I’m a big fan of vintage, and I love the way Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) mixes different looks from different eras, often combining vintage and new stuff in the one look. Once I saw her with ’40s style rolls in her hair, but then there was a mohican at the back. It shows that she is not afraid to do mad things with her style.
She mixes really cool prints, for example tweed and tartan, and makes it work well. Only Gwen can wear a simple black outfit and make it her own, often by adding massive Chloe sunglasses. I’ve seen her wear some really interesting accessories – belts, mittens, hats.
In saying that, Gwen can sometimes look conservative, but the great thing is that her record company have given her the freedom to be what she wants. When I met with my record company first, we agreed that we did not want a safe, conservative look to start off with. Gwen has definitely been an influence in this respect. I love vintage clothes… belts are my thing, especially ’80s belts with tacky jewels and stuff like that.
I’m not a fan of the high street, I’d rather mix some antique clothes with some leather or a pair of jeans. I wore this brilliant coat by a designer called Mark O’Neill to the Meteor Awards: it was a wine coat with a big hoop-style belt. Another designer I really admire is Padraic Sweeney – I wore this dress to a launch in LA, and it had ‘punk’ written on the front. A few weeks later, I was Pink with exactly the same dress!
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My music has been mainly influenced by Chrissie Hynde… she was one of the first female artists to hold a guitar the right way, like a guy! Her look was not particularly feminine, but really sexy and strong. She often wore hanging T-shirts and tight jeans, with her hair in her face. The point is that she seemed to make no effort, but the look made maximum impact.
I love her dark eyes, pale skin and pale lips, and it’s a look that I really like myself. For whatever reason, it just works. I love the whole ’80s rock/Rainbow Room scene, and Chrissie Hynde’s makeup was totally ‘biker chick’, and reminds me of that great era.
