The Globe & Mail (Sept. 29th 2007)
Little L.A.M.B. grows up
Seven storeys above Seventh Avenue in New York, Gwen Stefani is perched on a gold platform suspended over the Soho House Hotel's rooftop pool. Below her a pair of Olympic synchronized swimmers dive and twist to the sounds of the singer's Wind It Up single.
It's the official press launch for Stefani's first scent, L, under her L.A.M.B. fashion brand.
We caught up with her after the event to discuss fashion, fragrance and why she hated shooting her first television commercial.
L.A.M.B. has just surpassed $100-million in sales and is the fastest-growing young designer brand. What inspired you to become a designer?
To be honest, I just wanted to be smart and have something creative to do later in life. I knew it was going to be hard to transition out of music one day when I hear fans say, 'We've had enough of that.' I thought fashion might be something I could be good at when I have a family.
Designing is something I've always done - pretty much designing all my costumes and my own clothes. My mom used to make all my clothes growing up so it just seemed natural. But I can't believe it's gotten to this point. I never dreamed it would get this big.
What's the secret to balancing a career in music and fashion?
Trust me, my schedule is insane. But there is no trick. I feel it's almost out of my control, out of my hands. I had to leave my son to come here and I was so upset. It's the first time I've left him. I just wish I had more time. I love designing and I want to do it the rest of my life, but I also really love doing music. That's what I feel is the reason I'm here on this planet for. Music.
How involved are you in creating your image?
I'm a girl that likes to get into the makeup chair and loves the whole process of getting ready. We spend hours conference calling about what I am going to wear and how I will look.
It's so stupid, but I love talking about this stuff. It's like playing house, but I'm still doing it. I have a whole creative team and we talk about "The Look" and what I'm going to wear. I've always been the girl who gets dressed up and jumps in the mosh pit.
I've always had the contradiction of the masculine and the feminine, hard and soft. But I always come back to the same themes: the red lips, the blond hair, the Rasta influence from the Islands, the black and white stripes. It's just who I am.
Why launch a fragrance?
For years, I've had people approach me to do different campaigns for different things. But I write music and sing. That's what I love to do. To do a celebrity fragrance wasn't that exciting for me at first. But now that L.A.M.B. is four years old, the opportunity to do a fragrance as a designer seemed like such a milestone. The fragrance somehow made the success of L.A.M.B. more real.
Tell us about shooting the TV commercial.
It was hell on earth. All in the water. You can imagine the torture of doing synchronized swimming and diving in very cold water from 9 in the morning until 7 at night. My God, was I ever crabby.
So what's the best party you've ever attended?
I love my dad's Fourth of July birthday party in the backyard. I love having the whole barbecue thing. But there's nothing wrong with going to the Vanity Fair party. It has been a long, amazing 15 minutes that I've had on this incredible journey. I've had so many lucky moments.