Marina Diamandis: Fashion Icon of the 2010s
Every era of fashion consists of many subcultures, though, during the 2010s, social media played a major part in launching new trends and fostering specific aesthetics for people that wished to stray away from the norm. Marina Diamandis (formally known as Marina and the Diamonds) came to fame in early 2010, mainly due to her hit single “Hollywood,” which detailed fame through the lens of someone who just stepped into the spotlight, and her large internet following. Her ever-changing style is a prime guidebook to how trends have developed throughout the bulk of the 2010s.
In 2010, Marina released her first studio album, titled The Family Jewels, which mainly found success in the United Kingdom. Marina primarily dressed according to the trends of the time, donning bright colored lipstick, the occasional highlighted hair streak, stripes, and sequin dresses. Even though she primarily dressed with the trends, Marina began to gain a major internet following. More and more young girls started to connect to her music, which made her a key figure to follow.
In 2012, with the release of her second studio album, Electra Heart, Marina began to become more famous in the United States. For this album, Marina took on the persona of a self-created character called Electra Heart, who she characterized as a “Primadonna” housewife, commenting on the inevitable stereotypes that women in the media face. Marina’s style reflected Electra Heart’s persona through a twist on the extremely popular “twee” fashion craze, which conveniently touched on vintage 1950s fashion. The frosted pink lipstick, headbands, and bright pastel colors fell perfectly in line with the popular fashion movements of the early 2010s.
Marina made it clear that she wished to write more of her own music, and eventually released Froot in 2015. This album release was paired with a darker style, which was more polished and curated to a more sophisticated audience. The darker tones of red are still in relation to the color pink, which displays how she is now presenting her actual self to the spotlight, represented by her natural black hair and the lack of pastels in her wardrobe. This also reflects how fashion began to stray away from playful skirts, and slowly began to reflect a darker aesthetic.
Love and Fear, released in 2019, was Marina’s last album of the 2010s. This album took on a very introspective view on society, and revealed an even more sophisticated version of Marina as someone who is accepting of her personal struggles and content with her place in life. Though the cover of this album took on many dark tones, her wardrobe consisted of a lot of green colors, falling perfectly in line with the extremely popular 1970s aesthetics of the late 2010s.
Marina’s growth in the spotlight reflects how fashion has changed and grown throughout the 2010s. From the playful neon colors to a toned down, more sophisticated color palette, Marina’s changing style shows the obvious changes in aesthetics throughout this time period.
Paige Paulsen