Collins, Video Director Lu Xiao-Wei.





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