A Look Back at Fiona Apple’s Peak ’90s Style
If you haven’t yet listened to the masterpiece that is Fetch the Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple’s fifth studio album, close this tab and get to it. If you have, you’re likely longing for the days when the reclusive singer was everywhere. Luckily, there exists a time capsule of sorts. Apple’s style was so thoroughly ’90s that photos from the Tidal and When the Pawn… era vividly capture the decade. Her wardrobe essentials were a ’90s checklist, featuring clogs, spaghetti straps, flare jeans, and crimped hair. When performing, she took care to showcase her belly button piercing; if she wasn’t already wearing a crop top, she’d fashion one herself by tying up her shirt. But on the red carpet, Apple often stuck to tradition—at least, when it came to events like the Oscars. There was nothing conventional about the ensemble—not to mention sparkly yellow makeup—she wore to the VH1 Fashion Awards in 1997. Here, revisit those looks and more, like the surprisingly simple one on the infamous night she took the stage of the VMAs and declared “the world is bullshit.”
Fiona Apple at the 39th Annual Grammy Awards in 1997. Photograph courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple in 1996. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple recording a message on her 1-800 hotline for PETA’s fight against Butterball and its turkey recipes in Virginia, 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at Madison Square Garden in New York City, 1997. Photo courtesy of Ebet Roberts and Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at the Lilith Fair at Jones Beach on Wantagh Long Island in New York, 1997. Photo courtesy of Ebet Roberts and Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at the VH1 Fashion Awards in 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at Live 105’s BFD at Shoreline Amphitheatre in California, 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple and David Blaine at the New York premiere of Mimic, 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple in 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple with her 1997 Spin cover. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Madonna and Fiona Apple at the 70th Annual Academy Awards, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at the Grammy Awards nomination press conference at Radio City Hall in New York, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at La Cigalle in Paris, 1996. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City, 1997. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Fiona Apple at the 70th Annual Academy Awards nominees luncheon in Beverly Hills, California, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
Fiona Apple at the Los Angeles premiere of Out of Sight, 1998. Photo courtesy of Getty Images.
