The word ‘icon’ is so easily traded in fashion circles I fear its meaning has been dampened somewhat.
However, there is one titanium force in music, and still very much a pinnacle on designers mood boards, whose unique brand of boho-style in the ‘70s has truly stood the test of time. The Gypsy lady herself: Stevie Nicks.
Sienna Miller’s chunky belts + arm cuffs phase in the early noughties? Florence Welch’s covetable vintage collection? Balenciaga’s billowing dresses this season? Stevie set the standard (a simple google of ‘Stevie Nicks Fashion’ brings up around 16.5 million results and you’ll no doubt find a #FlashbackFriday screenshot of the Fleetwood Mac frontwoman lurking on many a 'gram).
But what maketh the fashion pin-up?
In the mid-late seventies, there was something so effortless; free-spirited; romantic about her sartorial statements onstage during a decade of disco, Abba’s ‘Scandi cool’ moon boots and Bowie’s spray-on leotards. And looking back through the archives, Nicks’ attire has rarely strayed from the ‘soft seventies Cali-girl’ look of that time (save for maybe a perm when the ‘80s called, and decidedly more texture and feathers post-Fleetwood).
She once declared: 'Sexy is keeping yourself mysterious. I'm really an old-fashioned girl, and I think I'm totally sexy.' Stevie’s uniform of choice? Victorian lace, bell sleeves galore and billowing dresses...There’s no doubt about it - come summer, you’re probably referencing the rocker more than you’re aware.
'Stevie wanted something real different to anything that was happening in rock 'n' roll,’ her stylist and costume designer Margi Kent told MTV. ‘She had a sense of the feeling she wanted to project and had an affinity with certain fabrics. She has a very fine sensibility and loves quality fabrics, especially silk chiffons, delicate laces and velvets.
‘I would go on the tours a lot and work with Curry Grant, the lighting director, because if I did special costumes, like for Gold Dust Woman, we wanted to build according to the vibe of the lighting.’
As Stevie Nicks turns 69 today, it seemed as good a time as any to revisit eight cult style moments from the Queen of Rock n' Roll…
Peak Sleeve
Fringe Benefits
High-Rise Jeans
Cherry Dream
The Crochet Hair Net
Top Hat
Dark Romance
The Blanket Coat
