The Orange County Register (March 20th 2007)
Underneath It All
Gwen Stefani comes to Orange County to show off her fall line of fashion.
Gwen Stefani purses her signature scarlet lips into a hint of a smile. Not a strand of her immaculate platinum updo is out of place. Perched at the edge of a plush couch, she looks as if she's waiting at the doctor's office -- except that it's a throng of media who are waiting for her.
Orange County's pop-rock princess made a brief appearance Friday at Nordstrom at South Coast Plaza to present the latest from her L.A.M.B. line of clothing and handbags.
"Are you going to be using flash?" she asks in that famous girly rasp. "Because the lighting is terrible in here."
The photographer obliges. Of course she is clad in all L.A.M.B. attire: A crisp white button shirt with a skinny black tie under a scoop neck striped sweater tucked into a high-waisted bubble skirt. A shiny black patent belt, opaque black tights and ankle boots complete the look.
"Do you want me to stand up to see the whole outfit?" she suggests.
In a quick movement, Stefani settles into a model-perfect pose, hands on her hips. "Cheese!" A few camera clicks and she chirps, "Got it?" before sitting back down.
Life as a musician, designer and mom to baby Kingston has the petite star balancing a demanding schedule. Next month, Stefanikicks off a seven-month "Sweet Escape" concert tour, from her second solo album.
"I thought it was hard to juggle everything before, but with Kingston, it's definitely harder," says Stefani, 37, who splits her time between London and Los Angeles.
"I have to do everything in pockets (of) time. I just did two full days of designing, from noon to 11 at night, the spring '08 line at my house ... just going through fabrics, and the (theme) boards were insane."
Designing is her favorite part of the work and also where she insists on having total say.
She has a small team to assist her with the clothing line. There are people who travel to Paris to source high-end fabrics and prints and bring back swatches for Stefani to select. There's someone who presents her with sketches to approve.
"Oh, I have to do it, I have to make sure it's what I want to wear," she explains. "I just enjoy the process. It's not about the end, like baking cookies. It's fun to share with everyone when I'm done. ... It's the same with songwriting."
Still, Stefani admits to feeding off the hectic frenzy.
"The tension adds to the creative process, and hey, I asked for it. I'm lying in the bed I made," she says, smiling.
She reveals that she's planning on moving her mom and the rest of the family out of Anaheim.
"I told my mom, 'Kingston needs a baby-sitter, so we're going to move you to L.A.' "
Stefani preempts questions from reporters by leaping deftly from one subject to another, evidence of a mega-star who's been in the limelight since making her debut as the trendsetting front woman for No Doubt in the early '90s. Stefani's popularity continued to skyrocket with the release of her 2004 solo album, "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." And it wasn't long before she solidified herself as a bona fide style icon.
Along the way, Stefani has transformed her image from a seemingly happy-go-lucky ska rocker to that of a carefully crafted and savvy businesswoman. Her L.A.M.B. clothing line, which enjoys a lucrative partnership with Nordstrom, features contemporary T-shirts, cashmere knits, jackets, dresses and accessories with a funky rock-and-roll/ Rastafarian flair.
Stefani expresses excitement over several elements of her fourth L.A.M.B. collection for this fall, including a lightweight cropped leather jacket with military touches and some new handbags in a buttery leather with gold hardware details.
She uses words like disgusting and filthy to describe how awesome she thinks her line is.
"I love animal prints so I was happy I got to incorporate a zebra print coat ... that thing is sick! And the techno twill stuff is insane. Ridiculous," she says. "I try to make the pieces good for everyday wear but a little to the left."
There is a hint of regret in her voice when Stefani explains that she did not get to present the fall looks at a runway show for New York Fashion Week.
"I was putting out the album ('The Sweet Escape') at the time, but I would have loved to put together a runway show," she says. "Because it's not about the pieces. It's how you put it all together, how you mix and match things."
When the 10-minute interview ends, Stefani stands up and shakes hands before she is whisked out of the room. Her husband, singer Gavin Rossdale, hangs out in the hallway with a smiling Kingston as the tot takes ginger steps with Dad's help.
A small number of Nordstrom's selected L.A.M.B. fans line up to meet Stefani at the exclusive trunk show where they'll get to view, try on and order the fall '07 goods before they arrive in the stores in the summer.
As the 100 or so L.A.M.B. fanatics pile into an intimate room and begin rifling through the racks of $385 plaid shirtdresses with distressed detail and $685 trench coats, Stefani is ushered into the room and is flanked by a big bodyguard and models decked out in L.A.M.B. gear.
"This is so embarrassing," Stefani says to the crowd. "Thank you so much for your support by buying L.A.M.B. It's been such a dream of mine since I used to shop at Nordstrom as a little girl, so it's like, 'Whoa.' "
She continues, "Some pieces I think are ridiculous. Like this leather jacket is ridiculously sick. It's disgusting. And this other jacket was inspired by the one I wore in the 'Wind It Up' video that some of you might recognize."
Stefani spends 15 to 20 minutes meeting and greeting eager fans, many exclaiming, "She's tiny!"
Sisters Alicia and Dalia VanDenDries, both in their 30s, whipped out a 1987 concert ticket stub for Stefani to sign.
"I've held onto this for 20 years, baby," says Alicia VanDenDries, who lives in Whittier. "I just told her she's an inspiration."
Marie Kaino of Irvine and her friend Betty Fung couldn't stop gushing about getting to meet the star for the first time.
"She's so down-to-earth and actually seems so appreciative that we're here," says Fung, who lives in L.A.
Adds Kaino: "She even noticed all the L.A.M.B. stuff we had on. I love everything (Gwen) makes. She just has the most amazing style. It's different from everyone else. Nobody else dresses like her and everyone who tries can't even come close."