Billy Porter’s Tuxedo Dress Is Revealed as one of the Most Iconic Looks of Past 30 Years

Throughout the 90’s to the 2010’s we have seen some iconic dresses that have broken the internet. From the unforgettable JLO Versace Green Dress (and the reason Google Images exists), to Lady Gaga’s jaw-dropping ‘Meat Dress’, there have been a number of undeniable stand-out moments for fashion over the last three decades, leaving long-lasting legacies within the industry.

Fashion retailer, Nasty Gal has discovered the most iconic dresses of the nineties and noughties. Ranking each dress on the following:

 Number of articles written about the dress

 Level of career impact

  Fashion industry impact

 Societal impact

The top 10 dresses that broke the internet

Credit: Shutterstock

1. Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack dress is the most iconic dress of the ‘90s and ‘00s

Coming in first place is THE iconic Union Jack dress worn by Geri Halliwell at the 1997 Brit Awards. This stand-out dress created the biggest buzz online with a total of 70,861 social media engagements.

The dress became synonymous with the Spice Girls and the 2000s Girl Power era. With a ranking of 18 out of 20, the Union Jack Dress is the most iconic dress of the past 30 years.

2. Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress

Following in a close second place is the globally recognized “Revenge dress” worn by Diana, Princess of Wales in 1994. The all-black silk number received its unique name after being worn the same evening that Prince Charles went on national television to admit to his affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles.

With one of the biggest wider impacts and the highest average social engagement across the board, Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress scores 16 out of 20 in the index.

Credit: Jayne Fincher/Getty Images

3. Liz Hurley’s Safety Pin Dress

Creating another fashion-shaping moment in 1994, this Versace dress worn by Liz Hurley propelled her from Hugh Grant’s plus one to a 90’s style icon.

Ranking 15 out of 20 in our index, the Safety Pin Dress scored highly in the study across both career impact and fashion industry impact.

The dress has since become Versace’s most recognizable look, influencing countless collections and filtering into mainstream fashion.

4. JLo’s Versace Green Dress

When JLo appeared at the 2000 Grammy Awards in this Green Versace Dress, she caught the world’s attention. According to former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, it became the most popular search query at that time, bringing on the birth of Google Images.

With 6,513 social media engagements, the dress gained another swarm of press after Jennifer Lopez revived the low-cut look at the SS/20 Versace show and places fourth in the index.

5. Lady Gaga’s Meat Dress

The pop icon, Lady Gaga turned heads at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards by wearing a dress formed entirely of Argentinian beef.

Sitting in fifth place in the index, it became one of the most iconic Gaga outfits, scoring highly on career impact, as well as wider social impact. The dress not only created a fashion statement but also made a political statement against the US military’s ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy on sexuality at the time.

The dress now sits in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame after being preserved by a taxidermist.

Credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Methodology

Using the social listening tool Buzzsumo, we found the total number of articles and social media engagements surrounding a range of dresses from the past thirty years. These dresses were then ranked, with the top twenty going through another round of data scoring. The metrics scored were as follows: wider societal impact, impact on the fashion industry, career impact (on the wearer), and imitations (were imitations created of the dress, how widespread were these). Each metric was scored using desk research for a deeper understanding of the impact. The more impactful the dress, the more iconic. This was then used to determine the overall ranking.

About Nasty Gal

Nasty Gal was founded in 2006 and is based in Los Angeles. A pioneer in both the curation and design of women’s clothing, shoes, and accessories, the company has a global presence in 180 countries and a social media following of over 4.7 million. In 2017, Nasty Gal was acquired by online retail destination boohoo.com. For more information, visit the website at www.nastygal.com. Follow us on Instagram & TikTok @nastygal. #NastyGalsDoItBetter