Designer Pierre Balmain once said, “Good fashion is evolution, not revolution.” If anyone knows about the importance of evolution when it comes to style, it’s Lana Del Rey.
Photo by Lheandrew Canete
Del Rey has released five albums as of 2018. With each album came a new look for the artist, looks which fans have taken to calling her “eras.”
“Born to Die,” released in 2012, skyrocketed Del Rey to fame with tracks like “Blue Jeans” and “Video Games.” As of this January, the album solidified Lana Del Rey as the third female artist in Billboard 200 history to have an album on the list for 300 consecutive weeks.
With this album came a style that many still associate with Del Rey: long red hair, pouty lips and flower crowns. This phase in del Rey’s style would look right at home at Coachella (or Woodstock, if you’re channeling the singer’s love for all things vintage).
“Paradise,” her second album, was released the same year. A shorter album, “Paradise” contained only eight songs. The album cover features Del Rey standing in front of a pool and palm trees in a white bathing suit.
Photo by Lheandrew Canete
The album’s breathy vocals and haunting instrumentals set the tone for “Tropico,” Del Rey’s short film released in 2013 and containing several songs from “Paradise.” The style from this era screams summer, with relaxed waves, loose silhouettes and lots of white.
2014 brought “Ultraviolence,” a darker album containing tracks like “Cruel World” and “Sad Girl.” With this era came the style perhaps easiest to recreate. The “Ultraviolence” album cover is a photo of Del Rey wearing a simple white t-shirt. In her music video for “West Coast,” the fifth song on the album, Del Rey sports the same white t-shirt with jeans and a leather jacket.
2015’s “Honeymoon” brought Old Hollywood glam to summertime. The album cover depicts del Rey atop a bus for Starline Tours, a company famous in Los Angeles and Hollywood for bus tours of celebrity homes. Promotional photos are filtered to appear vintage, and the music video for fifth track “High By The Beach” depicts Del Rey as a celebrity hiding from paparazzi in a glamorous seaside mansion.
Photo by Lheandrew Canete
This era is all about big sunglasses, floppy hats and summery Old Hollywood inspiration.
Del Rey’s most recent album, “Lust for Life,” was released in the summer of 2017. Boasting a number of features including Stevie Nicks, Sean Ono Lennon and A$AP Rocky, the album ventured away from Del Rey’s trademark somber tone.
With her happier sound came a brighter look. The “Lust for Life” album cover is the only cover out of the five that shows del Rey smiling. Rather than sport a full flower crown, she wears small daisies in her hair. The music video for the titular track features del Rey in a vintage dress, styled with frilly socks and heels, lace gloves and a headband.
No matter the era, Del Rey remains a style icon for her chameleon-like approach to fashion and her ability to simultaneously remain true to herself.
On Friday, January 26 Lana Del Rey will be taking her talents all the way to Happy Valley? Which of Del Rey’s eras will you be channeling for her concert at the BJC? Tweet or tag us in your latest Instagram, @VALLEYmag, with your era-inspired outfit!
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