Daphne Guinness makes the transition from fashion to music with new album

Fashion muse and cultural icon the Hon. Daphne Guinness is taking her artistic talents in a new direction with the launch of her debut music album.

The Anglo-Irish heiress, designer, film producer and artist has unveiled the video for the record's first single "The Long Now," shot in black and white on the streets of Manhattan by the visual artist Luca Pizzaroni. Her album "Optimist in Black" will be released on May 27.

Guinness, 48, styled herself for the clip, in which she sports a dramatic ensemble of sequinned trousers, blazer and tall top hat, complimented by a dark glossy lip and her signature cat eyes. She told AnOther Magazine: "We took to the streets of Manhattan and just did it! Luca just totally got it, he knew exactly what I wanted. And, well, the frocks and makeup all came together in a few hours."

The star worked with legendary David Bowie producer Tony Visconti on the album, which is inspired by her musical influences from the 1960s and 1970s.

Known for her role as muse to her good friends Karl Lagerfeld, Philip Treacy and the late Alexander McQueen, Guinness's fashion credits include the curating of a major 2011 exhibition "Daphne Guinness" at the Fashion Institute of Technology, modelling for Tom Ford and a collaboration with MAC Cosmetics, among others. She can currently be seen gracing the cover of V Magazine alongside Lady Gaga in homage to Alexander McQueen.

Guinness is famous for her signature theatrical style, blending bold contemporary pieces with gentrified and dramatic statement styles, coupled with Cruella-esque hair and lashings of eyeliner. She is a prolific collector of haute couture, and famously bought the entire wardrobe of her late close friend, the fashion editor Isabella Blow, following her death in 2007, to save it from auction. The collection was instead displayed at Central Saint Martins.