The New York Post (Aug. 11th 2005)

Gwen & Wear It

Gwen Stefani's been a singer, a cheerleader, Jean Harlow, a ska- punk girl, a blonde, a brunette and a pink.

But her style is always about fusing inspirations into something original - whether it's borrowing from "Fiddler on the Roof" for a song on her solo debut, "Love. Angel. Music. Baby," or sampling Japanese street style for her clothing line.

Her latest mash-up arrives at the end of this month with Harajuku Lover, her second fashion collection. Stefani gave The Post an exclusive peek at the whimsical fall line, which references Japanese cartoons, Gothic art and lyrics from her songs such as "Hollaback Girl."

"I originally wanted to call this album and this collection "Stolen Goods" - I wanted to steal back some of that style in a 'this was yours, now it's mine' way," Stefani says. "In fashion and music, when you get inspired by something, you recycle it and then it becomes new again."

Harajuku Lover should continue what has been the Year of Gwen.

Not only has she been nominated for three Teen Choice Awards and her solo album nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards, but her fashion label L.A.M.B., set to make its runway debut during New York's September Fashion Week, is already one of the best-selling celebrity-designed clothing lines around.

She also branched out into Hollywood. In 2004, she played platinum-blond bombshell Harlow in Martin Scorcese's blockbuster "The Aviator" and, most recently, she was cast opposite Sienna Miller in the upcoming Warhol-era film "Factory Girl."

"I'm totally overworking right now," Stefani says. "In the last few years I've felt like I'm in a race against time. I've had all these new opportunities, so I've taken on a lot of new projects."

While she may be overworked, her legions of fans make sure that everything Stefani touches turns to platinum.

"She's original and that's why people love her," says Amy Astley, editor in chief of Teen Vogue. "She references ska, Rasta, and Marilyn Monroe, but she makes it her own - modern, sexy, fresh. She's an amazing amalgamation of sexy but not intimidating, sporty but still feminine."

Stefani insists her foray into fashion isn't a fling.

"Fashion is something I've always done, even before music," she says. "I've always made clothes. When No Doubt started, before Tragic Kingdom and before we were played on the radio, we did all these shows and I spent months sewing all my costumes.

"I was living at home at the time. My parents were really great and all I had to pay for was my car insurance, so I would go to Contempo Casuals, buy something unusual and mess with it with trims from fabric stores.

"There's not really a sense of embarrassment," Stefani says. "That was me then and I can remember everything about it.

"I'd basically never used a stylist until the "Don't Speak" video," she adds. "I had a girl come down to work with us and I ended up wearing a thrift store dress I had bought years before."

But as Stefani's band No Doubt became more popular, she met stylist Andrea Lieberman, who the singer describes as "a New York, Jewish, way-cooler version of me." The two collaborated on Stefani's videos and helped inspire her to explore high fashion.

"I'm always ashamed about talking about my style," Stefani says. "Style is speaking without speaking - it's something you do, not something you talk about.

"For me, fashion comes from the same creative place as music," Stefani says. "A lot of people in music are doing different creative things to express themselves. Write a song, design a thing - it's all the same.

"Being a designer fulfills my passion. There's no pressure to it, like there is with my music. I really enjoy it."

Another inspiration for Stefani was visits to Japan, where she decided on a motif for both her album and new fashion label.

"When I first got to Tokyo, I felt like I landed on another planet," Stefani says. "Harajuku is where all the kids gather and people parade around in their unique styles, expressing themselves through fashion.

"I think Japanese culture is really cool - the way they have deep, deep traditions yet are really futuristic all at the same time. When they have things wash up on shore from the West - any kind of inspiration - they steal it, but they do it in the hyper- real, hyper-cool Japanese way.

"Harajuku Lovers is for the fans - something they can really get their hands on," Stefani says. "L.A.M.B. is a lot more of an art project. I have no creative restrictions with it, so I can be more creatively free with my ideas.

"But the more creative you get, the more expensive the items get. And when people started to get upset when they couldn't get the bags and the prices were high, I decided to do something for a broader audience."

The Harajuku collection, which will be priced from $45 to $100, will be available for everyone, from babies to plus-sizes, and is a bit more casual than L.A.M.B - incorporating pieces like leggings, sweats, and tops printed with Japanese-inspired graphics by artist Jolie Clemens.

Special personal touches, like the lyrics "Damn you've got some wicked style. Look at your watch now, you're still a super hot female. Love Gwen," are printed inside hems.

"The concept was to put all the lyrics and all the Japanese inspiration I used in my album into another form," Stefani says. "It's all based on the characters Love, Angel, Music, and Baby, who are my girls, my back-up dancers."

"It's one thing to be able to express yourself - I get such a high out of it," she adds.

"The music fuels everything for me, and it's the hardest part. This is the fun part, the icing on the cake.

"Harajuku Lovers is a cool way for me to make a 3D version the record. It's for my fans who know all the lyrics - now they can see it. It tells a story.

"It adds another layer to the music. I'm working really hard to make it accessible and, hopefully people will enjoy it."

"Gwen really wanted the collection to have an 'I borrowed my boyfriend's sweat shirt' look to it," says Stefani's collaborator, Sara Scargall, the design director at Jerry Leigh Entertainment, the licensing company that's working with Stefani on the line.

"My inspirations have always been about blending the old and the new, the male and the female, the hard and the soft," Stefani says. "I'm very girly and love getting dressed up, but at the same time I love to work out - to get onstage and sweat. And I like to hang out with all guys."

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GWEN' S INSPIRATIONS

Christian Dior: For the videos on "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." Stefani's wardrobe is heavy on Christian Dior. "My first big couture show was Christian Dior. I was so blown away that someone could have these concepts in their head and could translate them into fashion. It was like living art. I cried. It was so inspiring."

Viktor & Rolf: "They're amazing - creatively, they're just so out there."

Vivienne Westwood: "The fashion show I went to was around the time of "Return of Saturn," when I had pink hair. It was a Vivienne Westwood show in New York. "She's the ultimate one for me because she's an amazing blend of classic, traditional, and futuristic."