Celebrity Style: Lily Allen
July 25th 2009 04:42
She's bold, brash and ballsy, and has well and truly made her mark in the music scene - now British alternative pop queen Lily Allen is taking on the world of fashion. The talented 24-year-old has had her own mini fashion line since 2007, but is now branching out with her own range of jewellery, and is the face of Chanel's Fall 2009 handbag line. Not bad for someone who, less than three years ago, was labelled a "fashion casualty"!
Much of Lily's appeal comes from her down-to-Earth, candid personality - she's the most 'real' female celebrity I've seen in a long time. She gets drunk and belligerent in public, she's struggled with her weight, and she's the first to admit that she's far from perfect: after she insulted various celebrities, from Katy Perry to Kylie Minogue, she later explained that it was the result of her own insecurity: "I felt like 'Oh God, I'm short, fat, ugly and I hate all these people who flaunt their beauty,'" she said in late 2007. In addition, her songs' lyrics are remarkably observant and cynical, and they frequently cut the values of the status quo into tiny little pieces.
Her fashion choices reflect her personality perfectly: they're brave, quirky and often laced with irony. For example, she rocked up to the 2008 Glamour Awards of the Year sporting a bright pink wig and a satin dress which, on first glance, looked perfectly ordinary, but upon closer inspection was covered in cartoons of a decapitated, bleeding Bambi. The fact that she was also drunk at that event garnered her a lot of criticism from the world's media, but as always, she bounced back in no time.
Allen loves wearing dresses, and went through a (thankfully, short-lived) phase of wearing them with chunky sneakers, as we all saw in her 'Smile' music video. She's also a big fan of bling, telling Vogue.com, "I love jewellery, always have done. I feel that it completes an outfit. You can change your whole look just by changing which jewellery you choose to go with what you're wearing."
In 2007 she designed a mini-range of dresses, shoes and accessories for London label New Look, called Lily Loves. The range was an instant hit with Londoners who by then had truly taken to Miss Allen's unusual sartorial style.
As with all fashion risk-takers, she sometimes gets it wrong, and can often appear more than a little strange. On stage her style is sexy and theatrical, and on her days off she's usually wearing something comfy and casual. Sometimes she looks uncharacteristically sedate, and every now and then will blow us away with a stunning red carpet ensemble. Ultimately, Lily's look is extremely varied, and she's always full of fashion surprises - we never know what she'll rock up in next.
In keeping with her new role as an up-and-coming fashion icon, Lily is often spotted in the front row of major fashion shows, and is a favourite of Karl Lagerfeld: the world-famous designer has cited Miss Allen as being one of his muses. And in October this year, she'll appear in a series of advertisements for Chanel, as the face of their Fall 2009 Coco Cocoon line of handbags. Nothing chavvy about that!
Most recently, the young superstar has tried her hand at jewellery design, with her own line set to be launched later this year. The range will simply be called 'Lily Allen' and will feature eclectic pieces with varying themes such as fruit, medallions, flowers, poodles and traffic signs. She told Vogue.com that she's delighted with the new range: "I'm really pleased with all of the designs, we worked hard on getting them exactly how we wanted them from choosing the right chain length and thickness to deciding what should be in gold and what looks better in silver. I do love the animals though - the pandas are fantastic."
While the success of the jewellery line remains to be seen, one thing's for certain: Lily Allen won't be fading from the celebrity spotlight anytime soon. Her unique and catchy music, combined with her lovable personality and fearless fashion choices, will undoubtedly keep her name in lights for many years to come.
The divine Miss Allen
Much of Lily's appeal comes from her down-to-Earth, candid personality - she's the most 'real' female celebrity I've seen in a long time. She gets drunk and belligerent in public, she's struggled with her weight, and she's the first to admit that she's far from perfect: after she insulted various celebrities, from Katy Perry to Kylie Minogue, she later explained that it was the result of her own insecurity: "I felt like 'Oh God, I'm short, fat, ugly and I hate all these people who flaunt their beauty,'" she said in late 2007. In addition, her songs' lyrics are remarkably observant and cynical, and they frequently cut the values of the status quo into tiny little pieces.
Her fashion choices reflect her personality perfectly: they're brave, quirky and often laced with irony. For example, she rocked up to the 2008 Glamour Awards of the Year sporting a bright pink wig and a satin dress which, on first glance, looked perfectly ordinary, but upon closer inspection was covered in cartoons of a decapitated, bleeding Bambi. The fact that she was also drunk at that event garnered her a lot of criticism from the world's media, but as always, she bounced back in no time.
Oh Lily!
Allen loves wearing dresses, and went through a (thankfully, short-lived) phase of wearing them with chunky sneakers, as we all saw in her 'Smile' music video. She's also a big fan of bling, telling Vogue.com, "I love jewellery, always have done. I feel that it completes an outfit. You can change your whole look just by changing which jewellery you choose to go with what you're wearing."
In 2007 she designed a mini-range of dresses, shoes and accessories for London label New Look, called Lily Loves. The range was an instant hit with Londoners who by then had truly taken to Miss Allen's unusual sartorial style.
Dress plus sneakers
A little bit gothic
A selection of the Lily Loves range
As with all fashion risk-takers, she sometimes gets it wrong, and can often appear more than a little strange. On stage her style is sexy and theatrical, and on her days off she's usually wearing something comfy and casual. Sometimes she looks uncharacteristically sedate, and every now and then will blow us away with a stunning red carpet ensemble. Ultimately, Lily's look is extremely varied, and she's always full of fashion surprises - we never know what she'll rock up in next.
Interesting, but... no.
On stage at last month's Glastonbury Festival
Keeping it conservative
Wow.
In keeping with her new role as an up-and-coming fashion icon, Lily is often spotted in the front row of major fashion shows, and is a favourite of Karl Lagerfeld: the world-famous designer has cited Miss Allen as being one of his muses. And in October this year, she'll appear in a series of advertisements for Chanel, as the face of their Fall 2009 Coco Cocoon line of handbags. Nothing chavvy about that!
Front-row with Dita Von Teese and Katy Perry
A behind-the-scenes shot of the upcoming Chanel ad campaign
Most recently, the young superstar has tried her hand at jewellery design, with her own line set to be launched later this year. The range will simply be called 'Lily Allen' and will feature eclectic pieces with varying themes such as fruit, medallions, flowers, poodles and traffic signs. She told Vogue.com that she's delighted with the new range: "I'm really pleased with all of the designs, we worked hard on getting them exactly how we wanted them from choosing the right chain length and thickness to deciding what should be in gold and what looks better in silver. I do love the animals though - the pandas are fantastic."
While the success of the jewellery line remains to be seen, one thing's for certain: Lily Allen won't be fading from the celebrity spotlight anytime soon. Her unique and catchy music, combined with her lovable personality and fearless fashion choices, will undoubtedly keep her name in lights for many years to come.
| 69 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog