Fashion Trends Popularized By Madonna

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Madonna, known as the "Queen of Pop," burst onto the scene in 1984. Over her almost 40-year career as an entertainer, she's pushed societal boundaries with her fashion statements. She has regularly reinvented herself through her knack of discovering fringe fads and harnessing them as her own — establishing the looks as quintessentially Madonna. Her stylist, Arianne Phillips, told Billboard, "Mostly what Madonna wears is an evolution of what is relevant at the time." 

Madonna helped break barriers during a time of convention, along with other fearless artists before and beside her, opening the doors for younger generations. Before the internet, she used her platform to bolster alternative fashion and culture on the mainstream stage. The effect she's had can be described as a "phenomenon," according to academic Douglas Kellner in his book "Media Culture." Kellner also wrote that "Madonna's constant change of image and identity promoted experimentation and the creation of one's own fashion and style."

In 2016, Madonna was honored with the woman of the year award at Billboard's Women in Music event. Her realistic, yet cynical, acceptance speech recounted her difficulties as she carved a path in the industry. "Thank you for acknowledging my ability to continue my career for 34 years in the face of blatant misogyny, sexism, constant bullying, and relentless abuse," she said.

Pants have long been associated with men and positions of power (via HuffPost). In the early 1800s, women didn't really wear pants; clothing was primarily designed for accentuating curves (via The Saturday Evening Post). In 1863, a law was passed criminalizing being in "a dress not belonging to his or her sex" as part of an anti-indecency campaign (via Arresting Dress). However, throughout history, women defied the rules and stepped into trousers, including film star Marlene Dietrich, to whom Madonna paid homage with her look at her 2013 "MDNA" tour documentary premiere. 

Fast forward to the 1970s, when Bianca Jagger's suits were her signature style. Clothing began shifting back to past ideas of gender in the '80s, but Madonna shook things up in "Express Yourself by donning a black-tailed, double-breasted suit with a monocle, which also revealed her bra — combining the ideas of masculine and feminine sexuality. 

Madonna has continued to turn heads in fashion-forward suits. She wore a white suit bedazzled with "Mrs. Ritchie" across the back to the 2001 premiere of then-husband Guy Ritchie's movie "Snatch," which became another iconic moment. For the 2014 Grammy Awards, Madonna twinned with 8-year-old son David in perfectly fitted Ralph Lauren suits and matching black hats.  For the 2016 Billboard Women in Music Awards, she made an impact in a multicolored two-piece satin suit, with a dazzling pattern of embroidered gold tigers running down the front. We can't wait to see how she'll elevate her suit look next!

Throughout the 20th century, women who wore menswear fashion bucked trends with their rebellious tomboy style. "This gripping style combats convention and deliberately declares independence from the norm," Lizzie Garrett Mettler explained in the book, "Tomboy Style: Beyond the Boundaries of Fashion." She goes on to say, "the rebel wears more than clothing, she wears a statement."

Madonna debuted an understated tomboy look in 1986's "Papa Don't Preach." The video shows the singer wearing cropped short hair, a black leather jacket, dialed-down T-shirts, and trousers. This new look showed a side of Madonna with a punk edge. One of her most controversial songs, the video tells the story of an unwed pregnant girl who decides to keep her baby.

One artist featured in Mettler's "Tomboy Style" book is Debbie Harry (pictured above), the iconic bleach-blonde front woman of the new wave punk band Blondie. "She oozed sex appeal in a T-shirt and wore platinum blonde hair with the toughness of a punk rocker," Mettler wrote. As Madonna rose to the top, Harry was pushed aside for a time, but remains a cult icon. "I came right up against the Madonna thing. Maybe it's my paranoia, but she had a lot of my looks," Harry said to Express. "If you look closely, sometimes there's pictures of her and me that completely overlap." In an interview, Madonna spoke of being inspired by the Blondie front woman, so maybe Harry was onto something.

Over the years, Madonna has showcased her love of fashion icons from bygone eras. In her 1984 music video for "Material Girl," she pays homage to Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" performance in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." In the video, Madonna wears an almost identical pink strapless dress, pink gloves, Monroe's signature hair and makeup, and — of course — diamonds. 

Many other celebrities have taken a page from Monroe's style book. Caroline Young, author of "Classic Hollywood Style," told Time that "her image has been entwined with these on-screen moments where she's wearing amazing costumes that stand out." Many of Monroe's on-screen looks were crafted by costume designer William Travilla, who created the original pink strapless dress.

Madonna showcased another tribute look to Monroe during her performance of "Sooner or Later" at the 1991 Oscars. She wore a Monroe-inspired Bob Mackie gown accessorized with Harry Winston diamonds on her neck and wrists — estimated to be worth an astounding $20 million.

Madonna came under fire in 2021 for another "tribute" to her idol, which many found inappropriate and morbid. Madonna posed in a hotel room for a racy photo shoot with photographer Steven Klein. It was said to be inspired by Bert Stern's "The Last Sitting" photo shoot with Marilyn — which took place six weeks before her death — but many images looked more like the photos from her tragic deathbed scene, per the Mirror.

For decades, designers have been creating designs that have challenged the traditional gendering of fashion. Madonna's inspiration for her 1990 music video "Vogue" stemmed from the Ballroom, or Ball, culture of the '80s, which dates back to the 1920s-1930s Balls in Harlem, where women wore men's clothes and vice versa.  

Rolling Stone explained Ball culture as a way for queer Blacks and Latinos to express themselves in a time when they were "devalued" and "erased." House Balls of the '80s evolved to include competitions like "Vogue" — an improv dance inspired by fashion-model poses (via History). José Gutiérrez and Luis Camacho then turned it into choreography for Madonna's "Vogue" video. Gutiérrez explained, "It's always been around, but it took somebody like Madonna to bring it mainstream, I think." They also choreographed Madonna's Blond Ambition tour, shown in her "Truth or Dare" documentary. 

Pop legend Annie Lennox from the Eurythmics (pictured above) also pushed the boundaries. Lennox has been an androgynous style icon since the 1980s, with her trademark cropped hair and masculine fashions. She experimented with masculine dominatrix style in the Eurythmics' 1986 music video for "Missionary Man." Then two years after "Vogue" in '92, Madonna released the album "Erotica," continuing her exploration of sexuality and gender through her art. In the music video for "Erotica," Madonna role-plays as masked Mistress Dita, who wears a gender-mixing outfit: a sheer black top with an attached suit shirt collar and black necktie, over a black corset.