These 5 celebrities think it’s weird to be called a style icon – some believe it is too soon or they don’t deserve the title, while others reject it for other personal reasons. One thinks her style isn’t as inspiring as others so shouldn’t be lauded in the same way, while another just dresses to please herself and is always shocked when someone offers her a compliment on her fashion taste. Another celeb is sad to see her style copied and so doesn’t like other people looking up to her and stealing her fashion sense because it’s how she expresses herself. They all have their reasons – these 5 celebrities simply don’t like to be named as style icons!
Alexa Chung
Alexa thinks that people use the phrase ‘style icon’ too freely regarding her look: “It might be premature. I always think of icons as women from previous decades who demonstrated a finesse in the fashion industry for many years and accumulated the praise gradually, whereas that seems to be a label that was stuck on me overnight. It’s incredibly flattering but also quite daunting.”
Sofia Coppola
Sofia doesn’t believe she measures up to true icons: “I don’t think of myself in the way I think of Tina Chow or Diana Vreeland or someone I thought was stylish when I was a kid. I just don’t think about it. I like beautiful things. I like photography, well-made clothes. I appreciate creativity. I tend to like things that are more simple and classic. Not super-glitzy, I guess. I wouldn’t describe my aesthetic as bling.”
Leighton Meester
Leighton wears what she likes and is surprised when anyone likes it so doesn’t accept her fashion icon status: “‘Gossip Girl’ has absolutely changed my style. And living in New York I’ve become more brave and aware of fashion. I completely close my eyes to it when people call me a fashion icon because it’s an opinion from people that I don’t know. I wear what I like.”
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn loves fashion but hates when people admire her style because they often end up stealing it: “Fashion is something I breathe… It’s something I did very naturally, but I’ve seen my style, my look, everywhere. I wasn’t really trying to share my style. I’ve seen my concepts, my ideas, my creative birthright be exploited, appropriated, copied and reproduced. And that was painful.”
Debbie Harry
Debbie doesn’t accept that she is so often called iconic for her fashion sense: “Just before Blondie got back together I started really noticing that attitude coming from people – the reverence for the image thing – and I was completely shocked by it. I hate the word ‘icon’. I don’t even know what that is, actually. I guess it’s a bit like a trademark so, in that respect, it’s successful marketing but, when it first started happening, it was really weird.”
