Lana Del Rey - Lust for Life

An essay on the music, mythology and cultural influence of Lana Del Rey, tracing the first decade of a career that helped reshape modern pop. Since her polarising debut in 2011, she has inspired debate and devotion in equal measure.

Called an industry plant, an anti-feminist and a genius, Lana Del Rey has long moved against the grain of the zeitgeist while somehow defining it. A hopeless romantic in the girl-boss 2010s and the patron saint of yearning in the irony-pilled 2020s, her impact is hard to miss.

Emma Garland is a culture writer and editor based in London, UK. Her work has appeared in VICE, Esquire, Dazed, Rolling Stone, The Guardian and British Vogue, among other publications.