Florence Welch has had an ever-fluctuating style over the years, from her Art Deco inspired couture from the early 2010’s to her powerful, paisley-clad bohemian style of 2015 onwards, there have been quite a few connotations associated with her aesthetic. Fans and onlookers often call her a Pre-Raphaelite painting come to life, others compare her to rock legends like the Rolling Stone’s Mick Jagger or David Bowie. In her own words, Welch has described her sense of style as a “Renaissance pirate.” However you may pinpoint it, Welch’s fashion is unique and eclectic, it often looks thrifted or vintage in some capacity.
Each outfit she wears is accompanied by tattooed fingers and long ginger hair, her trademark some would call it. The 35-year-old British singer-songwriter is known for working with Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele, who designed her stage outfits for her latest High As Hope tour, as well as many of her stand out red carpet looks, including her larger than life and maximalist winged ensemble for the 2019 Met Gala, Camp: Notes on Fashion.
But while Welch’s red carpet looks are stunning and highly memorable, where she shines is in her day-to-day streetwear out and about in London or New York, often what she posts to Instagram. In her looks there’s never a shortage of bell-bottom jeans, velvet or rather interesting combinations of styles, like a leather jacket over a floral dress, which combines a sense of mythical wonder with her somewhat alternative, rockstar persona.
And let’s not miss those red velvet boots.
Alongside working with Gucci quite often, Welch often wears clothing by Susie Cave (@thevampirerswife on Instagram), former model and muse of Vivienne Westwood, Bella Freud and Philip Treacy. The brand specializes in “luxuriously crafted, elegant and feminine designs in vibrant colours and unique fabrications.”
Welch’s style, on top of being eclectic and ever-so tailored, also has an enchanting way of merging traditionally “masculine” and traditionally “feminine” silhouettes and pieces, acting as a portal through which fashion transcends gender.
In her mystical and airy house tour video for Nowness, Welch said of her wardrobe “Clothes are my passion and slightly my downfall. It’s really nice to have a dressing room, that enjoyment of creating an outfit is a way to be creative.”
Her fashion captivates in it’s mixture of simplicity and maximalism, it is vintage but somehow incredibly modern. Much like all good fashion, Welch’s outfits weave a narrative of time in space, from masculine to feminine and from young to old. You never know what she’s going to look like next, but that’s part of the intrigue.
