Months before she died, Amy Winehouse launched a collection with her favorite designer, Fred Perry.
The clothes were inspired by Amy’s style which she described, after being asked on a red carpet, as “A style, like, what? No, of course not! I just dress like … I’m an old Jewish black man. I just dress like it’s still the ’50s.”
Amy was right, somewhat. She did dress like someone who listened to Chuck Berry in the suburbs. We picture this person on December 31, 1959, cigarette in hand, a cocktail on chill on the minibar, vacuuming and glazing a pineapple glazed ham in petal pushers and flats, waiting for her husband who worked in advertising and who was on his way home with a co-worker listening to Wolfman Jack on the car radio, to come home so they can go bowling.
Her husband’s car was a Buick and it was as big as his wife’s hair. After bowling, they’ll come home and watch the Fonz on Happy Days. But, we digress.
Amy’s style was both borrowed and unique and minimal and exaggerated. The eyeliner running off course, the hair bigger than Divine in a John Waters movie, the clothes? Florida retirement home.
Amy Winehouse was a soul singer who looked to Motown and Stax Records for inspiration. Her trademark beehive, however, came from Coronation Street, the long running British soap opera that captivated England for almost 60 years. In the 1980s UK, where Amy was born and raised, this would have been the show (other than EastEnders) Amy and her folks and most of Britain watched. A favorite and iconic character on Coronation Street was Bet Lynch who sported leopard prints, a beehive and an acerbic wit.
After the break, some more images from Amy’s Fred Perry Collection and the origins of her beehive and make-up.
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Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry.
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Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry.
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Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry.
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Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry.
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Amy Winehouse for Fred Perry.
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Amy Winehouse in Fred Perry.
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Amy Winehouse was a soul singer who looked to Motown and Stax Records for inspiration. In the 1980s, where Amy was born and raised, this would have been the show (other than East Enders) she and her folks would watch. A favorite and iconic character on the show was Bet Lynch who sported leopard prints, a beehive and an acerbic wit.
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The cat eye or winged eye make-up originated in the 1950s with pin-ups. Amy incorporated into to her fashion which was also from the ’50s.
