Throughout history, fashion and music have worked together to create personas and worlds for performers to further captivate audiences. Flapper dresses defined the 1920s, the creations of Dapper Dan and hip-hop style have played an integral role in shaping fashion and culture at large, and queens of pop music have long doubled as the muses of their favorite designers. Cher and Bob Mackie’s artist and muse relationship brought the world the naked dress, along with some of the most iconic red carpet and stage looks of all time (I personally see Cher’s 1974 Met Gala look every time I close my eyes). Jean Paul Gaultier and Madonna pioneered the cone-bra and underwear-as-outerwear movement in the early 80s, and in 2012 Kylie Minogue released a book chronicling the fantastical outfits designed for her by the likes of JPG and John Galliano throughout her career.
Although these women have ruled the world of pop music for decades, we’ve never seen such a vast and distinctly queer army of pop princesses like those who have risen in the last year. It was a great year for the music industry as a whole and we saw many artists blurring the lines between genres, but no genre packed a punch in 2023 quite like pop.
The year began with the release of the Charli XCX remix of Caroline Polacheck’s “Welcome To My Island”. Charli XCX has been rising through the ranks of pop music ever since her 2014 single “Boom Clap” but her coming onto “Welcome To My Island” brought Caroline Polacheck to the forefront of pop. A month later, she followed up on the single with her sophomore album, “Desire, I Want To Turn Into You”; a masterclass in production filled with whimsy and intimacy cleverly intertwined.
As the year progressed we saw the start of Beyoncés Renaissance World Tour, and the return of Kylie Minogue with gay-club song of the Summer “Padam Padam”. The world turned silver as Beyoncé made her way around the world in Olivier Rousteing’s finest, spotlighting Black queer culture through the Renaissance fusion of pop, house, r&b, and ballroom.
Arguably the best 2023 pop release was Chappell Roan’s “Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess”. From upbeat singles like cheer-style anthem “HOT TO GO!” to the gut wrenching sapphic situationship of “Casual”, she made a no-skips debut. Chappell Roan’s femininomenon spoke straight to the hearts of fans and her maximalist fashion was on full display on her tour with each stop having its own theme for dress and local drag artists as supporting acts.
Possibly at the top of my list of 2020s pop princesses is none other than Troye Sivan. While you may be thinking “how does Troye Sivan fit the ‘pop princess’ demographic,” his “One of Your Girls” music video performance I think more than earns him the title (I also use royal titles with little regard for the gender binary anyway). A week before the release of his album “Something To Give Each Other” made strides on global charts, he walked the Miu Miu runway in Paris Fashion Week, and spent the remainder of the week gracing front rows. His fluid styling that consistently defies constructs of both the masculine and feminine has (finally) given the world an openly queer, feminine male fashion icon.
As the year came to a close with Gen Z pop-rock icon Olivia Rodrigo’s sophomore album, and Nicki Minaj’s long anticipated “Pink Friday 2”, the year of the pop princess was bookmarked with the return of Dua Lipa’s solo music with her single “Houdini” and its accompanying music video. The singer and Versace collaborator sported a Dion Lee top with Martine Rose track pants and deep red dyed hair, making possibly the best case for anyone who hasn’t gone red yet to try it immediately.
With Chappell Roan set as an opener for Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming tour and the anticipated releases from both Dua Lipa and Ariana Grande, 2024 is on track to bring even bigger and better things for pop music. As the genre continues to dominate and grow, its intersections with fashion and queerness will only become more prominent. Soon enough we’ll all be feeling the rush.
Words by Flora Medina.
Graphic by Mai Avramovitz.