British Women Name Their Global Style Icons Of The Past Decade

The end of 2019 marks the culmination of a defining decade for British fashion and style. Love the Sales, the leading destination for shopping designer sales online has surveyed British women to discover what they really think of celebrities’ fashion choices from the Twentyteens.

The research reveals British women are turning their backs on Hollywood starlets and instead favouring home-grown talent for their fashion inspiration. Four out of five of the top fashion icons are UK based with only Rhianna flying the flag for Barbados. Holly Willoughby wins the style stakes and comes out on top – with one-in-five crowning Holly as their fashion favourite of the decade. The HRH Duchess of Cambridge comes a close second – almost one-in-ten (9%) or 3.3 million women acknowledge Kate for her style credentials.

Celebrity fashion stylist, Nisha Grewal, explains why Holly’s style is a hit with British women: “It’s no surprise that Holly Willoughby has come out on top with one-in-five looking to her for style inspiration. Her personality clearly appeals to the masses, as does her fashion. Funny, relatable and real, Holly’s style reflects just that. Her daily social media update and #hwstyle hashtag allows her fans to buy a little piece of their favourite celebrity’s fashion.”

Fashion-conscious Kim Kardashian is beaten by her younger sister Kylie. More than 1.3 million British women (4%) favour Kylie Jenner’s outfit choices compared to those of her older sister. Quintessential catwalk models are no longer leading – collectively 4% of respondents cite either Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss or Rosie Huntington-Whitely as their fashion muses.

Unsurprisingly, older women prefer the demure outfit choices of Dame Helen Mirren. Over a quarter (27%) of those aged over 65 identify Helen Mirren as their fashion icon of the decade. This group also admires the dress sense of Duchess Kate with a fifth (20%), voting HRH as their fashion icon. Generation Y takes its inspiration from across the Atlantic with almost one-in-ten (8%) in this age group, looking to Beyoncé and Rihanna (9%) as style leaders.

The Twentyteens was also the decade of some of the most deplorable style faux pas. When asked about the biggest fashion fail of the past ten years, a quarter of women (25%), 8.2 million, call out Gemma Collins’ orange dress with shoulder pads she wore to the ITV Summer Party in 2017 as the worst. Across social media the infamous outfit was likened to both an American football kit and an Oompa Loompa’s uniform. The dress even inspired comedian Alan Carr to dressed in a replica for Halloween in the same year. The unusual ‘meat dress’ Lady Gaga wore to the VMAs in 2010 is a close second – with almost one-in-five (19%), 6.2 million, citing it as the biggest fashion miss of the decade.

Cementing her style icon status, HRH The Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress is the biggest fashion hit of the Twentyteens – with nearly a third (30%), 9.9 million, stating the Alexander McQueen dress their number one celebrity outfit. Reinforcing her fashion credentials, Holly Willoughby’s recent outfit worn to the Pride of Britain 2019 awards came second with more than one-in-ten (12%), 3.9 million women favouring her look. The research reaffirms millennials’ adoration for ‘Queen B’ – twice as many 16-29 year olds (14%), gave Beyoncé’s 2015 Met Gala dress the thumbs up, compared to just 7% of 45-59 year olds.

Stuart McClure, Co-Founder of Love The Sales: “The Twentyteens have seen enormous upheaval in the fashion industry. Austerity at the start of the decade had people hunting designer fashion for a fairer price. The advance of 4G allowed mobile retail to flourish and people can now quickly grab bargains on the go while emulating the looks of their fashion icons. It’s no surprise the queen of daytime TV Holly Willoughby and the new wave of young royals like HRH The Duchess of Cambridge and HRH The Duchess of Sussex have influenced our style choices. The young royals are now more accessible than ever – they support British designers and champion UK high street brands.”

 

Top Five Fashion Icons Of The Twentyteens

  1. Holly Willoughby
  2. HRH The Duchess of Cambridge
  3. Rihanna
  4. Michelle Keegan
  5. Dame Helen Mirren

 Top Five Fashion Fails of the Twentyteens

  1. Gemma Collins’ garish, orange dress with shoulder pads at the 2017 ITV Summer Party
  2. Lady Gaga’s meat dress  at the 2010 VMAs
  3. Miley Cyrus hosting the 2015 MTV awards
  4. Kim Kardashian’s 2013 Met Gala Givenchy dress compared to Mrs Doubtfire
  5. HRH The Duchess of Sussex’s 2017 engagement outfit with shoes that were too big