How Kylie Minogue changed fashion
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Starring as Charlene Robinson in Neighbours alongside Jason Donovan.
At the ARIAs in 1989.
With then-boyfriend Michael Hutchence in 1990.
Sexing it up on the Rhythm of Love cover, 1990.
The fashion experimentation begins with a transparent raincoat in the Better the Devil You Know video.
Kylie in 1995, with ex-boyfriend Mark Gerber.
With Robbie Williams in 1998, and fashion-forward in 2001.
Wearing her legendary hot pants in the video for Spinning Around.
Posing in her Love Kylie lingerie range.
Kylie in 2006, back on the scene after battling cancer and rocking a sassy new pixie hair-do.
Experimenting with hair dye in 2011.
'Perfectly proportioned' Kylie still dazzles on the red carpet in her 40s.
Performing in 2011.
Receiving an honorary degree in 2011.
Being inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2011.
Previous PreviousNext NextIt's a long way from Ramsay Street to global superstar, particularly in high heels, but on Sunday night Kylie Minogue came full circle.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard inducted Minogue into the Aria Hall of Fame, cementing her position as the country's most successful female recording artist of all time.
"I believe it's the first time a Prime Minister has ever done that (given an Aria) and it was lovely compliment" said Minogue.
But really it was much more than that. The leader of the country taking time to attend an awards show puts a highlighter pen through the impact Minogue has had not only on music but on popular culture.
If you left school in the 80s, then chances are that your wardrobe has been influenced by Minogue.
In fact, if you left school in the 90s, the OOs or even if you're leaving next year you've probably been touched too.
Minogue is the first artist in history to have a Number 1 album across four decades. In music terms, that's relevance and reinvention on an extraordinary scale.
"I just wanted to be Olivia Newton John" she said. "I would sing into my hairbrush and dream."
Like Madonna before her and Gaga now, Minogue's fusion of fashion and music has made a huge contribution to the style zeitgeist.
Stylist Nicole Bonython-Hines, who was instrumental in shaping Minogue's early look, said: "Back then, there weren't really any stylists - ! not like there are today.
"Artists turned up to shoot a video with their own clothes and winged it.
"I met Kylie on the set of her Rhythm Of Love album cover. I remember thinking 'Who is this tiny, perfectly proportioned person"?
"Her build and beauty meant that she had the opportunity to take some fashion risks and make them work.
"She was very open - that's one of her gifts - from Day One she's picked her mentors wisely."
In the beginning, Minogue was a product of the Stock, Atkin & Waterman 'Hit Factory' and for a long time she did as the production line instructed.
I asked her if she could pinpoint a song or a video clip where that changed and she felt part of the creative process.
"Better The Devil You Know was the moment. I wasn't in charge but I had a voice. I'd bought some clothes on Kings Road (London) for the video. I saw a new way to express my point of view creatively."
"We collaborated on the Better The Devil You Know film clip" says Bonython-Hines.
"It was really the turning point for her and I think the public saw it. She brought some of her own pieces and was ready to push her look forward.
"I had a see-through raincoat made for her. I remember going to Bunnings to buy the plastic thinking: 'this will either be fantastic or a disaster'."
Unquestionably influenced by her then-relationship with INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, the clip proved to be Minogue's chrysalis moment.
It was her stylistic tipping point and she's been experimenting and reinventing ever since.
Designer Peter Morrissey, who dressed both Minogue and Hutchence, says: "It was amazing to watch her become a woman. She blossomed.
"Kylie began to dress to express. Not impress. These days people are so safe and it's boring. They wear a designer dress to be impressive. Kylie doesn't do that - she always dressed to express herself."
From the Charlene curls to the blonde pixie cut, bubble skirts to hot pants, Minogue has coined some of the bi! ggest an d most copied fashion moments in music history.
Like her songs, little bits of Minogue have been baked into popular culture.
Says Bonython: "Her fashion evolution has pretty much been in tandem with her evolution as a human being. She's moved from sweet, young girl to sexy, confident lady. And she's done it authentically. It's all been real - she just grew up in front of our eyes."
- Sydney Morning Herald
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