While some like Marc Jacobs start off the research for the music with a stack of CDs, other designers may not have a specific track in mind, but nonetheless a very precise idea of the kind of music they want. Nothing you hear is in its original form,'' he added. Sexy Boy,'' the single from Air's just released debut album ''Moon Safari,'' was already a runway hit before it made it to the record shelves. Air's mix of spacey, easy listening with nods to Serge Gainsbourg, Enzo Morricone, Bowie, the Beatles and Kraftwerk couldn't be more fashionable. Their revamped 1970s past-future sounds echo current young fashion.
Designers often use show music to let the audience know where they're headed.
It was '2001' meets Diana Ross,'' says his music man, John Gosling, of the choice. We were trying for a less driving beat, not so much of a club thing, more spacey,'' says Gosling. Although show music can frequently sound like one uncut piece, there can be as many as 30 or 40 musical fragments mixed in. Jeremy Healy, responsible for the music of John Galliano's shows for his own house and for Christian Dior, works with the sound technician Paul Morris who uses the Pro-tools editing system for the rapid changes in music Healy and Galliano favor. For a Galliano opus no sound is ever left on its own.