“Fashion is not an art, it's the art of living”- Marc Jacobs.
Marc talks about keeping your eyes—and mind—open to inspiration, no matter where you find it. Pursue what seduces you visually—take the risks, be the fearless, the dynamic nature of the fashion world is just like the evolving process of inspiration.
Consequently, we're going to rewind the fashion evolution cycle and revisit the past to create something new!
1. The Princess Diana
We all know her style to be 'way ahead of her time', she's retro-chic, vintage-modern, bold-yet-subtle.
Remember the camel-toe chaos from cycling shorts — yet we all wanted to get in on the hype — her majesty rocked neon orange versions during her fashion reign in 1995.
Although a 'little black dress' is universal (Queue 4th verse of Love Robbery by Kalin & Myles), Princess Diana reinvented this innocent, basic perception into what is now called 'Revenge Dress' soon after Prince Charles had confessed to being unfaithful to her at the drop of a hat.
She played the best way to give someone the cold shoulder— see what I did there?
Click here for a short tribute showcasing her inner beauty.
2. RuPaul
This supermodel drags our eyes with him every time, carrying poise, magnificence, and fire! He's always dressed to the nines, and he knows it.
The most important part of finding your style niche is: knowing that you look great and feel great — and it isn't something that we can decide to feel. It's something that happens through the entire process.
Currently, he is shooting the newest season of 'RuPaul's Drag Race' — watching it is truly inspiring — my sense of awe for drag queens expanded immensely. I just couldn't move on after I saw his Met Gala look, like a paralyzing sort of feeling in that deep fuchsia. I think he was going for an 'Urban Tigress'.
I LOVE his prominent theme of poofy hair and poofy clothes and if you're REALLY a fan you would know that the blonde, curly wig is his favorite.
How to get the Rupaul look: long suede gloves, dresses with thigh splits, and corsets.
“If you can’t love yourself how in the [censored] are you gonna love somebody else?” — Rupaul
3. Priyanka Chopra
'I buy my own diamonds. When a guy comes into my life it will not be for diamonds.' — [censored] right, former Miss World 2000!
This Indian actress's style is unapologetically sexy, satiny, and gleamy: a Ralph Lauren velvet gown with an intricate, gold chain head piece at the Met Gala (a real crowning moment); a plunging rich ebony gown worn at 2019 Oscars' After Party; a pastel skirt suit and clear heals (a total 90s moment).
Chopra shares a styler (Mimi Cuttrell) with Gigi Hadid — another jaw-dropping fashion icon — who pulled together her 'Baywatch' leather Ralph Lauren dress, with the lace-up boots.
Knowing her from Hollywood is one thing, watching her since you were little in 3-hour-long Bollywood movies and now seeing her audience expand by the day is heart-warming as [censored].
4. Harry Styles
Styles has made their solid place onto this list, pulling off an immaculate, fantasy-like gown for the cover of Vogue made by Gucci's Alessandro Michele. Here, his message is what a 'manly man' is about.
Our January issue addresses this substantial moment of history in 'Shutting out Toxic Masculinity through Skirts and Solidarity'-By Neha Bimal. On anyone else, that duck-egg skirt would look awful, but he has the panache to pull it off.
My favorite ensemble of Styles' is his dashing white suit and pink frames worn to his first Gucci show, accessorized with a raffia (palm-tree-like pattern) clutch. He's up cycled 70s flared trousers creating an outfit with zhuzh and purpose.
5. Blair Waldorf
The only word that comes to mind when I think of Blair's style is glitzy.
Ergo, I asked a few of my fellow 'Gossip Girl' fans for their descriptions: 'Preppy and classy', 'Always on fleek', 'Designer', you get the nature. In the show, Blair's mother is a fashion designer, and she has a lavish, privileged lifestyle.
Despite her manipulative, overambitious manner she is revealed to have a sensitive side when she defends someone she cares about. This, I think, mirrors in her fashion by her sophisticated, structured dresses yet with fun details like ruffles and lace.
Honestly, one of my favorite things about her is her bags — she does not come to play. From the way she matches them with her shoes to the fierceness of her bold color statements; she's one heck of a woman.
Like I said in my intro: Be the fearless, take the risks. Talking about mean girls: Mean Girls is out on Netflix in the UK this week, keep an eye out (for a limited time only).
6. Anna Wintour
World-renowned style icon and Editer-in-Chief for Vogue, she wears 'accomplished' to a T — also want to add that I am a whale of a follower since last year & her masterclass on Masterclass.com about Leadership and creativity is immensely informative.
I feel the need to be her advocate! She radiates charisma but at the same time professionalism; two forces not to be reckoned with.
I can't imagine Vogue without her substantial impact — she's been given the name ''Nuclear Wintour''. She is literally a devil that wears Prada — see my allusion.
My favorite looks of hers is:
Because:
1) Red dresses 20 years ago were a red flag, and she made it a flag on fire.
2) 'Beauty in Chaos' moment
3) Freshly cut, the bold colors are satisfying on that grass green giving it a ''Spring'' aesthetic.
4) I'd never put Anna Wintour down as a fan of sparkle, but here she is in the '90s proving otherwise.
7. Billie Eilish
This 19-year-old is the 30th most followed person on Instagram starting from when she first gained popularity in 2015 when she uploaded the song 'Ocean Eyes' to Sound Cloud. Additionally, Eilish is the 26th-highest-certified artist of the digital singles' era, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
You could say you've never heard of Billie Eilish, but I won't believe you.
Her outfits are 'body-obscuring', 'cozy-girl chic' and include a large abundance of Louis Vuitton. I think her style is over-sized edginess because you literally can hear her outfits before you see her, her outfits announce themselves (not that I've gotten close enough to Eilish to know, but her cargo jackets look crunchy enough to do so).
Here are some of her most popular looks:
How can we be inspired by her?
The majority of us can't buy Louis Vuitton (shocker), or have equipment to dye our hair slime green (wish I was Brad Mondo sometimes), accordingly a compromise is typing “Y2K sunglasses” in on Amazon.com, which I have to admit is “what you pay for is what you get” quality.
Also, if you really want to be *different* ~ insert Debby Ryan face ~ try custom Air Force 1s on Etsy.com, you may even be able to customize Louis Vuitton labels like Eilish's onto some sneakers.
8. The Cher
Cher: Can't Her Euphoria Rest. How do we even start to be inspired by her?
Her aura is captured through the spectacles of paparazzi in these photos but I want to believe she's like a God in real life. Alexa Demie really reminds me of an ''Instagram model'' version of her.
She's on the frontline with Christina Aguilera, Fergie, and Gwen Stefani, featuring in 'Burlesque' with Aguilera — which is a musical about a small-town girl making her way into the city to chase her dreams of becoming a star, it's a renowned production arguably because of Cher —aside: my DMs are open we can totally discuss this. It's funny because an 'aside' is a form of speech in theater, where the character talks off-stage to the audience, like a monologue that the other actors/actresses don't acknowledge.
Let's look through my favorite ensembles of hers:
1) 1970s a Native-American inspired two-piece
2)1988 60th Annual Academy Awards
3)1970s. A cutout gown for a portrait session during 'The Sonny and Cher Show' years
4)1973 Academy Awards
All outfits designed by Bob Mackie, the original designs are inspiring:
Hope this article was useful in finding the right direction on your fashion compass.
If you got to this point: Congratulations, a forehead kissie from the UK.
Finding inspiration is probably the most important part of the process or I would say it's the most important catalyst in the process. Explore your genuine interests; you can get inspiration from everything.
