Hercules & Love Affair’s music has been heating up runways for over 15 years, since that lightning strike moment use of “Blind” featuring ANOHNI. It was a key moment that introduced the song that would come to be named Pitchfork’s number 1 of 2008, and one of the the first times the world heard the evergreen club hit. From there, Butler and his gang would be invited to perform for Chanel as part of the mobile art pavilion designed by Zaha Hadid in Central Park and Blind  subsequently became a runway favorite.

Butler’s deep relationship to club culture and elegant take on dance music, incorporating unusual voices in his compositions, led to him writing more music for the runway, of which this collaboration with Maison Valentino is the latest and possibly greatest.

“What also made the event rock was the best soundtrack of any season, a sensational retro futurist mashup by DJ Andy Butler.”- FashionNetwork.com

“Dressed in a shirt and tie, bow-adorned mini-shorts and an oversized dinner jacket with Grace Jones-inspired hot pink makeup, the tone for the evening was set, with the dance floor-ready remix of Hercules & Love Affair’s ‘Blind’, a staple sound of underground queer culture, wasn’t enough to drive home that it was party time; and only the most fabulous were invited. “ -Tatler

Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli conceives an impossible rendez-vous, between the universes of Couture and the club. Perceived polarities can provoke dialogue, another impossibility: a synergetic, spontaneous language is found between the lexicon of Couture and the world of nightclubbing. It used music from Butler’s catalog throughout the ages, including two new songs from the most recent Hercules & Love Affair record, “Grace” and the ANOHNI co-written “One” (on that note check out the stunning video from visionary fashion photographer Tim Walker).

Maison Valentino sat down with Butler to talk about his collaboration with Pierpaolo and Valentino in a podcast for the brand. They delve into his history in fashion (which predated his professional music career), the meaning of club culture and its relationship to fashion, as well as the experience of creating the soundtrack for Maison Valentino “Le Club Couture”.