IN CONVERSATION WITH THE ORIGINAL REBEL

Elle-UK October, 2013
by Chrissy Iley
Elle-UK is on newsstands now.

Fashion is having a rebel moment. But long before maverick icons Grace Jones in black rubber, Courtney Love in ripped tights and lace, and Chrissie Hynde who cut her own hair and never removed her leather jacket, there was Stevie Nicks.  ‘My whole life is a rebellious moment,’ she laughs – a long, throaty, mocking-the-world-laugh.

The look she invented for herself in the early Seventies was part Dickensian waif in raggedy chiffon and heavy boots, party romantic gypsy. At first, this came from her own wardrobe, but she later developed costumes with Californian designer Margi Kent. They made her look as if she inhabited an imaginary world of birds of paradise and fairies, but they were highly practical on stage: a leotard here, a floaty skirt and fringed scarf there.  It is a look that still works for her now – deliberately so. ‘I planned to still be doing this when I’m 60.  I wanted to make sure that what I wore then, I could wear at any age,’ she says.  I suggest she should have started her own label. ‘I thought of doing a fashion line, but there would be a lot of work involved.  I don’t have time.’ It’s a shame, as I’d certainly shop there.  My entire wardrobe is stuffed with tops named Stevie.  The black Stevie, the grey Stevie, the shimmery Stevie.

At 65, she’s still rocking the Stevie, too-today’s is wispy and black. I am in something almost identical, which she admires, examining the label so she can buy the same.  This makes me very happy.  I have always loved Stevie – her look, mystical fairy meets ethereal temptress; her voice raw, rippled with emotion.  I love her fearlessness and I love the drama of her falling in love with so many rock stars. Continue reading Stevie Nicks: The Original Rebel ‘My whole life is a rebellious moment,’ she laughs. →