Amy Winehouse was found dead in her London apartment last weekend, July 23, of as yet unknown causes. The singer-songwriter was known for her brassy contralto vocals and powerful soul and jazz infused music. She was also a tabloid cover girl as her public decline into drug addiction resulted in shoddy music performances, violent outbursts and several arrests. Talk of a third album release offered hope for Winehouse fans after she left a recent rehab stint in April and began performing again in Europe, but that was soon dashed with the news of the musician's untimely death at the age of 27.
While critics and journalists alike continue to turn to Winehouse's faults with dreary allusions to her Grammy-award winning single, "Rehab", it seems more fitting, and more beneficial, to look to the influences she had on music and youth culture.
Style Figure - Making 50s Fashion Fashionable
"I just dress like it's still the 50s," said Winehouse when asked about her personal style during a red carpet interview. Her iconic look of Mid-century Midwestern housewife meets punk scenester often garnered as much attention as her music or her antics. Early photos of Winehouse show her with her hair down, wearing subdued make-up and strumming her guitar. But her signature look quickly evolved into a towering beehive, cat-eye liner, dark lip-liner and a Monroe piercing.
Her clothing mirrored the looks of Motown singers and 60s British soap operas - pinup style dresses with sweetheart necklines were accessorized with pearl necklaces and scarf hair ties. But she made sure to inject each look with a rebellious edge, letting bra straps slip out of tank tops, donning motorcycle jackets and flaunting her growing collection of tattoos.
Winehouse's style was so iconic that designers rushed to mimic it. Karl Lagerfeld put his models in beehive hairstyles for Chanel's runway show in 2007, and in 2008 Winehouse performed at the opening of a new Fendi outpost in Paris. She also collaborated with Perry Ellis on two collections - the first 17-piece apparel and accessories line dropped with Winehouse starring in the lookbook, and the second collection launched in March 2011. Hawaiian print shirts, pedal pushers and plenty of gingham show telltale signs of Winehouse's creative direction. In a current culture that is obsessed with 50 Mad Men style, it is important to note that Winehouse predated its resurgence with her own interpretations of vintage glamour.
Strong Frontwoman - Finding a New Female Music Icon
It is true that Winehouse struggled with her performances throughout her career, but beyond the drugs and alcohol is the story of a strong female musician who paved the way for fellow women. Singers like Adele and Duffy credit Winehouse for her crossover success as a U.K. artist, and for her ability to promote herself as a vibrant, kooky and unique female music icon.
Lady Gaga cited Winehouse and her ability to redefine pop as something more than its bubblegum roots: unconventional women could have mainstream appeal, too. Female artists that have gained popularity since then, like Florence and the Machine, La Roux and Little Boots, are powerful in their own right, but they must look back to Winehouse as a key player in the female music movement.
Soul Siren - Bringing Soul Music to the Mainstream
When Winehouse released her second album, Back to Black in 2006, she got near-instant fame and introduced a new generation of listeners to soul and R&B. While her first album, Frank had distinct jazz references, Back to Black called upon girl groups of the 50s and 60s like The Supremes, The Shangri-Las and The Exciters.
While her dangerous ambivalence to authority made her seem distant and cold, when it came to songwriting, her lyrics were emotional and vibrant. And backup vocals by the Dap-Kings drove home the revivalist soul sound, securing the return of a once dusty and dated genre. It will be interesting to see how soul and R&B continue to develop in the aftermath of Winehouse's death. Pandora's VP of Communication, Deborah Roth, stated that while users typically create between 700-900 Amy Winehouse radio stations every day, on Saturday, the number shot up to 75,000.
Public Warning - Showing the Reality of Substance Abuse
In the end, this story is about the public and tragic death of a young woman after years of drug and alcohol abuse, paired with a toxic relationship with an enabler and a fellow addict (Winehouse was married to her on-and-off boyfriend, Blake Fielder-Civil, for over two years before they divorced in 2009). She provided the media with a slide show of the effects of substance abuse over the years: mood swings, weight loss, complexion changes, dizziness, fatigue and emphysema. Her various stints in rehab clinics were minimally effective at best, and she was regarded as someone who was reckless with her behavior and her body.
We can hope that Winehouse stands as an example of the negative effects of drugs, and encourages those affected by them to seek help and treatment. Sadly, she is one of many casualties of the "rock 'n' roll lifestyle" - Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all died at 27. But as a fallen musician in a new era (with its new drugs), Winehouse stands to be more than just a pop culture catastrophe.
Sarah Moore - Sarah Moore is an editor for a fashion trend forecasting firm and a freelance writer living in New York City. Sarah studied at Washington ...
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