• February 16, 2004
• Vol. 61
• No. 6

Frock'n'roll

No Doubt's Gwen Stefani Goes Solo—as a Designer

Before Rock Steady, before the Grammys and the marriage to Gavin Rossdale and the platinum hair and the post-punk glam garb and before, even, No Doubt, there was little Gwen Stefani, teenybopper, sitting in her room in Anaheim, Calif., making her own cool clothes. "Everyone knew not to walk in my room without shoes on," she says, " 'cause of the pins." Twenty years later she's at it again: Like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs before her, the singer is putting out a line of clothes, called L.A.M.B. (the name of a late, lamented dog, it also stands, she says, for "Love Angel Music Baby"). "I'm literally designing for myself," says Stefani. "I get to wear the clothes and enjoy my little dream come true."

WRITE ON WHITE
Twill pants, $138, Henri Bendel, and wrap vest, $138, Atrium
Stefani lined her top with lyrics: "They're written off the top of my head. I wrote the story of when I got my dog. It's the story of L.A.M.B."

TO THE TOPS
Halter, $129; Henri Bendel, 800-423-6335
Stefani (right, in 2001) had the inspirations; codesigner Annie Younger provided expertise: "She knows the ropes of putting together a collection."

GLAMOR GIRL
Silk yoke skirt, $189; Nordstrom, 800-285-5800
"I love to mix the 'homegirl' look with Hollywood glamor," says Stefani (right, in a retro dress from her closet). Between releasing a No Doubt greatest-hits CD and working on a side project album, she played '30s blonde bombshell Jean Harlow in The Aviator. If that's not enough, "I'd love to do a musical."

SUITING HERSELF
Stretch canvas blazer, $265; Atrium, 212-473-9200
If the cut seems demanding, that's because the slender diva provided the sample size. "I had everything fitted to my body."

BOTTOM LINE
Denim pants, $295; Available from L.A.M.B., 212-343-2988
She credits the "bum flap" to British designer Vivienne Westwood. "It's that kind of punk-rock thing," says Stefani. "I adopted it onstage [left] and I just think it looks cute."

TANKS A LOT
Logo cotton tank, $40; Saks Fifth Avenue, 877-551-7257
"One of the classic things I wear over and over," says Stefani (in an early sample, below, in L.A. in 2002).

FASHION MOMENTS
HER WEDDING
The gown she wore to marry Bush frontman Gavin Ross-dale in 2002 was a tailor-made Dior by John Galliano. "It was so gorgeous. This is one of my favorite dresses."

GOLDEN GLOBES
Her vintage Valentino "had an Audrey Hepburn vibe with a nod to Jackie O—but a bit of Judy Jetson too."