The style evolution of Kylie: A catalogue of the showgirls signature looks

As Kylie takes to the stage in Dublin tomorrow night, Annmarie O’Connor dives into the back catalogue of our favourite showgirl’s signature style

All hail. The Princess of Pop, Kylie Minogue (OBE), performs at Dublin’s 02 Arena tomorrow. With 14 albums, 18 tours and 80 million record sales to her name, Australia’s Grammy Award-winning export has more than earned her proverbial crown; in fact, she helped design it. Evolving both sound and style from bubble-gum to indie, dance to goth, the pint-sized powerhouse’s latest country persona has fans waiting impatiently for the rumoured ‘disco meets Dolly Parton’ experience. Whether Stetsons and cowboy boots will ever be a match for cabaret headdresses, Aphrodite dresses or gold lamé hot-pants remains to be seen. That said, Kylie’s ability to set the sartorial tone has been, more or less, note-perfect. Sweet, sexy and oh-so-sassy, it’s time we dive into the back catalogue of our favourite showgirl’s signature style.

If there’s one thing Kylie does bar none (well, maybe Madonna), it’s reinvention. Having launched her music career in the late eighties with producers Stock Aiken and Waterman, her tween-friendly image was in no small part due to the success of her role as tomboy mechanic Charlene in the Aussie soap Neighbours. With an international fan base already in tow, the success of radio-friendly tunes like ‘I Should Be So Lucky’ and ‘Got to Be Certain’ came with their own brand of PG-13 attire: scrunchies, high-waisted Mom jeans, ra-ra skirts and a questionable perm. Then something changed.

Sexy Kylie emerged. Oh, yeah. By 1990 and the release of her third album Rhythm of Love, a new image (complete with relationship to the late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence) cemented her new status as a burgeoning style icon.

The video for the album’s lead single, ‘Better the Devil You Know’ featured the Melbourne native fleeing from implied danger in a transparent Jean Paul Gaultier trenchcoat — as one does. Videos for ‘Shocked’ and ‘What Do I Have to Do’ oscillated between Lolita-esque bra and pigtail pairings and guises of Hollywood screen sirens.

While the mid-nineties saw her play with edgier identities on singles like ‘Confide in Me’, ‘Did It Again’ and a cameo on Nick Cave’s ‘The Wild Roses’, the popstrel returned to her floor-filling disco diva trousseau with anthemic videos for ‘Spinning Around’ and the US breakout hit ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’. Remember those gold hot-pants and that white jumpsuit? Of course, you do.

Now working with stylist and creative director William Baker, Kylie’s tours became increasingly synonymous with outrageous costuming thanks to designers like Julien Macdonald, Jean Paul Gaultier, Dolce and Gabbana and Manolo Blahnik. Most interesting is how this aesthetic alchemy influenced her personal style choices both on and off the red carpet.

POWER PRINT

Let’s talk leopard.

Whether papped in her adopted home of London or posing for the shutterbugs, Kylie is notably fond of a feline fashion statement, especially when that statement is one of intent.

Coats, scarves and shoes aside, her definitive moment came in 2006 when wearing a Dolce & Gabanna leopard print shift dress to the duo’s spring/summer 2007 show at Milan Fashion Week.

Having recently recovered from a breast cancer diagnosis, a crop-haired Kylie displayed her fierce inner prowess (with a beaming smile).

She also single-handedly redefined the term ‘dressing appropriately.’

GREECE IS THE WORD

Given her sovereign style status, it’s fitting that Kylie is often seen draped like a Greek goddess.

Floor-sweeping frocks became her go-to since wearing Hellenic Jean Paul Gaultier gúnas on her 2008 KYLIEX tour and, most memorably, on the cover of her 2010 Aphrodite album.

Although often favouring celestial white, nothing quite beats the royal purple J’Aton Couture confection she wore in 2008 at G’Day USA Australia.com black tie gala — diaphanous, dramatic and made for a deity.

WAIST NOT WANT NOT

Although dogged by rumours of a 16-inch waist thanks to oxygen-defying corsets designed by John Galliano and Dolce and Gabbana for her 2005 Showgirl and 2011 Aphrodite: Les Folies tours respectively, Kylie doesn’t flinch at the sight of tight; she’s far too badass for that.

This is the gal who performs high octane dance routines in high heels involving stairs, vertiginous headdresses and costumes that weigh, quite possibly, more than she does.

Here at the 2010 Capital FM Jingle Bell Ball Kylie segues her signature look with the help of Manchester-born creative director and London College of Fashion alumni Hasan Hejazi whose eponymous label marries Kylie’s trademark Grecian elegance with a hint of clubland fetish.

CROP THAT

The beauty of Ms Minogue is her refusal to be stereotyped (just watch the ‘Confide in Me’ video).

Just when you think you’ve got her sussed, she hikes up her hem length and calls it a party.

Take the lime printed silk georgette Gucci mini she wore in 2013 to the Roc Nation Pre-GRAMMY Brunch.

Pin-worthy and perfect for her petite frame, this 60s throwback — complete with angel wing sleeves — showcases the fun Kylie we all love, especially when paired with towering Louboutin stilettos.

CAPED CRUSADER

Sure, Kylie may have a gaggle of international designers on speed dial but her Australian allegiances frequently make their presence felt.

Take the Ralph and Russo couture creation she wore to the 2016 Brit Awards. Boasting a 1950s hourglass silhouette, corseted bustier and opaque robe wrought from three-dimensional thread-work, the result is utterly majestic.

Not surprising really, that Meghan Markle chose the ampersand duo for her engagement picture. Oh, and Queen Bey.

A veritable royal family on your client list? Not bad going, chaps.

SHINE ON

Reinvention notwithstanding, the release, this year, of Kylie’s 14th studio album Golden isn’t without subtext.

Although inspired by Country and Western music, the precious metal title reflects her irrepressible star power.

Seen at the Berlin Echo Awards recently in an effulgent Maria Lucia Hohan custom-dyed silk scene-stealer, Kylie reminds us of just why her career has spanned over 30 years.

She’s our golden girl. End of.