Gwen Stefani has been rocking cutting-edge styles for more than 20 years.
As the lead singer of No Doubt and later, as a solo artist, Stefani, 50, has worn it all — from punky pink hair and braces to the stunning embellished corset she recently slayed in on "The Voice."
In a new video for Vogue, the singer — who'll receive the 2019 Fashion Icon Award at the People’s Choice Awards next month, breaks down some of her classic looks.
Leopard-print pants and cropped tank (1996)
In the mid-1990s, around the time No Doubt hooked fans with the breakup ballad "Don't Speak," Stefani's toned midriff became as famous as her voice, thanks to her love of cropped tank tops. She paired one with satin leopard-print pants for the band's first appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1996.
"I pretty much only wore tank tops my whole life," Stefani explained. "I don't know why, I just think they look cool. I had to be a little bit tomboy with like, a little bit glamour ... and that was just kind of the vibe for myself, like, what I always followed."
Blue fur bikini top and blue hair (1998)
Two years later, Stefani showed up to the VMAs in a blue fur bikini top with matching blue hair. She paired the top with a quirky black hoop skirt, custom-made by a friend, and chunky sandals.
"Somebody sent me this product that was like this gel you put in your hair and it turns your hair a color, and it was blue, it was like a paste ... Just really kind of inspired by Judy Jetson from 'The Jetsons,' sort of, in this moment."
Pink hair and braces (1999)
Not many stars get famous and then opt to get braces. But Stefani made even metal mouths cool in 1999. Once stardom hit, she was thrilled she could afford orthodontics. "The braces were like me coming home and being like, 'You see this money I got?'" she jokingly recalled.
A fizzled romance prompted her to dye her own hair pink with Manic Panic. "It's so true: if you go through a breakup or a really big change in your life, sometimes you go ahead and change your hair to try to, I don't know, wash whatever those feelings are out of your hair," she shared, adding, "I wanted my hair like cotton candy, light pink ... I ended up with fuchsia pink hair for like a year."
She rocked the braces and the pink hair at the 1999 VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards.
Cropped satin jacket and pearls (2001)
In the early 2000s, Stefani began working with stylist Andrea Lieberman, who she described as "the cool version of me." Lieberman helped the singer further hone her aesthetic. "I wasn't schooled in fashion. I didn't grow up in New York. I didn't even know who Vivienne Westwood was," she recalled.
The two collaborated on Stefani's now-famous look for the 2001 Billboard Music Awards: a bra top, cropped satin jacket, layered pearl necklaces and houndstooth-patterned pants.
The sexy corset from "The Voice" (2019)
"This look is something that I begged for," Stefani explained of the embellished corset and fishnet tights she wore last month on "The Voice." The corset came courtesy of stylists Mariel Haenn and Rob Zangardi of The Blonds. "They just really get who I am," the singer said.
