Today marks 20 years since Avril Lavigne’s career began. Only 17 years old, she released her debut album on June 4th, 2002, which had 13 tracks, including the singles “Complicated”, “Sk8er Boy”, “I’m With You” and “Losing Grip”. Avril marked a generation and her album became the 4th best of the decade according to Rolling Stone magazine.
Besides impacting the music industry with her pop-punk in the early years, she brought out the skateboarding and punk style in her clothes. Wearing pieces considered masculine and perpetuating the “tomboy” look, Avril distanced herself from the princess style that the media used to show at the time.
The ties
One striking thing that made up all her looks were the ties, Avril’s visual signature. The accessory was on her neck in her first music video “Complicated”, in her concert costumes, and even on red carpets. The artist wore ties with different prints and colors, but the most used print was the striped one.
Smokey eye
As well as the ties, one thing that was her trademark was the black smokey eyeshadow and marked eyeliner that highlights her blue eyes. Avril continues to do this kind of makeup to this day. She recently told Allure magazine that she can smudge her eyes in two minutes and has no patience for other people doing her makeup.
Tank tops
On the top, she always wore simple, tight shirts or her famous tank tops in the colors white, green, and camo print. They were often presented alongside ties and cargo pants.
Oversized Cargo pants
To compose the look, she always chose wider pants, especially oversized camo cargo pants. She also wore low-rise pants, but wide in the length. The singer always had a more casual look with neutral and black tones.
Spiked and rubber bracelets
Accessories were important in her outfit: spiked and rubber bracelets were always on her wrists. The singer made several combinations and used them in all sorts of ways to reinforce the punk strength of her look.
Sneakers and messy hair
To complete the punk and skater style, Avril let her hair down with a slightly messy appearance. She always used low sneakers on her feet, like Converse’s All-stars and Vans.
Pop-punk on the Gen-Z
Styles and trends are always returning, and it’s no different with pop-punk. TikTok had a big influence on the return of this aesthetic and on other artists, such as WILLOW and Olivia Rodrigo.
A new and strong artist that brings this style to young people nowadays is Willow Smith, musically known as WILLOW. In her 4th album, called “lately I feel EVERYTHING”, she brings an alternative aesthetic and punk sound, and evidences the pop-rock comeback by bringing Avril Lavigne for collaboration in the song titled “G R O W N”.
Another artist returning with this style is Olivia Rodrigo. With her debut album “Sour”, she explores this sound, especially in the single “Good 4 You”. At her Toronto concert on April 29, 2022, Olivia invited Avril to perform “Complicated” and said she was lucky to be singing with her.
The contemporary pop-rock style is marked by plaid skirts and pants, corsets, neon and dark-colored looks, oversized clothes, boots, spiked belts, fishnets, and dark makeup. The young people often show dynamic pieces to compose their looks and show the pop-punk essence that was perpetuated in the 2000s by Avril Lavigne.
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The article above was edited by Julia Bonin.
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