A Look Back at Her Fashion Impact

Madonna‘s name has been on the lips of the world since the global pop star debuted in the ’80s with her 1983 self-titled studio album. Forty years later, she is now one of the most recognized pop stars in the entire world.

On Thursday, the singer and songwriter celebrated her 66th birthday and four decades in the spotlight. During that time, Madonna arguably transformed the way fashion connects with pop stars and celebrities in general.

In 2024, Madonna ended her blockbuster “The Celebration Tour,” grossing $227.2 million and selling 1.1 million tickets over 80 shows. She closed the tour, playing for 1.6 million fans in Rio de Janeiro in May.

The singer is currently in Italy, hosting birthday celebrations among friends and family.

Here, WWD takes a closer look at the entertainer’s relationship with the fashion industry.

Jean Paul Gaultier and the Cone Bra

In 1990, during her “Blonde Ambition Tour,” the singer stunned the audience when she took to the stage to perform her song “Express Yourself” and whipped off her jacket to reveal a pale pink conical bra. The bra was designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, who was personally requested to create the costumes for the tour by Madonna herself.

The moment arguably helped catapult Jean Paul Gaultier to household name status and his relationship with the singer continues to this day. Gaultier is also credited with many of the androgynous and camp looks for the tour that became definitive of both his aesthetic as a designer and Madonna’s style of that era.

“Like a Prayer” Slip Dress

“Like a Prayer” is one of Madonna’s most famous songs, although when the music video first debuted, it created controversy — shocking conservative Americans for its shameless sensuality and religious overtones. Nevertheless, it was popular.

Madonna was scantily clad in the music video in a black slip dress accessorized with a cross pendant as she explores themes of sex, religion and race. The cleavage-baring slip dress was found at Los Angeles’ Western Costume Company and would become the face of a video banned in Italy and condemned by The Vatican.

“Vogue” Music Video

Although she’d been already making fashion statements for years, the music video for her song “Vogue” underscored Madonna’s true understanding of fashion. To open the music video, the singer wore an ivory, satin, floor-length halter gown to open the video, which featured cascading rhinestone drops on the back and was from the Palace Costume Co. label. It sold at a Julien’s Auction in 2020 for $179,2000.

The song itself would become a staple on fashion month runways. It also brought voguing and ballroom culture, which was widely popularized among Black and Latine gay men and trans women but kept very underground, to the forefront of popular culture. Members of the House of Xtravaganza, including Luis Xtravaganza Camacho and Jose Gutierez Xtravaganza, were prominently featured in the video as dancers.

Androgynous Fashion

Along with her androgynous outfits for her “Blonde Ambition Tour,” Madonna let her androgynous style á la “Victor/Victoria” define. She never shied away from mixing the masculine and the feminine, or taking a traditional men’s suiting aesthetic and adapting it to her personal style.

One of her most famous androgynous looks was at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards when Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera took to the stage in bridal gowns to perform her eternally famous song “Like a Prayer.”

Madonna rose out of a wedding cake in a black tuxedo with a top hat, black boots and a bustier underneath playing the role of the groom as she performed her song “Hollywood.” The moment became one of the most talked about nights in MTV VMA’s history when she proceeded to kiss Spears and Aguilera onstage.

Impact on Celebrity Styling

Although many entertainers have had relationships with the fashion industry (Audrey Hepburn was one of Hubert de Givenchy’s muses), Madonna is widely credited with transforming the relationship fashion houses had with celebrities throughout the ’90s and 21st century.

In addition to designing her tour looks for “Blonde Ambition,” Gaultier invited Madonna to close his spring 1995 collection runway show. She also appeared in Gianni Versace’s 1995 ad campaign.

For her 2000 marriage to Guy Ritchie, designer Stella McCartney created a custom gown for the pop star. When designers Olivier Theyskens and Rick Owens were in their early years, Madonna wore clothes from them, helping to advance their careers and boost name recognition.