Gwen Stefani's style philosophy always erred on the side of "because why not?" A ska tomboy at the nascence of her career, Stefani once rocked casual SoCal-girl overalls and a short bob, per The Things. After her band No Doubt's career-making No. 1 single "Don't Speak" achieved massive radio success (per Billboard), the music superstar began spicing things up with bindis and space buns, such as in her famous 1998 MTV Video Music Awards look, via PopSugar. Stefani revealed in a 2019 Vogue video, posted on her Instagram, that ex-boyfriend and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal's mom inspired her stylistic choice. Kanal's mom, who is Indian, stirred Stefani's sartorial imagination with "her bindi and jewelry and these beautiful fabric dresses," the singer said. "So she gave me a lot of bindis, and I was just like hey, what's up, boom."
Gwen Stefani's style philosophy always erred on the side of "because why not?" A ska tomboy at the nascence of her career, Stefani once rocked casual SoCal-girl overalls and a short bob, per The Things. After her band No Doubt's career-making No. 1 single "Don't Speak" achieved massive radio success (per Billboard), the music superstar began spicing things up with bindis and space buns, such as in her famous 1998 MTV Video Music Awards look, via PopSugar. Stefani revealed in a 2019 Vogue video, posted on her Instagram, that ex-boyfriend and No Doubt bassist Tony Kanal's mom inspired her stylistic choice. Kanal's mom, who is Indian, stirred Stefani's sartorial imagination with "her bindi and jewelry and these beautiful fabric dresses," the singer said. "So she gave me a lot of bindis, and I was just like hey, what's up, boom."
Even after playing one of Hollywood's first platinum blonde icons Jean Harlow in the 2004 Oscar-winning biopic, "The Aviator," Stefani kept her personal style fresh and evolving. After winning the 2019 Fashion Icon People's Choice Award, Stefani said in 2021 that husband Blake Shelton was behind her age-defying good looks. "I look back... at pictures of when I first started kissing Blake, and I look the best I've ever looked in my life," Stefani told The Daily Telegraph.
However, as with all fashion risk-takers, some of Stefani's choices did not go over as well as most. Keep reading for some of the singer's most controversial outfits throughout her career.
The bindi was Gwen Stefani's first fashion controversy
Gwen Stefani, while a definitive style icon, has been consistently criticized for one particular perceived offense — that of cultural appropriation through her clothing. She first came under fire for rocking the ubiquitous bindi she wore throughout the 1990s, such as at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards. A Hindu religious symbol worn by South Asian women, the bindi has been a common fashion accessory on the foreheads of many other (non-Hindu) Hollywood A-listers like Natalie Portman and Selena Gomez, per The Cut. Stefani did it first, though, and she did it everywhere — sporting the dot on red carpet events as well as music videos for her band No Doubt's hit singles' music videos like 1995's "Don't Speak" and "Just a Girl."
"I was just so unbelievably fascinated by Indian culture in particular because Tony Kanal [No Doubt' bassist and Stefani's ex] is Indian," Stefani said in a Vogue video per her Instagram, attributing Kanal's mother with gifting her the first bindis. "His mom would come down the stairs... dolled up with the bindi and jewelry and these beautiful fabric dresses with patterns and gold," Stefani described.
While Vice commented in 2018 that Stefani "commercialized the sacred decoration" in the '90s, Stefani's intimate connection with practicing Hindus likely explained the relatively mild backlash (this was also pre-cancel culture discussions). Moreover, by No Doubt's lead single "Ex-Girlfriend" off their 2000 album, "Return of Saturn," Stefani had ditched the forehead adornment completely.
Let's Look at Her Best-Ever Looks:
