In 1966 Beatles star John Lennon stepped into Yoko Ono’s art gallery where he met her for the first time. She handed him a note that simply said, “breathe”. From this moment on, this elegantly outrageous woman has inspired so many intellectual, political and creative minds to this day.
Avant-garde artist, musician and peace activist—love her or hate her, you can’t deny the significant influence of Yoko Ono on pop culture today. Her feminist and humanistic influence over music is uncanny. Just as she inspired lover John Lennon to write Imagine, a Beatles favorite, she has inspired fashion in every way from runways to street style for the last four decades.
Although her style has slowly evolved from her 80s shield style Porsche sunglasses to the androgynous, simplistic, well tailored suits she wears today, it is her wildly unkempt hair and floppy 70s hats that has remained her signature and seems to resonate the most with young hipsters of our times. One thing that has remained consistent: her love of hats and all-black, all-white ensembles. Don’t tell me you can’t see the blatant similarities between these paparazzi shots of her with hubbie John Lennon in 1969 and current street style photos.
2011, especially, was an ode to Ono on the runways. The 70s trend was everywhere from Marc Jacobs in New York City to Roberto Cavalli in Milan and this trend is still trickling through mainstream and fast fashion outlets now.
Young successful designers like Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler claim Yoko Ono’s spectacularly long hair and millinery of the sixties and seventies as inspiration for their designs. There seems to be something special about Ono’s restless independent spirit that attracts people to her (Nelson). Similarly, Lady Gaga makes it known that she is highly influenced by Ono, in both her music and fashion. The two controversial artists even performed together in Los Angeles in 2010. That’s right Gaga fans, you have Yoko Ono to thank… partly.
Yoko Ono’s job description extends to so many things, including professional muse (how’d you like to add that to your resume). In 2009 she collaborated with designers from Threeasfour, who happen to be buddies with her son Sean Lennon. For their Spring 2010 collection, they drew prints and the soundtrack from Yoko Ono’s art and music.
In this instance, Ono’s influence on fashion was quite literal. As was her influence over collections from Gucci, Emilio Pucci and even American Apparel. In most cases, however, many of us emulate her style unintentionally, almost as if she has become an integral part of our culture.
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