From Bennifer to the Biebers, stars step out in matching outfits again
Pleather trousers, locket necklaces and Natural Born Killers T-shirts: during this holiday season, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly cemented their 2021 fashion status with a familiar look – matching styles.
The pandemic has had a regressive effect on fashion: shoppers swapped their office uniforms for tracksuit bottoms and in lieu of any fashion trends that stuck, we clung to the past, reviving looks from the 60s, the 70s and Y2k.
One of the most unexpected revivals has been the trend of celebrity couples dressing alike. In the late 90s and early 00s we had Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears in double denim, Victoria and David Beckham in matching Matrix-inspired leather jumpsuits, and even the likes of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher jumped on the bandwagon.
Once again, in 2021, celebrity couples started dressing in complementary outfits. Leading the trend was the reconfigured Bennifer (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez), reunited after nearly two decades apart (they initially broke up in 2002). The duo signalled their togetherness with matching fashion choices. Their last public outing, earlier this month, saw them twinning in PG-13 sky blue. And where they led, others followed.
From Justin and Hailey Bieber in pumpkin-coloured coats to the aforementioned Fox and Kelly, and Blink-182’s Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian, Bennifer underlined the importance of creating a brand identity through a matching wardrobe. “This behaviour is about performative couplehood,” said Prof Alison Goodrum from Norwich University of the Arts.
Goodrum says the pandemic has altered the way couples express their closeness in public. “In a changed world where public displays of affection, touch and physical proximity are discouraged, couples have turned to alternative ways of signalling their partnerships.”
Shared wardrobes reveal intimacy but can also signal changes in public personas. When Kardashian and Fox began dressing as goth-punks (like their respective beaux, Barker and Kelly), they got a boost, adding elements of edginess and danger to their images. “Complementary dressing is rarely something that occurs without planning or intent,” says Goodrum. “Dressing alike is a useful tool for any red carpet couple to employ in the development or enhancement of their personal branding. It is a shorthand to signal messages about their lifestyle, preferences, status and even ideologies.”
But what does it say when a star with a strong personal identity starts to dress to complement their partner’s attire? In August, the jewellery retailer Tiffany hired Beyoncé and Jay-Z, dressing them in matching evening attire, in a conscious effort to attract a younger customer to the luxury brand. The effect seemed at odds with Beyoncé’s unique brand of independence and self-love.
“Fashion is often regarded to be a material means of self-expression and individuality, so there is a curious contradiction that surrounds both the idea and the practice of couple-dressing in this regard,” says Goodrum. “To dress in an intentionally similar manner to someone else may be considered by some to be problematic, a threat to one’s authentic self, a loss of one’s identity or a denial.”