Lou Doillon Kate Barry

WHEN LOU DOILLON was on her world concert tour this year, she quickly scrapped the idea of lugging around baggage filled with expensive French designer duds and decided to go minimalist.

"In America, I could choose my clothes right before the show by going to the nearest flea market," says the 31-year-old Paris-born model, actress and singer. "It felt like a good omen, to be wearing something from each city."

Lou Doillon's Playlist

Leonard Cohen is my spiritual father, in a way. "Famous Blue Raincoat" is my favorite.

I love Paul McCartney when he sings by himself in "Ram," and the first Wings album from the '70s.

And of course, there's Patti Smith, a huge influence. I also listen to Fiona Apple, Neil Young, Lhasa, Van Morrison, Nick Drake, Sibylle Baier and weird New Yorkers like Jeffrey Lewis, whose style is history-meets-folk music.

I'm obsessed by lyrics more than anything, which is why, for example, I love '80s punk—the Slits, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure, though it has nothing to do with my own style of music. And people like Kate Bush, where you had a real sense of fun.

Today, girls are pretending to be giddy and behind it, they're deadly serious. It looks like everyone's partying but, in fact, they're businesswomen bulldozers who check their contracts 45 times before they play a note.

Best known as the daughter of British singer Jane Birkin and French film director Jacques Doillon, and the half-sister of actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, Ms. Doillon says her surprise hit debut album, "Places," has helped her emerge from the shadows of the "family heritage" "in the most natural way." Her style—a mix of bittersweet, hushed, half-spoken lyrics, laced with mildly plaintive humor and American folk and bluesy harmonies—has been compared to everyone from Cat Power to Patti Smith.

Seeing off the likes of Céline Dion and Françoise Hardy, Ms. Doillon was named Best Female Artist at France's 2013 Victoires de la Musique. We caught up with Ms. Doillon at Monte Carlo's Salle Garnier opera house, where she was performing on the European tour for "Places."

I was completely obsessed about not releasing my songs because of the family heritage

What attracted you to the idea of recording an album?

I always loved singing, but I thought it was like drawing—just something you do in your own little corner to calm yourself down. But when my friend, the French songwriter Étienne Daho, listened to my songs, he was so moved that told me that I had to do a demo, share them with the world. At that point, I was completely obsessed about not releasing them because of the family heritage.

So what ultimately changed your mind about stepping into the musical arena?

After Étienne produced my demo, he very sneakily started playing the songs to people at the record labels, and they were excited. No one had any notion that it was me, since I guess everyone fantasized that I'd have the "family" high-pitched voice rather than a low one. Then a rumor started that Étienne had found an unknown album from the '70s by some obscure dead girl. When he finally said, "well actually, it's Lou", they all thought he was kidding.

Did you ever imagine that you'd win "Best Female Artist" at the Victoires de la Musique?

Absolutely not. Especially because everyone was convinced that the album wasn't going to work, but eight days after the release, it was already a "disque d'or". What was beautiful for me was that we'd done this tiny album with musicians from Paris—it didn't cost me a dime—and that people wanted to hear it. There was no publicity, just through Instagram and Twitter.

When you sing in English, one might mistake you for an American...

I went to Australian, British, French and American schools. And I would listen to "Hancock's Half Hour" on the BBC with my mother and my grandfather. When we were on tour in London, someone asked me, "Where exactly are you from in Oklahoma?"

From left, Leonard Cohen; NYX lipstick; her new album; Lou Doillon with her mother Jane Birkin Rune Hellestad/Corbis; iStock; Eric Robert/Sygma/Corbis

You've been on tour for almost a year. Were you prepared for the huge change in your daily routine?

Luckily, I was raised by a kind of gypsy family, which is why I always get along better with people who worked in circuses than with kids of other actors. My mom was so carefree with us in a beautiful way. We were used to sleeping anywhere.

What were the challenges that came with living on a bus with 11 male band members?

It's like going camping for a year, so you'd better love the people you're with. You brush your teeth in a water bottle. At one point I was actually brushing my hair with a plastic fork because they forgot to bring me the one luxury I asked for—a hairbrush.

Did the constant travel affect your choices in fashion?

During the first months of the tour, I made the mistake of bringing the most beautiful things I had, which you just destroy in a week. I would arrive with Saint Laurent suits, $1,000 jackets, Balmain dresses and high heels, but you don't even have a coat hanger on the bus, so you end up wearing the same jeans for two months.

What were the most essential things that you always kept with you?

I always have lipstick, and use the same lipstick for my cheeks as blush, so that it looks very natural. It's a good trick I learned from my mother. I like NYX or MAC because they have a lot of pigment and they're matte.

What are your plans once you've finished the tour in January?

After a year of being extremely social, I can't wait to lock myself in my house with my son. I want to do music, draw, make things with my hands, and carve wood for my sculptures. I want to read, which is something you can't do on the bus. I need food for the brain so I can finish writing my songs for the next album.