At the start of the millennium, No Doubt’s lead singer Gwen Stefani was reaching new levels of fame as a solo artist — and for the first time, her fashion sense was being celebrated as much as her music. The ultimate style outlier of the late ’90s to the early Noughties, her discordant mix of genres and ideas — especially her 1998 MTV VMAs red-carpet look, complete with diamanté face jewels, pastel-blue hair and matching fuzzy bikini top — defined the alt-girl attitude of the era.
Read more: On Beauty: Gwen Stefani
The “Don’t Speak” singer subverted concepts of femininity and defined the sexy-tomboy aesthetic, with a revolving wardrobe of baggy trousers, cropped tops and bold makeup. Her looks brought together ’80s punk and old Hollywood glamour, with some ska and hip-hop thrown in for good measure. Stefani never followed trends; she started them.
And while she’s a popular source of inspiration for Generation Z and TikTok’s e-girls, the Grammy-award winning artist is more than just a nostalgic throwback. Twenty years on, it’s her fashion philosophy that has endured. Her style is daring, unapologetic and goes against the grain — like in 1999, when she proudly bared her orthodontic braces at the opening of the Christian Dior Boutique in New York.
As Stefani is given this year’s Fashion Icon Award at the 2019 People’s Choice Awards, here are our favourites among her ’90s and Noughties looks.
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Arriving at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards, the No Doubt frontwoman served classic ’90s style – bare midriff and midi-skirt included. The textured, crinkled skirt and bold yellow top give it that Stefani spin.
Rave culture played a big part in Stefani’s style. At the 1998 Grammy Awards, she brought cyber-goth to the red carpet with a silk dip-dye skirt and mesh maroon top, plus futuristic braids.
It was a few years before No Doubt released their fourth studio album, Return of Saturn (2000), but Stefani was already wearing out-of-this-world looks. At the 1998 MTV VMAs, she rocked a furry blue bikini and icy space buns.
This time around, Stefani elevated her cyber-goth look in 1999 at the Hollywood premiere of Go, with her feathered, blonde Farrah Fawcett hairstyle, dip-dyed midnight blue.
At the 1999 opening of the Christian Dior Boutique in New York, the now-iconic blonde rocked hot-pink hair, courtesy of Manic Panic dye. Proving all it takes to lift full-look black is the right pop of colour.
Stefani wore a snow-leopard sequin dress and matched her fuchsia hair to her boots at Vivienne Westwood’s autumn/winter show at New York Fashion Week in 2000. She completed the look with oversized hoops, vampy make-up and pencil-thin eyebrows.
For the 2001 Grammy Awards, Stefani was a Hollywood pin-up in a strapless red dress. Her delicate gloves were perfectly juxtaposed with rock ’n’ roll fishnet stockings.
Stefani’s punk-rock roots were front and centre at the 2001 Fox Billboard Music Awards, in houndstooth trousers paired with a cropped moto jacket. It’s the abundance of accessories that make it signature Stefani.
At the 2001 VH1 Music Awards, Stefani married punk and hip-hop, pairing cropped trousers with a cut-out bodysuit. The details? A studded chain belt and the title of her track, “Hey Baby”, emblazoned in jewels on her hip.
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