By Rebecca Ceccatelli. Cover image by Anja Stroka.
“Never, never love a man so much.” A few days after the Italian release of the biopic Back to Black directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson, the life of Amy Winehouse returns to the screens in a different light.
The movie is named after the artist’s album and flagship song and tells the story of the period when Amy returned to her darkness after the first separation from her great, toxic love, Blake Fielder-Civil. The plot takes the viewer on a journey into the intimate life of the singer, exploring her toxic codependencies and alcoholism, as well as the sharp facets of her strong character, which both defended and caused her downfall.
However, there were mixed opinions about the director’s intimate and reflective portrayal of the young girl from Camden Town. Some found it excellent, while others criticised it for hiding Amy Winehouse’s great talent behind her problems, emphasising just the “black” side of the story and forgetting about the moments of light and joy. However, it is undeniable that Amy Jade Winehouse was a unique and irreplaceable figure, and today, we are here to celebrate her eccentric yet revolutionary style in the early 2000s London scene.
Amy Winehouse style: a vintage look living in the present
Amy Winehouse’s music is a unique blend of late 1950s R&B, 1960s soul with jazz undertones, and 21st-century urban pop, reminiscent of a modern-day The Shangri-Las, the famous female pop group from the 1960s. Her voice captivates with its alternating vocalisations, which are maintained with spine-chilling self-control. She described herself as “An old-fashioned girl living in the present”, a characteristic that is reflected in her personality and music.
Amy’s journey to stardom began at the age of 13 when she received her first guitar. She went on to join the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, which served as a prelude to her first demo, the one that would bring her under the wing of Universal in 2003. Amy Winehouse does nothing but write to live. Her music is a reflection of her life experiences, from the first boring loves and the question “Don’t you know you’re supposed to be the man?” in the song Stronger than Me from her album Frank to the sorrow that left her “Tears Dry” in Back to Black. Amy Winehouse is loved and recognised for her innate, extraordinary and very young talent, for which she won 5 Grammy Awards on February 10, 2008, breaking every record in important categories such as Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
Amy’s signature style: strong eyeliner and a giant bun
What are the first things you visualise when you think of Amy Winehouse?
A successful singer in the 1960s, Amy’s grandmother, Cynthia Winehouse, was everything Amy looked up to. As a child, she grew up alongside her, enjoying playful music nights and hearing stories of a past she couldn’t experience herself but wanted to remember lucidly. Cynthia inspired her lifestyle and look, drawing from the 1960s with the beehive hairstyle, characterised by a big high bun of black extensions with strands falling over her shoulders, which became part of Amy’s signature style and is still recognisable in popular memory today.
Besides her explosive beehive hairstyle, she had two thick, curved and deep black lines of eyeliner, which she always made sure to apply, so much that they looked as if they were tattooed on her face. Finally, a monroe piercing on her left-up lip made her face instantly recognisable.
Her iconic style has been imitated and reproduced by many, including Dua Lipa at the 2021 Brit Awards, when she wore a yellow-webbed dress and black suspenders, along with a high beehive bun, which was reminiscent of the original owner of the style!
Amy Winehouse and her tattoos
Tattooing is a form of art that involves using the body as a canvas. Thick lines you’d probably avoid today, with unnatural, acid colours, the tattoos that covered Amy Winehouse’s skin were more than just ink on her skin; they were stories etched into her very soul – and her left pocket tattoo bearing Blake’s name already explains. Each tattoo carried a piece of her chaotic yet meaningful existence and completed it.
Amy’s tattoos have become iconic and are often imitated by her fans, you could probably purchase their transfer versions on Amazon. Some of her most popular designs include the bold script “daddy’s girl”, divided by a green and red horseshoe, the topless girl whose nipples she carefully covered with a black marker at the 2008 Grammys, or perhaps the representation of her beloved grandmother Cynthia in mini-shorts and a red blouse. These tattoos perfectly represent the punk-ish, nostalgic designs of the early 2000s. Other designers have sought to evoke this atmosphere, such as Maison Margiela’s tribute to the tattoo artist Sailor Jerry in their Spring 2014 collection or Comme des Garçons’s FW 2015 collaboration with Joseph Ari Aloi, who is renowned for his “scribble” designs.
It’s just a matter of belongings. And it’s clear that Amy belonged to the old-school style.
Nothing else but satin flat ballets and extra low-rise shorts: that’s Amy Winehouse style
No fashion magazine had ever celebrated her as an icon before her death. Today, however, fashion houses often compete to emulate and honour her unique style. Perhaps it wasn’t her time, or maybe she’s just another Van Gogh discovered too late, but what is certain is that few contemporary music stars have influenced costume as much as Amy Winehouse did.
“Amy loved fashion, she loved feeling feminine, and her look was all her own”, as her friend and stylist Naomi Parry recounts.
She was often a challenge to introduce to fashion houses since she refused to follow their exclusive directions. She loved creating her own total looks by mixing Dolce&Gabbana pieces with those from niche designers. It was not uncommon to see her in a pink Adidas hoodie with the iconic black stripes on the sleeves and leopard-print mini-shorts. Amy always paired these with her timeless satin ballet flats, which she treasured so much that she had a ‘graveyard’ of them in her closet for those she no longer wore. Bold patterns like black and white polka dots or checks, along with vintage floral dresses, were also among Amy’s fashion staples; she frequently wore a timeless white sleeveless t-shirt with a visible bra, which she often paired with neon-coloured hoop earrings or clips in her thick, jet-black hair.
Much like in music, Amy took inspiration from vintage stars and added her flair to create a new millennium style that became popular in its own right. As exemplified by Jean Paul Gaultier in 2012, the designer, deep down, knew exactly from whom he was drawing inspiration.
If we continue to remember Amy Winehouse today and tomorrow, it will be because she was not only a music sensation but, above all, an icon. She became the same style icon she looked at as a child, while watching her grandmother.
