Just when you thought that your 1990s and Y2K-inspired moodboards had been exhausted of fashion looks to swoon over, along came the Beckham documentary.
Earlier this month, social media was awash with looks from the couple, be it in their puffer jacketed dating days or über tanned era in Madrid. When it came to fans of ‘Posh and Becks’ in the four-part Netflix series, many declared they’d ‘come for love story, stayed for the fashion’.
The same week that Beckham hit our TV screens, an image of Justin and Hailey Bieber arriving in mismatched looks for her Rhode launch a month prior became heavily memed. While the model wore a red Ermanno Scervino AW23 mini dress, the musician dressed in a grey tracksuit. ‘It’s so funny because I see so many people talk about this,’ the catwalk star recently noted to GQ, addressing the ongoing fascination with the pair’s mismatched aesthetic.
Then came that viral Gucci campaign, starring Kendall Jenner and Bad Bunny, which was dubbed the couple’s #hardlaunch by fans after the pair declined to comment on their relationship status. Of course, the couple need not have uttered a word – their matching retro looks and luggage spoke a thousand.
Add to this an increasing number of TikTok accounts dedicated to artful couples’ style, such as Young Emperors, and countless solo influencers increasingly performing the ‘high five outfit change’ trend with a romantic partner (the format has nearly 84 million views, and counting).But, why are we all developing a growing appetite for style multiplied by two? Is two really better than one in the sartorial stakes?
When it comes to couples in the public eye, Jo Hemming, behavioural psychologist and relationship coach, explains that people invest in couples’ style as a signifier of aspirational relationships. Hemming says that dressing alike ‘makes celebrity couples appear more connected emotionally – expressing solidarity and togetherness’. We often see this ‘in the early stages of relationships, the honeymoon period’, or ‘conversely when things are not so good, and they might be trying to show a united front,’ she adds.
However, as couple and content creators Dean Khalil and Brittany Bathgate point out, dressing in sync also comes naturally when partners bond over shared interests, or spend a significant amount of time together. ‘We met during art school in 2006 during the Indie Sleeze era, so we both had the same look,’ remembers Khalil. ‘If we weren’t so different in height we would’ve definitely shared one wardrobe between us. As we’ve matured our style has matured together.’
In his experience, Khalil admits he does see more traction on posts which feature him and Bathgate as a couple, and believes people enjoy seeing posts of coordinated romantic couples as it shows ‘unity, like being in a team.’
Such cohesion feels poignant right now, after what was dubbed ‘break-up summer’ by many outlets has carried over well into autumn, with a staggering number of well-documented A-list splits, from Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas’, to Jodie Turner-Smith and Joshua Jackson’s.
As Florence van der Spek, founder of Flo PR, explains: ‘People are always so interested in what’s going on behind the scenes with celebrities, and when couples dress alike it’s another way to add to the narrative.’ Given that many of the world’s most famous pairings are shrouded in mystique, rarely speaking about their private lives to the press and followers, fans are always looking out for breadcrumbs – be it a ‘like’ of a post on Instagram or colour co-ordinated ensemble on a night out.
But, contrary to the cringeworthy ‘matchy-matchy’ looks of the 1990s and early 2000s (think Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake’s AMAs double denim outfits), outfits seemingly expressing a subtle sense of cohesion are much more likely to be considered a ‘moment’ in 2023. Carefully curated looks now ‘feel very much like a PR move,’ as van der Spek notes. As Spears herself says in her The Woman In Me book: ‘I get that it was tacky — but it was also pretty great in its own way.’ Under a modern lens, a couple who choose to match, or at the very least co-ordinate, their looks appear savvy and well-versed in the clout a ‘team’ aesthetic conveys to the masses.
Cherelle Byfield, content creator and PR manager for Selfridges, points out that Nineties and Noughties celebrity couples often ‘pushed boundaries’ with their style, thereby creating a ‘blueprint [for more modern celebrity couples] to be more edgy and create their own versions.’
The original power couple, the Beckhams, have perfected this for almost three decades, by evolving their signature looks from the Gucci leathers of their heyday to luxury monochrome tailoring for the 2020s. Meanwhile, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are pros at coordinating viral moments. Think Nineties denim and oversized jackets for their first pregnancy announcement, shot by celebrity photographer Diggzy, or their Rick Owens outfits, with matching trains, they wore for a ‘date night’ at a Black Panther premiere, after the birth of their son, RZA.
While fans have increasingly become wiser to the power of brand deals and the influence of celebrity stylists, off-duty style moments or social posts of celebrities lives behind the scenes are now all the more captivating. We see this with fledgling couples like Romeo Beckham and Mia Regan, or Emma Corrin and Rami Malek, and Jenna Lyons and Cass Bird, who have become the subject of many reposts and style articles in recent weeks.
For Lyons and Bird it’s perfectly cut dark denim, while Beckham and Regan have been photographed sporting GORP-core and 1990s minimalism. Corrin and Malik, however, had the rumour-mill running after wearing similar boyfriend shirts at the US Open, before they confirmed their relationship status with the choice of complementary coloured outfits to the Miu Miu SS24 afterparty in Paris earlier this month.
It’s no surprise then that 1990s paparazzi shots of A-list couples have become a source for inspiration for brands. For example, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy and John Kennedy Jr’s NYC iconic quiet luxury-esque street style was recently the go-to for Sporty & Rich’s September campaign, which outperformed the solo model posts on its feed at least tenfold. ‘Just knowing what’s relevant and being on top of that definitely helped me in my role,’ explained the company’s founder Emily Oberg.
As we’ve learnt from the Beckhams’ matching purple wedding outfits (‘I think I just took Victoria’s lead on it, but what were we thinking?’ jokes the footballer in his documentary), there’s an art to striking balance between coordinating and corny. It’s something actor Gabrielle Union aced this month when posting premiere images of herself and her husband Dwyane Wade in Versace pastel looks in Milan. Contrary to the often garish celebrity couple styling of the early Noughties (think bold colour combinations, fabrics, and patterns), today’s coordination is intentional, yet muted. Considered, yet seemingly effortless.
If the Biebers, Beckhams, and Bad Bunnies of the world have taught us anything, it’s that there’s serious power and meaning in the ‘supercouple’ wardrobe. Whereas once a Facebook relationship status or, more recently, a #softlaunch on Instagram of a couple photo confirmed rumours of an ‘official’ romance, nowadays it seems the biggest indicator of a strong and inseparable pairing is their commitment to co-ordination. In the Beckhams’ case, we might have come for the style, but we’re staying for the love story.
