The world of pop and beyond is divided into a before and after of the arrival of Britney Spears. In fact, the American singer is one of those icons capable of centralizing attention and writing pages of history in both music and fashion.
For example, it’s impossible not to remember Spears’s much-talked-about, total denim couple look, sported with then-partner Justin Timberlake, which she wore for the 2001 American Music Awards. The couple, who were together from 1999 to 2002, drove everyone crazy when they arrived on the red carpet with their matching outfits.
So, of course, in her new memoir , Spears had to share a few more details about the event.
“In the South, moms love to gather the kids together and say, ‘Listen, we’re going to go to church today and coordinate all the colors,’” the Toxic singer writes. “That’s what I did when Justin and I attended the 2001 American Music Awards, which I hosted with LL Cool J.”
Here’s Britney Spears arriving wearing the Kurt and Bart designer strapless dress (complete with matching handbag) with Timberlake in the denim jacket and pants suit and even a denim cowboy hat.
Yes, but whose idea was it? Obviously hers.
“I still couldn’t believe that Justin would wear jeans,” Spears writes, “and I said, ‘We should match! Let’s do denim on denim!’”
Although Spears’s comment was just a joke, eventually everyone decided to take it seriously.
“I didn’t think my stylist would actually do it, and I never thought Justin would do it with me. But they both went all in,” she writes.
She adds: “I understand that it might have looked tacky, but it was also pretty awesome in its own way, and I’m always happy to see it parodied as a Halloween costume.”
The look is now a popular Halloween costume, and even celebrities have copied the iconic look, such as Katy Perry and Riff Raff at the 2014 VMAs.
Ugly or beautiful, tacky or not, it doesn’t matter.
In the end what remains is that Spears and Timberlake’s coordinated ensemble, years later, is one of the most iconic fits ever, which, to this day, never ceases to influence.
This story was originally published in Vanity Fair Italy.
