My fashion heroes are all completely different to each other, yet hold a similar essence at the root: they’re authentic, they’re raw and they don’t give a fudge. 

If I could combine an element of each of these individuals and create my own fashion superhero, I fear their strength and all-round sequin-covered power would be eye-splitting. Too much to handle. Too cool for consumption. Perfect!  

So, without any further ado, here are my ultimate fashion icons…

Noel Fielding

Has there ever been a human that owned a better shirt collection than Noel Fielding? Since his skintight silver catsuit days to his cowboy hat-donning magnificence, he has always brought joy to my eyes. 

I’m obsessed with his outfits on The Great British Bake Off. Think jeans, a simple heeled boot and an award winning shirt, creating an unmistakable silhouette of hair, shirt and spindly rock ’n’ roll legs. Brilliant. 

Tilda Swinton 

If I could harness Tinda Swinton’s cool and authoritative power for just one day, I would be absolutely chuffed. Because, while I’ve never met the mighty TS before, I imagine that lungs stop demanding air and jaws slacken whenever she walks into a room. 

Her charisma and inimitable style out-cool pretty much everyone in a paradoxically scary, yet comforting, way. I love the way the sharp edges of her padded shoulders and the cool ice colour of her quiff makes you stand to attention, yet the soft swooping fabric that sways about her legs and her soft colour palette soothes the soul. Swinton forever! 

Pam Hogg

I found myself walking down one of Pam’s notorious catwalks during LFW. I had never, and probably never will again, done this and it was terrifying. I was suctioned into a white PVC dress, complete with aviation-style hat and killer boots. 

Pam creates visions and pieces of art that speak as they move. Clothes that hold a story, a rebellion and bring out the excitement in the quietest of folk. Her own personal style is a throwback, yet completely futuristic. She is a Victorian queen in Blade Runner clothing. I love this intoxicating mix and how she constantly pushes boundaries. 

Lupita Nyong’o 

Lupita is my red carpet crush. Never have I seen her get it ‘wrong’. I hate using the word wrong because who I am to say what is correct or not, but I admire the comfort she exudes when in the terrifying spotlight. 

Bold jewel-like colours, fabrics closing and weaving among one another, and her dreamy smile. Flowers, head pieces, avant-garde jewelry, fuchsia lips, anything goes and it all suits her. She’s such a versatile style chameleon. I love her! 

Robert Plant (circa 1976)

Feminine shapes made completely masculine. Puff sleeved blouses with skin-gripping jeans and a flower in hand. Kimonos and ornate belts glistening in the onstage lights. Chiffon twirling in the throng of Seventies decadence and miniature waistcoats layered over floral prints. 

Plant’s delicate style rubbed against the fiery nature of Led Zeppelin’s music in an almost comical way. Think opposites aligning and creating even more heat. I would love a rummage in his Seventies wardrobe. 

Winona Ryder in the Nineties 

Personally I always look better when a little scruffy. When I’m dolled up for a work event, I think I look older and slightly uncomfortable. My natural habitat is much more ‘running late scruff-bag’. 

Nineties Winona managed the ‘scruff’ without the ‘bag’ bit. Chic, uncomplicated and effortless, more like! She dressed mainly in black with a baggy silhouette, teaming chinos or jeans with grungy jumpers and cardigans. Even when those times arose for her to glam it up for the red carpet, she never looked overdone, wearing white bejewelled dresses with slicked-back hair and velvet slips with little make-up. She nailed the art of the understated. 

Kurt Cobain

No one has since worn a cardigan as well, and never will. Kurt’s combination of Fifties-shape sunglasses, stripy T-shirt, ripped jeans and unwashed hair shouldn’t have worked, but simply did. 

He wasn’t just grunge; there was a serious edge of chic-ness that was most definitely unintended, but comes with the territory of having that much charisma. I try to dress like him on my non-work days, borrowing my husband’s checked shirts and digging out my most-loved and worn T-shirts. 

Beth Ditto

I’ve been lucky enough to interview Beth on several occasions and she always looks incredible. She makes clothes into a colourful fantasy of print and texture.  

One minute she’ll be wearing a black PVC skin tight dress, complete with hedgehog-like spikes, and the next a Fifties housewife tea dress with sky-high shoes. Whatever she wears her personality comes flying out and whacks you in the face. She inspires me to have more fun with clothing and to switch up looks and genres. 

For one day only on Tuesday 27 March, Fearne Cotton has taken over stylist.co.uk and transformed it into her very own Happy Place – a digital sanctuary, focusing entirely on wellness, happiness and good mental health.

For similarly inspiring and uplifting content, check out Fearne Cotton’s Happy Place, available on Apple Podcasts now.

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