My Style: Liela Moss

Lead singer, the Duke Spirit, 26

Personal style: KGB chic

James Sherwood: Black leather-gloved hands and arms are a major statement...

Liela Moss: When something as sensual as the wrists and arms are covered up, it only makes the undressing part more sensual.

JS: I would describe your look as KGB chic. Do you dress differently off-stage than on?

LM: I don't really, save for a touch here or there: a little gold cape, or my perennial white swan's feathers. It is the small but symbolic accessory that makes "show time" and the rest is just me.

JS: I listened to your music and thought it was a combination of profound blues lyrics and very heavy rock. Is that fair?

LM: No, although you are not wrong either. "Heavy rock" sounds like we might be dumb-ass and we are a bit too feminine, aesthete and emotional to be just that.

JS: You ain't just whistling Dixie, sugar. Tell me about your style.

LM: This is a sort of Alain Delon/private detective ensemble for a lady: a bird who is intuitive, enigmatic and likes to keep wrapped up, just like her grandma says.

JS: My grandmother is an enduring idol. Who else do you look up to?

LM: Patti Smith, Björk, Chrissie Hynde, Debbie Harry... not one of those women would pull a coquetteish, flirty, pathetic move like you see in pop genres. I like to think of sexiness, poeticism and singing as one big swoop of life all rolled into one.

JS: Is fashion secondary to your success?

LM: Ultimately, stylishness is confidence and that comes from your belly and heart.

JS: Close to treason, Liela, but I'll let it go. I hope you are having a ball touring the US.

LM: I've been drinking in Hollywood and left the guys out boozing; I just felt too jet-lagged to carry on. n

Get the ruthless operative look

Black gloves, £45, by Labonia, from Fenwicks, 020 7629 9161

Orange scarf, £128, by Yseult, from Matches, www.matchesfashion.com

Trilby hat, £80, by CA4LA, 020 7490 0055