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fashion
Heidi Lawden | Resident Agrees to Make Noise at All Hours

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MARINE SERRE jacket and skirt available at MatchesFashion.com, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN shoes, and GENTLE MONSTER sunglasses. ![MARINE SERRE jacket and skirt available at MatchesFashion.com, CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN shoes, and GENTLE MONSTER sunglasses.](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62ee0bbe0c783a903ecc0ddb/6472b6a210efc5de72d0e791_image-asset.jpeg) [**MARINE SERRE**](https://marineserre.com) jacket and skirt available at [MatchesFashion.com](https://www.matchesfashion.com/womens/designers/marine-serre?is=Marine%20Serre), [**CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN**](http://us.christianlouboutin.com/us_en/) shoes, and [**GENTLE MONSTER**](https://www.gentlemonster.com) sunglasses. I’m sitting with [Heidi Lawden (DJ Heidi)](https://www.instagram.com/heidilawden/?hl=en) in her charming Venice home, sharing biscuits and pouring tea into big porcelain mugs. Hers sports the iconic _I <3_ ny, while="" mine="" reads _i="" <3="" berlin._="" we="" laugh="" at="" the="" fact="" that="" we’re="" wearing="" a="" nearly="" identical="" black-and-white="" striped="" levi’s="" shirt.="" mugs="" are="" testament="" to="" her="" city-hopping,="" globe-trotting="" lifestyle.="" “i="" grew="" up="" in="" small="" town="" with="" mentality,="" but="" my="" natural="" inclination="" was="" want="" something="" bigger,”="" she="" says.="" lawden="" chose="" westside="" neighborhood="" for="" proximity="" beach="" and="" respite="" it="" offers="" as="" prepares="" inaugural="" edition="" of="" dusk—a="" three-day="" “intimate,="" off-grid,="" queer”="" camping="" music="" festival,="" taking="" place="" on="" native="" american="" land="" between="" la="" san="" diego="" may.="" she’s="" teamed="" fellow="" nightlife="" impresarios="" masha="" jeniluv="" recruit="" leading="" electronic="" acts="" from="" across="" states="" eu.="" love="" club="" scene="" began="" when="" fresh-="" faced="" 17-year-old,="" newly="" arrived="" london,="" where="" absorbed="" what="" would="" later="" influence="" genre-bending="" practice="" drag="" cabarets="" like="" black="" cap.="" found="" clubbing="" an="" escape,”="" “moving="" first="" experiences="" were="" largely="" gay,="" little="" goth,="" donna="" summer,="" so="" i="" got="" perspective.="" had="" both="" girlfriends="" boyfriends.”="" dedicated="" queer="" scene,="" even="" entering="" “lavender="" relationship”="" gay="" man="" prevent="" him="" being="" attacked.="" meanwhile,="" working="" hairdresser="" fashion="" assistant="" paul="" smith.="" eventually="" moved="" into="" marketing,="" navigated="" corporate="" doldrums="" administrative="" managerial="" work.="" after="" clocking="" out,="" back="" club,="" friends="" dressed="" their="" best="" attire,="" emulating="" favorite="" icons="" magazines="" they="" read.="" “you="" don’t="" see="" color,="" creed="" or="" orientation="" club—that’s="" not="" me,”="" recalls.="" vital="" scene’s="" sustainability="" observe="" new="" fresh,="" made="" sure="" lose="" sense="" self,="" either.="" be="" too="" inspired="" by="" anyone="" any="" direction.="" you="" may="" have="" same="" trends,="" that’s="" makes="" me,="" me.”="" ![NOIR KEI NINOMIYA jacket and skirt and JIMMY CHOO shoes.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/56c346b607eaa09d9189a870/1555662406167-D1W0L95BMF0KTXU717M0/FLAUNT-MAGAZINE-HEIDI-LAWDEN-4.jpg) [**NOIR KEI NINOMIYA**](https://www.instagram.com/noirkeininomiya/?hl=en) jacket and skirt and [**JIMMY CHOO**](https://us.jimmychoo.com/en/home) shoes. Now in Los Angeles, Lawden’s commitment to freedom and expression in the nightlife scene continues, and DJing and promoting parties in the city’s hallowed network of warehouses has reaped rewards. Slated to play at Coachella this year, her performance will surely attract dance-goers. “I want to represent _me._ I am disco- leaning and Hi-NRG, but I also want to honor that I’m a Brit. I’ve got a little UK Garage that I know is going to creep in with some drum and bass. I want to pull from all the things I like.” When I ask Lawden what she felt the vibe of her music was, she appropriately tells me, “no fucking idea.” Lawden’s unpredictable track selection is a testament to her diverse, mercurial sound. She refers to her performances as _divine DJing_—letting go of all fear and playing what instinctually sounds good. “I like the idea that wherever you are you have to surrender to something else, because it really shakes off anything you have going on. I don’t sit around with disco balls and flashing lights all day, so it’s an instantly altered space which changes my mind.” She’s enamored with the idea that a proper DJ set and club environment can happen during the day at Coachella, made possible by the Yuma Tent’s enclosed structure. Balancing her schedule between residencies, festivals, and underground parties, Lawden also recently spent a year playing at Panorama Bar, the house-and-disco-focused dance room located above Berlin’s fabled techno-cathedral, Berghain. The club was “full of absolute freaks, and just about anything goes,” she says with a smile. Here, freedom and hedonism intersect, and everybody takes care of everybody. Lawden explains that in Berlin, clubs like Berghain/Panorama Bar are classified as art venues, and taxed and supported accordingly. “Money coming from the nightlife is valued and support is given back... you feel reminded that what you do is an art.” Despite her wide-ranging ambitions, stints abroad, and an increasingly busy performance schedule, Lawden stays focused on the local. She’s dedicated to elevating the music and festival scene in Los Angeles. Unlike in other countries—or other American cities for that matter—LA has outdated laws that hinder dance-music culture. “Right now, we are essentially partying in illegal spaces and we do our best to make them safe. We see some shit, we call it out. Ultimately, we are unlicensed and there are no guarantees the club will be there next week,” laments Lawden. Proposed laws such as California Senate Bill 58, keeping bars open and serving alcohol until 4 AM, could alter how people party and lead to a safer nightlife in general. In the meantime, between residencies and festivals and from Coachella to LA warehouses, Lawden will be doing her part to make sure the club scene remains a tolerant, free space for uninhibited self-expression. * * * Photographer: [Bil Brown](https://www.instagram.com/bilbrown/?hl=en). Stylist: [Mui-Hai Chu](https://www.instagram.com/muihai/?hl=en). Hair & Makeup: [Elaina Karras](https://www.instagram.com/thebeautysensei/).