Good as Hell - The Fashion of Lizzo
By Hannah Schmidt-Rees
As you can probably tell, I’m doing a small mini-series on the iconic fashion of four current musicians. We’re currently half way through, so get ready for two more!
Lizzo has always been an advocate for self-love and size representation since the beginning of her career. She’s remained passionate for media representation, crediting Lane Bryant (clothing adverstisements with plus-size models) to source as an inspiration for her own principles. Coming up to recent fame with her 2019 album Cuz I Love You, Lizzo is showing no sign of slowing down. Styled by Brooke Candy and most recently Marko Monroe, Lizzo’s style is focused on her shape and providing edgy looks for her plus-size figure. It’s common for most her costumes/garments to be made custom for her body shape, but I wouldn’t be complaining if I had things custom-made for me.
She’s never afraid of anything that’s considered only for smaller women. Give Lizzo skin tight bodysuits, leotards and short skirts and she’ll rock it better than anyone else.
““It’s really important for me and the Big Girls to be able to feel comfortable, but to [also] be able to show off our bodies and celebrate our curves on stage. You see how athletic the girls are, and how strong they are, and that’s crucial. We wear these Amazonian, almost dance leotards because we’re giving a full performance.””
Lizzo has worn some of the most iconic looks in the past couple of years. Here are the most notable:
At her 2019 appearance/performance at the Grammy’s, Lizzo wore four different looks, each one as amazing as the last. She started the night on the red carpet in an all-white custom Versace gown hand-embroidered with Swarovski crystals (which took two months to make, might I add). The classic Cher-inspired silhouette paired with the unique panels on the hips to accentuate her figure. The gown was paired with a white faux-fur stole (a reference to Diana Ross) and $2 million worth of jewellery (goals honestly). For her performance, she showcased a custom black sequinned Christian Siriano gown, as well as a neon ZIGMAN bodysuit with Stuart Weitzman boots (also covered with Swarovski crystals). She ended the night in a truly amazing custom Versace sheer gown, with crystal fringe. #iconic.
For the 2019 American Music Awards, Lizzo stepped onto the red carpet in a ruffled orange Valentino dress with a miniature white Valentino purse, the latter becoming the iconic meme that truly stole the stage.
““I think she’s the only woman who can pull off these sort of looks. One, her message is so strong. Two, we’re not used to seeing someone her body shape carry clothes with such confidence. She’s confident, and style is about confidence.” ”
In Lizzo’s case, it’s the case where the confidence sells the clothing. Yes, the clothing is truly amazing, but its her confidence that really puts her into icon status. It’s so common for the the fashion industry to be focused on the smaller sizes, it’s very common couture brands to not even cater to celebrities of larger sizes. So, its incredibly refreshing for a plus-size woman fully embracing her figure and having the confidence to inspire brands to work with her to create these iconic looks. It’s about time that luxury and couture brands actually work with plus-size individuals.
She’s such a role model for the younger generations. Much like how the Lane Bryant advertisements inspired Lizzo, Lizzo in turn will become an inspiration for those who are plus-sized, or those who are struggling with their self-image. She’s fighting against fatphobia by just be being who she is, and her fashion is simply helping her with her goal and giving her the attention and coverage she deserves.
Representation matters. Seeing a plus-size woman of colour completely killing on and off the stage has so much more of an impact than we all think. I can’t wait to see what she does and what she wears next.
I’d also like to make a small note; in this mini-series, Lizzo is the only artist that combines the message between her music and her fashion. Her music creates this message of; “I am who I am and I you don’t like it, too bad.” which is such a crucial message and creates some amazing tunes. Lizzo is such a clear case of using fashion to support the core of her music, in a highly visual way that broaden the appeal of her message to a wider audience, even to those who just like fashion. And I love that.
Here we go again, here’s some of my favourite looks:
