Lorde lands her first major fashion cover this month for the October issue of Elle magazine. The usually dark-clothed singer goes for something new rocking fall pieces by Balmain, Helmut Lang, Lanvin and more. Inside the pages, she gets candid on trying not to let the music industry change her behavior and how she feels to be called an inspiration for some teenage girls.

On people’s misconception of her: 

“A lot of times when people meet me, they’ll definitely try to make me feel young or inexperienced. Like, ‘It’s all taken care of’. Teenagers are such a discerning group of people. They’ll immediately sniff out anything that feels contrived. I’m, like, constantly scanning myself to see if I’m some corporate executive version of a teenager. I’ve developed something of a fearsome reputation. People know that if you talk down to me, I will roll my eyes or whatever.”

“People have told me that I’ve helped them feel confident, like they can say things they want to say. They can talk about feminism in class without people calling them a lesbian. That’s so amazing that I can make someone feel like that.”