Cleo (August 2010)
Her Sweet Escape
Gwen Stefani - singer, fashionista and now mum talks about family, the No Doubt reunion, music isn't as important as it used to be.
If we had to define Gwen Stefani in one word, it would easily be "accomplished". There's her mammoth success with No Doubt, her brilliant solo career, and her life with husband Gavin Rossdale and their two sons, Kingston, four, and Zuma, one. She's also pretty pumped about her upcoming fashion collection for her highly successful L.A.M.B. clothing line, which is the fulfilment of a dream that began when she spent all her spare time as a teenager stitching outfits together and letting her imagination flow.
Despite the whirlwind that is her life, the doll-faced pop goddess shows no signs of slowing down. Last year's No Doubt reunion tour wowed critics and played to sold-out venues, and the fashion icon has been actively working with her design team for the aforementioned collection, which she hopes will be the best yet. She's also taking time to jot down her thoughts for new songs that will inevitably be part of a third solo album. Here, Gwen dishes on the demands of work, family and the many ambitions that continue to drive her.
Gwen, you're a busy mother of two now! What are you up to these days?
"I've been trying to relax a bit with my family. I've been working on new designs for the next [L.A.M.B.] collection, taking care of Zuma and Kingston. Just thinking about [what] I want to do in the future."
Does that future include a third solo album?
"I want to do that, but I haven't found that much time or the energy to write that many songs yet. I always worry about where the next inspiration comes from until I actually find it, and then the words and ideas start flowing."
How has motherhood affected you?
"It's a new chapter in my life, I've been singing and touring for so many years, and that was the main focus away from my life with Gavin. But being a mother a whole new adventure and, sometime: I can't believe it all. [Motherhood] changes the way you live and it refocuses your energies. My family is really everything to me now. But, at the same time, I still have a lot of creative energy and I still want to do so much more in terms of music and fashion."
Do you have anxieties about ageing, particularly since you're in the public eye?
"Not more than my usual anxieties! I still like to look fit and look good in clothes, but I'm pretty happy overall and I'm not worrying about getting wrinkles."
Do you work out a lot?
"It goes in phases. Right now, I'm so busy with my kids that I don't have a set workout routine. I'm pretty happy, though, with how I look. I've always been kind of vain about my appearance and I've always made a point of looking after myself and being fit. I'm trying to be less anxious about wanting to always look my best. But touring [with No Doubt last year] pretty much took care of my fitness issues! [Laughs]"
How important is your L.A.M.B. fashion company to you?
"It's becoming more interesting now that I have children and the prospect of touring isn't that attractive [as it once was]. I also need fashion as a creative outlet, because when I'm not recording new songs or touring, I need to find a way to channel my energies, because I feel too anxious if I don't have a project or something to work on. So being able to work on new collections is really exciting and stimulating for me."
You were already designing clothes as a teenager - long before music became your focus.
"I've always loved clothes. Even as a kid, I was the kind of girl who loved dressing up and looking at fashion magazines. I've inherited that from my mother and grandmother, who were making clothes before me. So coming up with designs and trying out new clothes and finding different looks for myself has always been something that's been a big part of my world. I never imagined that L.A.M.B. would become as big as it has. So there's a lot of work involved in that and a lot of responsibility."
How closely do you get involved with the label?
"Oh, I'm very much on top of things. I'm involved at every level - the basic themes and inspiration, choosing the fabrics, working with the design team. It's been great for me to have the collections to work on because I felt that I had already reached all my goals as far as music is concerned. So when I'm not writing music, or I don't feel inspired in that way, I have my fashion line to keep me occupied. I need that."
What was it like to sing with No Doubt again on your last tour?
"It was a little strange sometimes. You spend 20 years with the same people and you've gone through so much. It was a great experience overall and it's also a way of looking back on your life and then seeing where the journey has taken you. There was some stress at first, but then you find yourself feeling the spirit of the music that brought you back together."
You're a fashion icon on the music scene. Is that important to you?
"[Laughs] I've just enjoyed being able to play with different looks. It's the frustrated actress in me, I guess. I remember as a child dressing up all the time and imagining myself in films or in fashion magazines and posing and letting my head drift off into some fantasy world. So when I get to perform onstage or work on music videos, it's all about releasing all the energy and spirit that I had when I was young and imagining what kind of life I could have. It's not something that I even really want to understand. It's basically me enjoying the kind of freedom I have to try out new ideas and see what kind of response I get. I mean, The Sweet Escape [Gwen's second solo album released' in 2006] far exceeded anything I expected from it, and it gave me a lot of pride and encouragement to see that audiences responded to what I was doing."
Do you enjoy the process of coming up with different looks and clothes for your music videos and tours?
"I love that part of getting ready for a tour. I like to have fun with my look because I think clothes are an extension of your personality and, now that I've been designing clothes, I think about it more than ever. But designing is more like work for me and music is pure passion. Designing is a very precise thing as much as it is creative. It's about the cut, the fabric, and a lot of very technical things that go into an outfit or a dress. It's hard work."
Women are always worrying about finding a good balance between work and family. How have you managed to face up to those challenges?
"I'm very lucky in that I have an amazing man to help me look after the kids and [I'm really loving] watching him enjoy his time with the children. We feel like we're in our own little beautiful world and that's very satisfying. We both feel tired, though, but every couple with children has to deal with that."
It sounds like Gavin is a fantastic dad to your two boys.
"He is! He loves being a father and is very dedicated to the kids and helping me with them. Even before our first child [Kingston] was born, I had this good feeling that he would make a great father and that's turned out to be true. He's actually exceeded all my expectations and I'm so happy about how that part of our life has turned out because children are a lot to deal with. [Having kids has] been the toughest thing I've ever had to do in my life."
Are you already thinking about whether your children will one day follow their parents into music?
"[Laughs] No! We just want them to be happy and enjoy a good life. I'm sure they'll be interested in what their mum does for a living, but I wouldn't want to push them one way or another. They'll have plenty of time to think about what they want to do."
When you look back on your success, does it ever seem unreal?
"[Laughs] It depends on the day. It actually took a long time before No Doubt took off. We had already been a band for nearly 10 years until we made it big, so we were definitely ready to enjoy what came after that. I've never taken anything for granted, though. I always worry about whether the public will still like what I do and so I [continue to] push myself very hard to come up with new songs and be as creatively relevant as I can be. It's always a challenge."
You've admitted that you've already accomplished so many of your goals. Is your music career still as urgent as it was before?
"It's maybe not as urgent, but it's still important. I'm very passionate about my music and I want to keep doing it as long as I feel that I can keep going forward and not repeat myself. As an artist, you always live with that kind of pressure and, in some ways, it's scary, but it's also exciting. You never know how it's going to work out, but I've had enough success to know that I usually come up with something that I feel good about.
Work is the one thing that always gets me out of dark moods or times when I start to wonder what my life is all about. So, whether it's my music or my fashion line, work will always " be a big part of who I am."