Looking at the iconic nature of celebrity is nothing new to consider. We are fascinated and captivated by the lives celebrities’ lead which for most of us are unimaginable. Without knowing why we’ve placed them up on a pedestal and without a doubt each of us could list a musician, actor or artist who has been influential over how we dress, think and want to be.But it is not just single celebrities that have shaped the way we are. Having examined the last fifty years, what most of us wouldn’t consider is just how much impact a celebrity couple can have. When two people in the public eye become an item their combined popularity and profile can be powerful.
These couples’ names become synonymous with one another as we learn to look at them in a new way, as a single entity. They have influence over everyday things such as our personal style and what’s on trend to more substantial standards such as how we want our relationships to be. Our lives, priorities and tastes change over time, just as who we look up to does, and celebrity couples over the years have been a representation of what we like to wear as well as our ideals as a society.
Sonny and Cher were the first couple that people looked at as a unit. They had successes individually but once the two of them started tweeting ‘I Got You Babe’ their popularity skyrocketed and all of a sudden they were the couple everyone was envious of. In a time where divorce was finally becoming acceptable to talk about in society, Sonny and Cher gazed into each other’s eyes on camera looking so much in love making both their style and relationship enviable. Soon girls had long straight locks and fake eyelashes like Cher and guys would be walking around in paisley shirts and brown corduroy suits like Sonny. This was the first sign of just how influential a couple could be when the public liked not only them, but their sense of style.
A new double act entered the sphere in the late 60’s and shook up all ideas people had about a traditional couple. Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick were eccentric creatures to say the least with fashion alternative to match and represented a new way of underground living where people began to appreciate art house films and anything that contradicted high culture. Sedgwick was a skinny, androgenous looking girl who became a star in Warhol’s films and as rumour has it, cut her hair short and dyed it silver in homage to her lover. Women began to imitate her look as it was easy to do; cropped hair, sleeveless roll necks and sleek tights topped off with incredibly black eye make-up. Warhol’s look was a little less accessible to the masses but his legacy was far greater then fashion, he dictated what would be fashionable in general. His art, magazine and films had major success all over the world.
She may have been blamed for the demise of The Beatles but whatever was said about her, there’s no denying that once Yoko Ono and John Lennon became an item they had a significant impact on the society. Lennon fell in love with the experimental artist Yoko after they met at one of her exhibitions in London. They soon became inseparable. Their whole image in terms of style and persona was about peace and love in a time where war was a hot topic. Their ‘Bed-In’ protest campaign to promote peace sparked an international movement where people from around the globe protested not just against the Vietnam War but for equality in general. You’d see them out at these gatherings in all white ensembles with long flowing hair and holding flowers, a look that caught on with other protestors and a look that will forever be associated with that time. Their eccentricities were soon accepted and praised by those that were initially sceptical about Yoko and to date, they’ve remained one of the most talked about couples in recent history.
When Rolling Stones’ rocker Mick Jagger hooked up with Texan born model Jerry Hall in the early 1980’s, no one could have predicted the influence they would have over their 22 year relationship. No one, in fact, thought the relationship would last longer then a nano second as Jagger had an infamous reputation and Hall was engaged to Brian Ferry (until she fell pregnant with Jagger’s baby!)
The larger then life pair are the first couple that come to mind when you discuss relationships between models and rock stars. They had confidence and weren’t afraid to be public about their relationship but most of all they oozed sex appeal. Separately they were sexy enough but when put together they were a damn hot couple. They had an over red carpet style that would see Jagger in coloured suits and black sunglasses while Hall would wear figure hugging dresses, jewellery to the max and long blonde hair tousled over her shoulders.
Madonna and Sean Penn became another ‘it’ couple of the 80’s and as the two of them were so successful in their own fields of acting and singing, it was inevitable that public couldn’t get enough of their pairing. Just as ‘Like a Virgin’ hit Number 1 in America, the two decided to wed and their 1985 nuptials were the biggest spectacle Hollywood had ever seen. Helicopters flew overhead while Penn responded to the ruckus by carving out ‘F-Off’ in giant letters on the sand below their cliff top ceremony. People were also interested in their look as a couple. Here was Madonna, a tiny blonde pop star wearing white lace with a dark clothed in-and-out-of-jail Sean Penn. From the beginning the press deemed their relationship to be doomed but that didn’t deter fans from dressing like either of them during their marriage.
In the early 90’s a young British model and an American bad boy movie star became an item and caused a complete media and social buzz. Kate Moss and Johnny Depp began a relationship that saw them walk down red carpets at premieres, attend fashion shows, go to nightclub openings and in the process create a paparazzi frenzy that had never been seen. Forget Paris Hilton, this couple were the first sign of societies insatiable appetite for tabloid gossip. Before Moss’s appearance was tagged as ‘Heroine Chic’ by the press, Moss and Depp had a unique look that made its own headlines, a look that was just as unlikely as their pairing and just as intriguing. It was a time where grunge music was in its hey day and people wanted an alternative to the norm. Everyone wanted to be like them, they were just plain cool. Girls wanted to look like Moss with her wavy unstyled hair and spot-on fashion sense and guys wanted to look like Depp with his eclectic sense of style and withdrawn attitude.
In contrast to the untouchable nature of Moss and Depp, Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were a couple that people could identify with and this saw their popularity rise in the mid to late 90’s. They became not only Hollywood’s golden couple but everyone’s favourite couple. Obviously we know differently now, but at the time they were a couple that stood for stability and tradition. Their long union mixed with clean reputations and careers were a glimmer of hope in a society that was dealing with rising divorce rates and actors who would last all but five minutes in Tinsel Town. They personified love, grace and charm and as they were two of the biggest movie stars, their many public appearances fuelled everyone’s hunger. Kidman, a statuesque porcelain beauty would appear on red carpets in classic, feminine dresses that highlighted her skinny frame while Tom was a heartthrob who wore tailored suits and had plenty of charm.
In the naughties we are finding ourselves in a new era in which celebrity is much more accessible then it has been in the past. Reality TV means anyone can now have more then just their fifteen minutes of fame and anyone can be transformed into a pop singer over night. The young hot Hollywood phenomena we’re obsessed with has created stars out of socialites and attractive young rich kids. There are so many celebrities around that for the most part we can’t keep up!
Jennifer Lopez and Puff Daddy stand out for being the most high profile hip-hop relationship we’ve ever seen this decade and Sienna Miller’s relationship with Jude Law was one that we couldn’t get enough and who can leave out Victoria and David Beckham, a truly fashionable couple who lives a life of pure opulence. But the true test of an iconic couple is the test of time. It’ll be a few decades before we can decide whether metrosexual Becks and stick thin Posh contributed more to society then matching fragrances.
