Charlie Barker

TRIGGRD are model and artist Charlie Barker and musician Arabella Latham. In their very first shoot and interview, we get the lowdown on their musical influences, life on a houseboat and starting a band with your best friend. We shoot the girls in our Winter collection, which takes its cue from music influenced subcultures and anti-conformity, plus additions from Charlie and Bella’s own wardrobe, including custom painted ‘TRIGGRD’ band jackets.
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How and when did you guys meet?
C: We met through a mutual friend and had heard tonnes about one another, eventually we ended up at the same dinner table, I won Bella’s friendship when I poured candle wax into my mouth.

B: We went to dinner together. Charlie sang along to The Kills playing through her phone speaker the entire night and then made me help her move her boat down the canal. I was like ‘who is this weirdo?’


When did you start writing songs together?
C: As soon as we started hanging out really. I was just starting to play guitar and Arabella had already been in the music industry for a while.

What’s the inspiration behind the first song ‘Close to Home’?
A: This song is about avoiding an emotional attachment to somebody and almost wanting to run away from it as if it’s a weakness. The song is really repetitive in the way it moves; you almost feel like you’re running in circles around a reality.


What does ‘TRIGGRD’ mean?
A: Haha! At one point our whole crew just completely overused the word ‘triggered’ whenever something went tits up and Charlie joked about using it as the band name, then it just stuck.

How would you describe your music in three words?
C & A: BEST MUSIC EVER


Who are your musical heroes?
C: Fleetwood Mac, White Stripes, Jimmy Hendrix, The Kills, PJ Harvey

A. The old Taylor Swift


Charlie – we know you’re an amazing artist and have a killer clothes collection, but long have you wanted to make music for too?
A while! I was always a shower singer and have worshipped the rock gods for a long time, it was only last year when my dad got me an electric and I was super inspired, meeting Arabella only encouraged that :-)

Bella, you recently took Charlie with you home to South Africa. What did you get up to there?
A: My family and I took Charlie and our good friend Emma Breschi on safari; we drank a lot of wine, had a lot of braais and good old family banter, the works. We also spent a bit of time in Cape Town which was super cool! Charlie also wants everyone to know that she saw elephants and warthogs.

You’re living on a houseboat (with black cat Miya) – how’s boat life treating you?
C: It’s so amazing honestly. You leave the busy streets of London and the canal is always so peaceful. It’s a lot of maintenance but is so worth it. I am not looking forward to winter though! A few of my friends also live on boats though, it’s a completely different lifestyle. 


What would you say are each other’s worst habits? And best habits…?
A: Charlie is a neat freak; I don’t know whether that’s a good or bad thing to be honest! She’s also always late, but she’s very organised and on top of everything all the time which is really admirable.

C: Bella’s worst habit is making a drum out of anything in front of her, this includes; plates, tables, panes of glass on trains, knives, forks & sometimes humans etc. She is, however, ridiculously focused when it comes to rehearsing and making new music.