Gwen Stefani’s own brand of sexy-cool has made her a style icon. With her first solo album and a line of clothes she’s designing herself, Stefani races into the future. Here, the songstress talks about staying true to herself through the firestorm of fame, her hope for a baby, and the real reason she wears those big, baggy jeans. By Susan Swimmer.

After years of fronting the Grammy-award-winning band No Doubt, Gwen Stefani decided it was time to branch out. She’s “on fire right now,” and who can argue? Her first solo album, a hip-hop inspired dance fest called Love. Angel. Music. Baby, was released in November 2004 and has already gone platinum; she’s just completed a European tour; the clothing line she designs, called L.A.M.B for short, is wildly successful; and a line of accessories and T-shirts called Harajuku Lovers – directly tied to her album – is set to launch this fall. It’s no wonder Stefani’s quirky sense of cool is now the backbone of her very own fashion empire – her sexy-sweet, gender-bending looks have inspired everyone from mall rats to rap moguls, changing the way the world thinks about style. For Stefani, life doesn’t imitate art, her life is her art.

Girly Grunge

By her own admission, Stefani’s look is an ever-changing obsession that started long before she made it to the top of the charts. “Growing up in Anaheim, CA, I always made my own clothes,” she says. “In the beginning I’d go to thrift stores, or places like The Wet Seal and Contempo Casuals, and try to find something weird. Then I’d take it home and remake it. I had a sewing machine in my room; it was the danger zone. It was, like, pins and needles everywhere.”

Stefani’s brand of girlish grunge developed a small, cult-like following among the Gen X-ers who loved Ska music. “My girlfriend and I went to every single Scars and JC Penney’s and bought out every single child’s extra-large T-shirt and tank top. We printed pink No Doubt logos on them and sold them at our concerts.” Stefani paired her T-shirt with super-baggy pants culled from the boys’ section of thrift stores, “because I never really liked my legs or butt,” and her fans went wild. By the time the band started to make it nationally, there were legions of Gwen-itators.

Searching for… Something

Looking at Stefani now, in the studio for Marie Claire’s cover shoot, it’s hard to believe it all started with something so homespun. She is surrounded by racks and racks of brightly patterned couture clothing, and her trademark platinum hair cascades in curls halfway down her back. Stefani wears big, baggy jeans, torn and faded to perfection, and neon-green bra straps peek out from underneath a ribbed white tank. As our talk turns to her career, Stefani’s near-encyclopedic memory of every look worn, every lyric sung, and every concert played, is scary.

I flash Stefani a photograph of herself with fuchsia hair, circa 2000, and her face falls. “My boyfriend and I had just broken up,” she says of the time she and now-husband Gavin Rossdale almost called it quits. “You can tell by my style that I was searching so hard. I was 29, and I was like, Fuck it, I’m going to dye my hair pink. And I had braces, the one thin I bought when I got rich.”

Stefani admits the drastic look wasn’t just about a breakup. After two wildly successful albums, expectations were high for No Doubt to hit again. “It was a really hard time for me,” she says now. “I thought, I gotta be someone, I gotta live up to who I want to be.” It was during this time that Stefani wrote some of her best lyrics. “I really define myself as a songwriter. It’s pure torture, but it’s magic when it happens. When I realized I could write songs, that’s when I discovered myself. Before that, I didn’t feel I was good at anything. I’m a very different girl now than I used to be.”

The Bindi Boom

Stefani says the girl she used to be had no direction. “I had a hard time learning in school. I didn’t know what I was going to do,” she says. She was taking art classes at a local community college, toying with the idea of working as a makeup artist, when the band got offered a European tour. Performing gave Stefani an outlet for the visual experimentation she loved – whatever inspired her got worked into her wardrobe – and she had an innate knack for clashing styles. “I went out with [No Doubt bassist] Tony Kanal for eight years. He’s Indian, and I grew up watching his mom. She’d get all made up, with her sari and her jewels on, and I thought she was so glamorous. I bought those stick-on earrings and started wearing them on my forehead as bindis.” When Stefani wore one in the “Just a Girl” video paired with sporty workout wear, it typified her fashion-blender sensibilities.

Girl Power

No Doubt’s popularity grew exponentially with each successive release, and Stefani rode the wave of huge sales and glowing reviews. When they released Rock Steady, their fifth album, Stefani says it was one of the best times in her life. “Our egos were gone,” she says of her bandmates. “We were just so in love with each other and so proud of the album. It was like, ‘This is crazy, how’d we get so far?’ ”

Stefani felt strong and confident, and the look she honed for the tour was a sort of edgy, sexy, urban chic. “I was inspired by a trip to Jamaica,” Stefani says of the mesh top she wore under a barely there bikini top in 2001. “I wore grafitti pants that looked like a mock-up of the album cover artwork, and I had just done this Pussycat Dolls [burlesque] show with these big ponytails, and I was like, I wanna do ponytails.” Stefani’s body, which she admits takes a lot of work to maintain, was ab-fab. “Having to work out sucks, but once you get me on the treadmill I’m happy,” she says. “I fight getting there, like everybody. It’s always been something I have to work and earn.”

Dream Dress

In 2002, Stefani married long-time love Rossdale ina traditional ceremony in London. “That was one of my best looks ever,” Stefani gushes. “I felt very beautiful. John Galliano did my gown. I talked to him on the phone and showed him pictures of things I liked. He sent drawings over, and the bottom of the dress was all pink. I was like, Is that a shadow, or is that really what he’s going to do? I never told him to make it pink.”

Stefani’s workload has been nonstop ever since the nuptials, and she credits her husband for “balancing me and reeling me in.” With a schedule like hers, it can’t be easy. “A great day for me is not getting out of bed,” she allows. “I like to see how many snack I can eat there, how many crumbs I can drop, and how many really bad TV shows I can watch. I also like the Discovery Channel, and shows about makeovers or babies being born.”

Clearly, motherhood is on her mind, and at 35, Stefani wrestles with the possibility of soon or never. “I’ve always wanted to be a mother,” she says. “I was hanging out with my nephew the other day, and he’s like a frickin’ Twinkie he’s so delicious. But it’s kind of not up to me. I’ve been on this journey, and I don’t want to be too greedy about what’s going to come next. I’ll be really happy when it happens.”

You Know You’ve Arrived When…

In 2003 No Doubt was tapped to perform at the Super Bowl, an honor she calls one of the best moments in her life. What’s more, Stefani shared the stage with Sting, whom she had long adored. “I actually met him for the first time when I was 16,” she says. “My dad worked for Yamaha motorcycles, and he got me backstage after one of the Police’s concerts. I was really fat and puberty-stricken, and my dad was like, ‘ Ask him for an autograph.’ So I did, and he was really mean. But I still loved him.” Stefani laughs at the memory. “When I met Sting years later, I told him that story, and he was like, ‘Oh man, I was such a dick back then,’ ” she says. “But he’s such a great guy.”

Stefani’s skyrocketing status opened unlikely doors, including Hollywood’s Golden Globe ceremony in 2004. “I felt very much out of my element there.I wore a very simple vintage Valentino gown, with my hair up in a French twist. The whole thing was inspired by Hitchcock’s Rear Window. I felt so sophisticated. The press kind of worked me over for that look, but then a year later they said they like it. Whatever.”

Stefani has learned to live with the bad reviews. It’s not like it ever discourages me from doing something I want to do,” she says. “I really don’t care what people say. If I followed what people said I should do, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

East Meets West

Stefani’s most recent style incarnation – sporty Lolita meets French maid – is actually her own take on a trend she saw in Tokyo’s Harajuku neighborhood. “I was really inspired by the kids there,” she says. “They were all about self-expression through fashion, and this whole ping-pong match between Eastern and Western and how we steal each other’s ideas.”

Stefani says the idea of adding four Japanese backup dancers to her show came to her in a dream. Studying a 2005 red-carpet picture of herself with the girls, Stefani is loving the poufy crinoline skirts paired with neon knee pads that pop off the page. I pull out one last photo. It’s a picture of a brunette Stefani wearing almost the exact same crinoline skirt, circa 1989. “Do you see that?” she squeals. “It’s like the same look for 20 years. That’s so crazy! I feel like I’ve come full circle.” And with that, Stefani disappears through the racks of clothes.

With the Super Bowl and then later with the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame was it a dream for you to get to play with Sting?

Gwen: Yes, that was a dream. Actually, the Hall of Fame was more like a nightmare because I’m not a public speaker, that’s not what I do. It’s one thing to get up in front of people and sing, it is something else to get in front of Elvis Costello, Elton John, The Clash, The Police, Ric Ocasek and all these other amazing artists and speak. I had to write a speech which is not something I do very well. I literally got a D in speech in college, I nearly failed. So it’s not my thing. I was really nervous about speaking, I didn’t want to but Sting asked me. In my heart, I wanted to do good but I didn’t understand why they choose me. I was really nervous. It turned out ok, but I haven’t watched it and I don’t think I ever will. It was really amazing to be a part of that night. Sting is a really cool person and we had a lot of fun at the Super Bowl. Walking down that catwalk towards him singing “Message In A Bottle” was such a surreal moment in my life, like a dream. The Police were a huge influence on me, they were one of my first concerts. I really respect and really love their music.

So did you guys have a say in playing with Sting at the Super Bowl?
It was one of those things where they said “we want you guys to play the Super Bowl and we want you to do “Just A Girl” and we want you to do “Message In A Bottle” with Sting. It was suggested to us. It was a “do you want to do it or not” kind of thing.

So you guys would never want to turn something like that down right?
It seemed like a good idea to me. It is really fun to be at a phase in our career where we can play a song like “Just A Girl,” it was such a staple song for us but it’s so old now. Do you know what I mean?

Well, they play it on flashback lunch on KROQ sometimes if you’re lucky
It’s so weird. I think about a year ago we would of never wanted to play “Just A Girl” but for some reason it just felt right – people like that song, it would be exciting and amongst all of the sports of the day it was a good statement for me personally, you know “just a girl.” It was a really incredible feeling to be playing for so many people at such a big event and with Sting. The Hall Of Fame, that was really scary. I felt honored to be asked to do it and meet the band because I never met the other guys. The night before I went over to Sting’s house for a dinner party with everybody that ever worked with them over the years. They had a really tight knit family of people that they worked with and they were all there, everybody was making speeches and it was really cool to be involved. That made me even more nervous. (laughs)

Do you guys have any plans for shows or events for the rest of 2003?
Well, we were supposed finish things up in December of last year. Then they said “do you want to do the Super Bowl?” and then they said “you guys are up for a Grammy do you want to play?” Those were two extra things that we were not planning on doing which were huge. So much work went into both of them. Then we all just decided that it’s been 16 years, we had such an incredible journey on this last record and since we’ve never taken a break in 16 years we decided to take one. We’ve always been working towards something or in the middle of something and I think everybody needs to recharge. Making Rock Steady was spectacular and for me personally the shows were some of the best shows of my life. I met so many cool fans that just really put it all in perspective of how great my life is and how amazing it is to be able to sit in a room writing songs. But I think there needs to be some kind of time like when I went off and did projects on my own like with Eve. Those kinds of things are really good to do because I they take you outside of your comfort zone and make you see things from a different point of view. When you’re in a band for as long as we’ve been, I think it’s really good to shake it up. Cuz what kinda record would we make next? You know? It would be too soon to know but if everybody goes off and does their own thing they will bring more back to the band. I know Tony and Tom want to produce because they’re liking getting so hot at it, I mean they’re really talented so they’re going do that kind of thing. And Adrian is playing golf, etc. Everybody is going to do little projects.

So you’d be open to doing some outside projects?
Yeah. I’m just going to write songs. Tony and I are going to write songs but not necessarily for anything in particular and without any kind of pressure or goal. Just to really try and live in the moment and enjoy life, because the thing is that it goes so fast, you know? And when you’re on tour for a year all of a sudden your year is gone and you realize you haven’t seen your family or done real life stuff. You have to force yourself to do that too slow it down a little bit. For me personally, this whole last week all I’ve done is lay around. I had to force myself to go “Ok you’re not doing anything. You’re going to lay around, eat candy bars, make out with your husband and be a sloth.”

Well, you totally earned it you have been busy.
Yeah and I wanted to do that really bad because it makes me feel like my life will slow down. It goes so quick, it’s so amazing everyday some great thing happens. I don’t mean to be bragging but honestly there are so many great things going on, it’s just so exciting. I just want to slow down the pace a little bit. I’m always moving and I’m always traveling. I went to the Hall Of Fame and that was like such a whirlwind you know because there was so much pressure for me. I stayed for a couple of days to work on LAMB, my clothing line, which is super fun but I don’t know what I was thinking. It is so much work, it’s exactly like writing a song – you have nothing, then you do a drawing then you get a sample and then you know you have to create it. It’s a whole process and exactly like the creative process. It takes a lot of time and effort but I ended up staying there for five days doing that and then unexpectedly they called and said “Hey, do you want to go down to Florida and work with some people who want to write some songs.” And on a whim I was like “okay,” my husband is at home in the studio, he would probably be cool if I go. I went down there and it was just at that point I was burnt. I said “You know what you are? Burnt toast. You need to go home and you need to get really, really, really bored.” Otherwise, I have nothing to say or give creatively, you know?

Do you feel like the Grammy win was a redemption?
It felt great. It felt spectacular. Winning always feels great, I don’t think you really care that much until it actually happens and then you realize how much you care. Whatever it means, it just means that Tony’s dad, who’s always like “you’re gonna get a Grammy someday,” was right. It feels really great for everybody around us and everybody that has been so supportive. It’s like when we win, I know that all the people that have supported us they’re winning as well. Because they believed in us, we were their band and we were the band that represented them. I know what that means because it was the same for me with the bands I loved growing up. So it feels like everybody that’s into us wins when we win, it’s very exciting and a really, really great feeling.

Do you think you have more pressure to win more Grammies now?
No way. The thing is that when we make music, we just make it for ourselves first. We make it because we like to sit down in a room with nothing, then all of a sudden you have a song, that song documents a certain time period which gives you a certain feeling and then it’s really fun to throw it out there and see if people respond. If they get something out of it, then it’s even more rewarding so that’s always secondary. Taking a break is a little scary because if you’re not swimming the whole time then you’re going to sink. There is just so much out there, it’s a real competition.

Is marriage life better then you imagined?
It’s pretty great. Well, I always dreamed about it when I was younger but when I got into the reality of life I just didn’t see how it was ever going to work out. You have to be so selfish when you’re in a band and you’re an artist. Now we really got it down, it’s really fun for us. Everyone is different but for us it’s very romantic, it feels very settled. It’s comforting and we’re loving it. It’s really great to just be home in London right now. I’m living here full time at this point and it’s very inspiring here because I’m kind of plucked out of my whole lifestyle. I’m just starting to song write, work on my clothing line, be lazy and be a wife which is really fun, you know?

So is LAMB just going to have girls stuff?
Yeah. Just girls stuff.

Is it going to be at stores like Hot Topic?
No. There were so many choices with it and the thing is that for years I’ve been offered different things to do. People always ask me if I’m going to do this and that. I always felt like if I wanted to do it, I would want to do it for real, put a lot of time into it and I never really had the time to do it. A guy came to me and he wanted to do it with me and I found this girl to do it with me it started falling into place so I decided to go ahead. But I didn’t want to do it like it’s an art project. What I’m saying is that it’s not supposed to be like all of a sudden it’s going to be in Target. I could easily do that because all I’d have to do is oversee it, look at some pictures, approve it and then all of a sudden it’s like mass produced in all these stores. But that’s not really what I’m about. I want to create something. I want to create a vibe with this line like a lot of the designers I admire. They have something they say with their clothes. Because of the amount of like money it’s will cost to make the pieces it’s probably going to end up being like more of a boutique thing like a Fred Segal. It is going to be a little higher priced and that’s only because if the quality and the amount of work that goes into it, there is no way to make the clothes for less.

So it’s not mass produced?
I don’t know, it’s hard to say how many because it depends on the demand. I’m going to make clothes that I personally would wear. I’m definitely making the clothes for myself first. I will not make one thing that would be like a cheap item that I think “Oh, I know what kids would want.” You know what I mean? It’s definitely not that. Every single sample that I have gotten back so far I’ve been wearing around. It’s really very selfish that it’s all about me – making clothes for myself, but then they’re going to become available. I guess what happens is different buyers come along, they decide if they want to buy it for their store or not, it gets marked up and then whoever buys it buys it. Maybe it’s a big flop, I don’t know. I’m not trying to think that far ahead right now. I’m just trying to create and it’s super fun. I’ve found all these old patterns online from the 1930’s and 1940’s and I literally sit around with hundreds of clippings from different clothing magazines saying “God. I would love it if I had this kind of a shirt or jacket” or whatever it would be and then creating it and deciding I’m going to put loads of words in it. There is a whole meaning behind LAMB which I’m not ready to reveal yet. I have to wait because it’s not done yet there is only so much I can actually talk about the clothing line.

Did you see all the homemade stuff at the shows?
Yeah it was crazy. That’s what I’m talking about this tour, I met so many insane fans that just really, really inspired me and they really made me feel like rewarded for all the effort. I want to just put a shout out to the Bush site where they post all these photos of me and Gavin. They started doing it when we got engaged and they got all the way up to 100 posts. You can go in and see hundreds of pictures of us and I just want to say thank you so much to those kids because I am collecting all of those shots. You can imagine it’s so fun to have all of these files and pictures of me and my husband for when we’re old and we can be like “Look that was us walking down the street. I’m just really grateful for them.

With thanks to Gwen-Stefani.us