{"id":1409306,"date":"2026-01-21T10:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T07:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1409306"},"modified":"2026-01-21T10:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T07:50:00","slug":"lexee-smith-is-dancing-and-living-like-no-one-is-watching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1409306","title":{"rendered":"Lexee Smith is dancing (and living) like no one is watching"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For You, Not Them<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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\"Cou<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Cou<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
\"Cou<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div>\n
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Gallery \/ 10 images<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Though the phrase \u2018it girl\u2019 may be overused, it\u2019s certainly hard to deny that it applies to dancer and choreographer <\/span>Lexee Smith<\/span><\/a>. At just 24 years old, Smith, who\u2019s been in the industry <\/span>since age 12<\/span><\/a>, counts FKA twigs<\/a>, Lady Gaga<\/a> and Billie Eilish<\/a> as collaborators. Perhaps her most well-known partnership, however, is with her fellow it girl and close friend, Addison Rae; as a creative consultant and movement director, Smith has had credits on the internet-breaking music videos for tracks <\/span>Diet Pepsi<\/span><\/em> and <\/span>Aquamarine<\/span><\/em>. Today, Smith is inarguably a star in her own right, and has the resume (and massive social following) to prove it. The latest example of her burgeoning celebrity? A new Valentine\u2019s Day campaign with <\/span>Cou Cou<\/span><\/a>, the buzzy undergarments brand also known as Cou Cou Intimates.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Aptly titled \u2018For You, Not Them\u2019, the campaign, which debuted this week alongside several new Cou Cou styles, is a subtle rejection of traditional Valentine\u2019s Day sentiments, emphasising self-love and self-care as opposed to romance and performance. \u201cWhen we\u2019re focused on how we\u2019re being perceived, I feel we lose that connection to our bodies, our intuition, and what we actually feel,\u201d says Rose Colcord, the brand\u2019s founder and creative director. \u201cWith \u2018For You, Not Them\u2019, we gently push back against the idea that a holiday celebrating love should be about performing for someone else\u2026 This idea that we only get to feel beautiful for special occasions, or for someone else, just feels outdated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The campaign takes inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s film 1954 <\/span>Rear Window, <\/span><\/em>in particular a scene in which a half-dressed woman dances alone in her apartment, completely unfazed and at ease with herself. The energy depicted in that scene \u2013 one of unbothered, unfettered joy \u2013 mimics the energy that drew Colcord to Smith. \u201cLexee really is the ultimate muse,\u201d said the founder, who first came across Smith through videos of her dancing alone in Cou Cou undergarments. \u201cEven for me, seeing her dance in her Cou Cou was so inspiring that I started doing the same thing \u2013 coming home from the studio, putting music on with my little daughter, and dancing to shake off the day. It became this small ritual of coming back into the body, back into play and joy, and that\u2019s exactly what this campaign is about.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Shot in Paris by <\/span>Zoe Mannella<\/span><\/a>, \u2018For You, Not Them\u2019 takes place in a sun-lit, pristine Parisian bedroom that looks fit for the heroine of a Jane Austen novel. There, Smith, wearing Cou Cou and a tutu designed by <\/span>Miss Claire Sullivan<\/span><\/a>, appears alongside R&B singer George Riley, the campaign\u2019s fellow star. Each shot depicts a new moment, where a woman, in the freedom of their own company, is both at rest and at play.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

See the full campaign in the gallery above, and check out our conversation with Smith, below. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\"Cou<\/span><\/span>
Zoe Mannella<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Congrats on the new campaign! How did this collaboration with Cou Cou come about, and what drew you to working with the brand?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lexee Smith: <\/strong>Thank you. I first fell in love with Cou Cou when I was styled in their Teacup Bra for a shoot. It fit so beautifully and was also very comfy. Perfect to dance in.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though intimates have traditionally been marketed as a way to impress a partner, this campaign seems to be more concerned with the internal, rather than the external. What about this concept spoke to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lexee Smith: <\/strong>I think I have always claimed my sensuality and sexuality to play with and explore on my own. I like that this campaign encourages that. We should always feel sexy just because. It makes life better.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many of the campaign shots have a sort of playful physicality that mirrors your other work. What was it like exploring movement in this way?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lexee Smith: <\/strong>I like to be kitty. I like to fit in small spaces. I like to stretch.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018For You, Not Them\u2019 is a Valentine\u2019s Day collection that seems to reframe the holiday altogether. What\u2019s your own relationship to Valentine\u2019s Day like? Do you have any traditions or memories that come to mind?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lexee Smith:<\/strong> I love love, so I think it is a really cute holiday. I also love pink. And red. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve ever had an ushy gushy, super romantic Valentine\u2019s Day, but I usually end up spending it with my best friend, Scarlet. She is a great hostess and always gathers the sexy singles.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of romance, this line seems to go beyond that in order to focus more on self-love and self-care. So, are there any self-care rituals you can\u2019t live without?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lexee Smith:<\/strong>I like to really look at myself in the mirror and study myself, and really seriously learn how to admire myself. That can be in a human way or in a dance studio, but I love the study of self. Movement is always some sort of reflection of what\u2019s going on in my life and what\u2019s going on inside, whether romantically or in any other sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Source URL: https:\/\/www.dazeddigital.com\/fashion\/article\/69454\/1\/lexee-smith-dancing-living-no-one-is-watching-cou-cou-valentines-day<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For You, Not Them Gallery \/ 10 images Though the phrase \u2018it girl\u2019 may be overused, it\u2019s certainly hard to deny that it applies to dancer and choreographer Lexee Smith. At just 24 years old, Smith, who\u2019s been in the industry since age 12, counts FKA twigs, Lady Gaga and Billie Eilish as collaborators. Perhaps […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[76],"class_list":["post-1409306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-dazeddigital-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1409306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409306\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1409306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1409306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1409306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}