XO, Niagara for Coup

Niagara is a Detroit-based artist and musician who first emerged in 1974 while attending the University of Michigan, co-founding the experimental band Destroy All Monsters with Mike Kelley. The group gained international cult status—partly through connections to members of The Stooges and MC5—and she later fronted Dark Carnival with Ron and Scott Asheton. Drawing from her art school background, Niagara created striking collage-driven album and promotional artwork that evolved into a signature painting style blending pop iconography, comic-strip boldness, and femme-fatale attitude.

Wearing: Jean Paul Gaultier Mesh Python Dress + MM6 Long Leather Gloves.

Q: "When did you first fall in love with art? Or did you ever?"

Niagara: I was hardwired for art. Drawing early and often."

Q: Do you have any advice for young artists, especially young female artists?

"Always be learning. It all goes into your art.

If you don’t know history, no one will take you seriously. History is only everything that has happened. Read what interests you. Read biographies. Read."

By the mid-1990s, her breakout exhibitions with Detroit’s CPop gallery established her nationally, earning her the title “The Queen of Detroit” from Juxtapoz and leading to shows in major cities worldwide. Her iconic “Niagara Girl” figures—glamorous, dangerous, and defiantly feminist—echo pin-ups like Bettie Page and classic film noir heroines, while later bodies of work such as the lush, Asian-influenced “Opium Series” revealed a more atmospheric sensuality.

Wearing: Jean Paul Gaultier Mesh Journal Dress + Zippers Earrings.

Beyond galleries, she has published a career retrospective (Beyond the Pale), collaborated with fashion brands including Hysteric Glamour and Vans, and continued performing internationally.

Wearing: Jean Paul Gaultier Tailored Basque Jacket + Panconesi Ritorto Choker.

She remains closely tied to Detroit, where her art and music legacy continues to resonate.

Q: "You mentioned you started to wear makeup (and lots of it!) — in seventh grade, maintaining your signature beauty look for years. As an artist, musician, performer and woman - what are the main things that have influenced your fashion and beauty style?"

Niagara: "The shocking wonderland of downtown Hudsons when they vastly displayed Mary Quant cosmetics in the girls' department. The makeup was an ode to Twiggy's style which was inspired by Cleopatra's eye makeup from the Hollywood film. I only wore eye makeup and lots of it. Like now!vArt Nouveau was re-appreciated and reimagined then. Design was curly and swirly but mod and trippy. I adored those late 1800s artists. That led to that era's Decadent Art. Thin, pale, druggy models."

Q: You also mentioned shopping in Detroit as a young girl -- Saks 5th Avenue, Hudson's, etc. Do you have any specific memories that may have shaped you while shopping in person at those or other places? Or did you have any must-visit shops in the metro Detroit area that left you feeling excited and inspired?

"I’d take the bus downtown and go to the Salvation Army. Velvet capes, riding pants, uniforms, 1940s suit jackets, etc."

Q: If you can only pack a small purse for the evening -- what are your five essential items inside?

"Four kinds of pills and lipstick. Very pale."

Photography: Boswell

Model: Niagara

Stylist: Angela Wisniewski

Wardrobe: Coup D'état

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XO, Niagara for Coup

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