Rock and roll icon Stevie Nicks stands out in the canon of great musicians for many reasons—her voice, songwriting, and, if you were to ask Nicks herself, her wardrobe choice. In an October 2020 interview with CBS News, Nicks explained how she believed her on-stage choices separated her from other female superstars like Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus.
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Spoken like a true industry veteran, Nicks’ choices are not only aesthetic. They’re also, and arguably primarily, functional.
The Wardrobe Choice Stevie Nicks Opts For On Stage
Stevie Nicks’ tenure as Fleetwood Mac’s shawled, witchy, tambourine-wielding frontwoman cemented her place as a style icon. With the exception of a few subtle changes in her hair or silhouette choices, Nicks’ on-stage aesthetic has remained consistent since the late 1970s. During her 2020 interview with CBS News, she revealed why, exactly, that is.
“Madonna’s a chameleon, Lady Gaga’s a chameleon, Miley Cyrus is a chameleon; I’m not a chameleon,” Nicks said. “I just wanted a uniform so that I could just go out there and sing and know that my outfit was great and not have to worry about it every night. Cause me, personally, who wants to do that? Go into your dressing room and spend an hour trying to figure out what to wear on stage every night? That is too much work for me.”
Indeed, Nicks’ decades-long career has clued her in on the best ways to save precious time. Plus, Nicks’ approach to clothing offers another layer of consistency to her live performances. “You might not pick a good outfit if you do it [the other] way,” Nicks added. “My way works every night, and it’s perfect.”
How The Rockstars’ Uniforms Started
When Stevie Nicks made the transition from her relatively unknown folk-rock duo, Buckingham Nicks, to fronting what would become one of the most popular rock bands of the 1970s and 80s, she felt her wardrobe had to follow suit. “I didn’t want to look like anyone else — like Janis Joplin or Grace Slick,” Nicks said in a 2011 Harper’s Bazaar interview.
“That’s why I never went to any of the big designers,” she continued. “I drew a stick figure of what I dreamed up and gave it to my costume designer, Margi Kent, who I still work with. It was a handkerchief dress with a jacket, long, droopy chiffon sleeves, and velvet platform boots. I didn’t want to wear high heels. That’s when it started.” Nicks’ new on-stage wardrobe not only set her apart from her contemporaries. It served as a type of armor.
Battling stage fright as Fleetwood Mac performed progressively larger stages, Nicks’ go-to wardrobe helped her stay calm, confident, and somewhat hidden under piles of dark fabric. “I’ll be very, very sexy under 18 pounds of chiffon and lace and velvet,” Nicks said in a 2009 New York Times interview. “And nobody will know who I really am.”
What started as a way for Nicks to protect and empower herself on-stage has since become a widely imitated aesthetic, allowing others to do the same in their daily lives, one black, floor-length dress and fringed shawl at a time.
Photo by MediaPunch/Shutterstock
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