Musicians Who Defined Nineties Style

Garbage's Shirley Manson embodied what females miss most about Nineties style. Her name alone brings up fond memories of huge boots, fishnets, eyeliner, short skirts and red lipstick, which was not only what she wore in her mid-1990s breakout years but also what millions of other girls wanted to wear, too. While Courtney Love's style had a destructive energy to it and Gwen Stefani's felt specifically SoCal femme, Manson's look found a unifying middle ground, bringing dark, sexy and intelligent qualities together in one very powerful package.

Manson was also an explorer of the avant-garde and, by 1998's future noir epic Version 2.0, she was wearing custom techno-punk creations by the likes of Martin Margiela, Boudicca and McQueen. She also was arguably the first artist to bring fully immersive live marketing to the red carpet, showing up at the 1999 Grammys in a sheer dress that featured Garbage's orange globe and not-so-subtly celebrated the success of 2.0's Album of the Year nomination.