Babyface and Gwen’s looks
Two style retrospectives landed in feeds this weekend — one tracing R&B star Babyface’s decades of looks, the other mapping Gwen Stefani’s shift from grunge-era outfits to Old Hollywood references (social snapshots flagged both threads). (x.com) The Babyface post registered small but specific engagement numbers in the briefing, and the Gwen piece was separately highlighted as a clear example of long-term celebrity style evolution. (x.com)
Celebrity style retrospectives drove fresh weekend attention to two artists with long, distinct visual histories: Babyface in tailored menswear and Gwen Stefani in looks that moved from ska-punk to Hollywood glamour. (essence.com) ESSENCE updated its Babyface gallery on April 10, 2024, under the headline “20 Reasons Why Babyface Is A Style Icon,” tying his recent appearances at LaQuan Smith’s show and Givenchy’s Spring/Summer 2024 presentation in Paris to a decades-long image built on sharp suiting and polished stagewear. (essence.com) A separate Gwen Stefani look-back published on April 10, 2024, by RUSSH revisited her best-known outfits ahead of No Doubt’s Coachella reunion set that weekend, tracing a line from mid-1990s crop tops and bindis to later red-carpet gowns and vintage-Hollywood styling cues. (russh.com) The pairing worked because both artists have worn recognizable uniforms for years. Babyface, born Kenneth Edmonds on April 10, 1959, built a public image around formalwear as his songwriting and producing career stretched from The Deele to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. (songhall.org) Stefani’s image changed more visibly because her career changed more visibly. She broke through with No Doubt’s 1995 album *Tragic Kingdom*, then carried her fashion identity into a solo career and the launch of her L.A.M.B. label in 2003, which made her style part of her business as well as her music. (britannica.com) (tura.com) The older Gwen photos still anchor the story. WWD’s 2019 retrospective described her path from “pop-punk Nineties outfits” to fashion designer, while NYLON’s 2024 roundup of 25 standout looks pointed to everything from bubblegum-pink hair in 1999 to Valentino Haute Couture in 2024. (wwd.com) (nylon.com) Stefani has also described that mix of references herself. In comments resurfaced by AOL from a prior interview, she said she liked “mashing time periods together,” a formula that helps explain why coverage of her wardrobe keeps returning to punk details paired with old-screen-star makeup and silhouettes. (aol.com) Babyface’s side of the comparison is quieter but more consistent. ESSENCE framed his fashion appeal less around reinvention than around continuity, arguing that recent runway and front-row appearances fit the same “regal aura” and “killer style instincts” the magazine sees across decades of photos. (essence.com) That is why both retrospectives traveled well on social feeds this weekend: one artist offered a stable signature, the other a visible evolution, and both had enough archival images to make the timeline legible at a glance. (essence.com) (russh.com)
