Sabrina Carpenter in Conversation with Marc Jacobs.
Sabrina Carpenter for The Perfect Sabrina Zine.
Photographed by Bryce Anderson
Styled by Katie Grand
Interviewed by Marc Jacobs
On 10 April 2026, Sabrina Carpenter crowned a phenomenal two-year run of global pop excellence with a headline slot at Coachella, the Californian music festival where pop royalty is anointed. The date is significant, falling one day short of the second anniversary of the release of ‘Espresso’, a song which changed the course of Sabrina’s life; the kind of pop hit which lands once every half-generation, reminding audiences of the inebriating togetherness of verse-chorus-verse-chorus-middle-eight-chorus-end. The start of Sabrina Carpenter’s Imperial Phase was delightful. Resistance to this kind of leviathan hit music is futile. Once dropped into the ether, it simply exists as naturally as air, filling the components of the atmosphere with its effortless prettiness.
Sabrina Carpenter was quick to make good on her crystalline pop moment, following it up sharply with a string of confessional classics that rounded out her delightful pop persona. She stuffed two career-defining albums – first Short n’ Sweet, then last year’s Man’s Best Friend – with the kind of musical references and witty lyrical clauses that edged her away from her old Disney kid peers and called to mind genuine giants like Dolly Parton, Debbie Harry and even, at her driest and most eye-rolling, Kirsty MacColl. On set for her Perfect shoot, somebody commented that Sabrina pre- and post-‘Espresso’ called to mind the liberation of Kylie Minogue pre- and post-Michael Hutchence, which made perfect arithmetic pop sense.
On her long-players, during her shows, in her superbly realised pop videos and all over socials, the diminutive blonde bombshell figure of Sabrina Carpenter proved to have the cultural muscle to reach right to the back of stadia. Like her predecessors, Ms Carpenter found a particular sweet spot in taking a strip or two off her romantic suitors. Her specialty in song is to cut men right down to size. With this reputable skill honed, her already assured queer following set like cement. So Sabrina is camp, yes, but only in the sense in which Susan Sontag once expounded the word: as the artificial flavorings of something deeply, unequivocally, often movingly real.
There is something about Sabrina that means she could have been a star in any era. Yet here we are, in an age where one of its defining figureheads is a candid, pleasing pop singer who falls under the quaint banner of all-round entertainment. Relax, then, as your guide backstage to the Sabrina show comes in the hallowed figure of the irrepressibly gifted, uniquely culturally savvy fashion mogul, Marc Jacobs. Sit back as Marc lends Sabrina his ear, his wisdom and his confidences. As she preps for the biggest moment of her professional life, they make for a beautifully ruminative coupling…
Sabrina: Hi, Marc. I was just going to say congratulations on your film [the documentary Marc by Sofia].
Marc: Oh, thank you.
Sabrina: I'm such a big Sofia [Coppola] fan. She was telling me when she was making it a year ago and I’ve been so excited to see it.
Marc: Oh, well, I hope you like it when you see it.
Sabrina: Thank you. I’m sure I will.
Marc: But I’m interviewing you today, for Perfect. And where are you?
Sabrina: I’m in California right now. I live in LA and New York.
Marc: My husband lives in LA and New York.
Sabrina: We’re both bicoastal I love that.
Marc: He’s there now. I’m not a big LA fan, so...
Sabrina: I’m not either – until, I guess the snowstorms are happening, and then I really like LA. I’m from Pennsylvania originally, so I definitely prefer New York.
Marc: I can take LA for a couple of days at a time, then I’m done.
Sabrina: It’s a great place to leave. That’s what people say about LA.
Marc: They say a lot of things about LA! You’re headlining Coachella this summer. How’s the preparation for that going?
Sabrina: It’s the most ambitious show I’ve ever done. It’s probably the most time I’ve ever had to actually just sit down and talk about a show as I’m building it. Most of the time, you’re really quickly thrust into physical rehearsals, but this time around we started this process around seven months ago. So it’s been a long journey. It will be very special.
Marc: That's the other thing my husband does: go to Coachella every year.
Sabrina: Does he like it?
Marc: He loves it. He goes every year religiously. Have you played Coachella before?
Sabrina: I’ve played, but not as a headliner. I was playing sunset, around 5.30 pm on the main stage two years ago. That was a really special day for me, the day my song ‘Espresso’ came out. I got to play that for the first time at Coachella. And now, two years later, we’re back. And I think that’s what makes this show feel really, really surreal: getting to celebrate all the songs that have come after it, and just how many lives they’ve lived since they’ve come out.
Marc: What other artists are you into, that you love or like to hear and see?
Sabrina: In my life or at the festival?
Marc: Either. Both!
Sabrina: My favourite favourites are Dolly and Madonna, Stevie Nicks, ABBA, Stevie Wonder. I actually went to see the ABBA Voyage show in London, their hologram show. I was sceptical until I went, and then I actually could not believe that I was watching a hologram show. I felt so electrified by this performance. If you ever get the chance to go, you should. Who are you a fan of?
Marc: Well, I'm a fan of yours to start with. Seriously. My exposure to new people really comes from going to work and being in the studio, because the people that I work with on my team, they’ve got their playlists on or whatever. I’m always like, ‘Who’s this?’ or ‘What's this?’ or ‘Who are they?’ That’s how I get exposed to new music.
Sabrina: I love that. Music finds you.
Marc: My husband, also. I keep talking about my husband, but he’s totally on anyone new, and he’s like, ‘You have to watch this video. You have to hear this person.’
Sabrina: He’s on the pulse?
Marc: Yeah, he’s definitely on the pulse. What were your expectations of pop stardom versus the reality of how it turned out?
Sabrina: When I'm on stage, there’s a button. I think it’s been this way ever since I was young. I started touring when I was 16 years old, and I’ve always felt that there’s a button that turns on when you’re performing. And when you’re singing these songs, whether these songs be your personal stories or songs you wrote about other people, in that moment it really becomes a show. I’ve always been able to differentiate when I get off stage. I am a human being. I’m a 26-year-old girl. I’m hormonal. I’m emotional. I’m dealing with a lot of stuff. For me, it really just has been compartmentalising the moments where I feel like the show must go on and then moments where I can really allow myself to be a little all over the place and allow that to be OK. But the way I see it, I think, versus the way other people see it is different, so I have to remind myself that.
Marc: That performance button is a real thing, isn't it?
Sabrina: For all creatives, I think. The button that I’m talking about isn’t an entirely different human. I think it really is just that you surrender yourself a little bit more to the playfulness and the make-believe of what we’re doing. When I’m on stage, my shows are very, very pop star. There’s a lot of sparkles. There’s a lot of smiling. There's a lot of clapping and dancing, and it feels as silly as it sounds. So I think part of me needs to channel a version of myself that maybe doesn’t take it all so seriously. But then when I’m off stage, I’m a little more locked in. I’m more of the businesswoman. I’m a little bit more of the person that's building it. A carpenter, if you will. I’m definitely figuring out how to keep those pieces of myself separate so that when they collide, it feels a little bit healthier, if that makes sense.
‘I am a human being. I’m a 26-year-old girl. I’m hormonal. I’m emotional. I’m dealing with a lot of stuff.’
Marc: It does. I’m very, very impressed. What’s your relationship with fashion, and how has that changed with your success and stardom?
Sabrina: I’m the shortest person ever. So my initial relationship with fashion was sort of in distress. The day I realised what tailoring is changed my life. In terms of what made me feel the most confident, it was an altered outfit, making it feel like it works really well on my body. I see it truly as art, as something that can make you feel so self-conscious or it can make you feel so incredibly confident that you’re not even aware of what is on your body. I love to play dress up. This shoot was really fun for that reason. We got to really try some looks that I’ve never tried before. Lots of wigs, lots of different make-up for me, lots of shapes that maybe I wouldn’t normally wear. I can just play a little bit more with editorial. It was really fun.
Marc: Who did you do the shoot with? Katie?
Sabrina: Katie styled the shoot, and Bryce Anderson shot this, who I've worked with on so many of my personal shoots. When we shoot stuff for my music, it’s very Sabrina. For this I got to tell him, ‘Just forget that I exist. Anybody but me.’ It was really fun to be able to play with character.
Marc: Bryce modelled in my show a couple of times before he started really taking photography seriously. And Katie and I worked together for years and years. She’s also a very good friend.
Sabrina: Oh, she's the best. The most exciting thing about a shoot is when you can just fully trust and relinquish control, and that’s how I felt.
Marc: I saw a couple of pictures. They looked terrific. I thought they were very cool. I know you did pictures for us, for the Sack Bag a couple of years ago.
Sabrina: I loved that shoot. It was so special. I remember that shoot feeling very significant, just how I felt in my body as a woman at that time.
Marc: How much control do you have over your tours, your video, your album covers?
Sabrina: It’s changed in the last five years. Back in 2021, I signed with Island Records. That was the beginning of everything shifting and me feeling really in control of what I was doing. Everything you just said – the videos, the covers, the merch, the tour especially – it’s all something that clicked one day, and I just realised, ‘Oh my gosh, this is what makes it feel special and uniquely myself. It’s me running the show.’ It’s a lot more hats to wear and a lot more jobs to do, but it’s those little changes that if I was doing it with someone who was directing me on what to do, it wouldn’t feel so personal to me. I work with my sister a lot. She has been my creative partner with pretty much everything I do. We kind of share a brain. She’s just got such an amazing creative eye. She’s a great photographer. She just has incredible taste. We’ve been best friends our whole lives, so she knows me better than anyone.
Marc: It’s like you win the lottery when you have great siblings.
Sabrina: I love collaborating with amazing directors and cinematographers and writers. That is where I get really excited, to be able to bring different worlds together. But she’s the consistent through-line for me.
Marc: Maybe this is a silly question, but how did the song ‘Espresso’ change your life?
Sabrina: It does sound like a funny question. When I think about one thing changing my life, it seems silly. It had to be 20 things before that and 20 things after that. There’s so many moments that lead up to something that resonates with people. Then the moments after are really important as well. I think, honestly, the tour I did in the last year, the Short n’ Sweet tour, I feel like that really, really changed my life. That was my first arena tour. It was the first time anyone got to really live with these songs and hear how they sound out loud. It was really the tour – and the fans. It’s mostly what they’ve done to change my life, which is existing, showing up. I owe it to them.
Marc: What would you say is the importance of a queer audience to pop stars in 2026? As a gay man, I have to ask you that question.
Sabrina: I don’t think pop music would exist if it wasn't for the queer community. I don’t think some of our greatest pop stars would exist if it wasn’t for the queer community. I feel so deeply connected. I mean, some of my greatest friends and collaborators and artists that I know are a part of the queer community or are just so celebratory of it, and I feel like my tour would’ve been a lot less fun if it wasn’t for them. I feel so connected and grateful to be able to have them be a part of my journey, to be a part of the world.
Marc: We need the queer audience, absolutely. Life is much more colourful and fun with them.
Sabrina: Oh my goodness, yes.
Marc: It’s important sometimes to say it. Especially now, you know?
Sabrina: Now more than ever.
‘When I’m off stage, I’m a little more locked in. I’m more of the businesswoman. I’m a little bit more of the person that's building it. A carpenter, if you will.’
Marc: Who and what excites you about the future?
Sabrina: I feel like maybe this is a little bit overstated, but I think there’s a community of young people right now that are really pioneering against the norm – and I mean that in terms of fighting against the things that are happening in our world that are taking away creativity and liberation. If you think about AI versus the people who are doing things practically and still learning how to play instruments, just keeping that art physically alive. I’ll tell you who I love also: that ice skater, Alysa [Liu]. She gives me hope. I’ve felt so inspired by hearing her speak. I think there’s people like that who just feel so articulate, so self-assured and aren’t looking at so many eyes on them as a reason to play it safe but really a reason to just be exactly who they are. She’s a perfect example of that. Obviously, that’s the optimistic answer. There’s definitely a pessimistic version of it, but I think there’s enough hope in young people and that’s really beautiful to watch.
Marc: I agree with you one hundred per cent. She was amazing to watch, just how free she was – it was really inspiring. Who are your icons from the past? We talked about some musical references. Who inspires you outside of the music arena?
Sabrina: When people ask you that question, you forget everybody on earth. I’m more inspired by real people when I’m going out into the world, seeing people who are just living their lives, who have no idea that I am even witnessing them and what they’re doing. The way people dress walking down the street in New York. The way that people are sitting at a park. What they’re doing and who they’re talking to, if they're on the phone or if they’re not on the phone. Because of how digital it’s all become, I’m fighting to see a little bit more, get outside as much as I can .
Marc: People seek connection, and it’s becoming harder… or it’s a different kind of connection when it’s through a screen.
Sabrina: I think now more than ever, at least for myself, I’ve just gotten to a point where especially if I want to be creative, I want to be reminded what the great outdoors looks like. That’s where my energy is currently.
Marc: We have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable in order to really experience joy. And maybe people are just too afraid to show that side, so they forget how nice it is to experience things in real time with real people.
Sabrina: That's why concerts are still one of the most inspiring things that I get to be a part of in my work. When I’m writing, I’m pretty isolated in the studio. Even when you’re on the set of something, you’re in a little bit more of an intimate crew of people. Whereas I feel like these shows are just where you can feel so much energy in a crowd, in a sea of that many people. There are so many stories, and there’s so many different kinds of people that it just feels like you’re really living. I’m really excited about those shows coming up and everything to follow. And I am so grateful that we got to talk. Thank you for doing this.
Marc: Well, thank you.
Sabrina: And thank you for the beautiful clothes I got to wear. I hope you have the best day. And hopefully we get to see each other soon.
Marc: You too. Lots of love to you.
Sabrina Carpenter Interviewed by Marc Jacobs
Intro written by Paul Flynn
Pre‑order your Perfect Sabrina Carpenter Zine today. Ships April.