Mixing steely electronic beats with her deep and powerful voice, Chinese chanteuse Laure Shang Wenjie performs a haunting tale of love and war in her new video for Perfect Night, directed by Theo Stanley. Wearing sculptural dresses by local designer Masha Ma, the Shanghai native morphs into an eerie nocturnal creature enveloped in smoke and flames. Shang rose to prominence by winning the third season of China’s television singing contest Super Girls, and last year took Music Radio’s Best Female Singer award to cement her place as China’s pop icon of the moment. Also a fashion muse, Shang has modeled for L’Officiel Hommes, regularly attends couture shows around the world, and works with emerging Chinese designers, such as Central Saint Martins graduate Ma. “The white and black forms worked well for the composite effects, and provided a canvas for the prismatic color projections,” says Stanley of Ma’s creations. “I developed a visual treatment which focused on a combined language of prisms, crystals, smoke and fire elements.” The track is taken from Shang’s forthcoming album Ode to the Doom, on which the 29-year-old explores spirituality, love and death, inspired by goth subcultures and the macabre romance of Alexander McQueen. Here the singer shares her preferences for mohair, Katy Perry and Alexander Wang.

Beijing Fashion Week or Shanghai Film Festival?
Shanghai Film Festival.

Minx or mohair?
Mohair.

Black or White?
Both.

Smokey eye or cat eye?
Smokey.

Electro-pop or chanson?
Electro-pop.

Croissants or Shanghai Dumplings?
Shanghai Dumplings.

Alexander Wang or Limi Feu?
Alexander Wang.

I Kissed a Girl or Blame it on the Girls?
I kissed a Girl.