Madonna Wannabe

A Madonna wannabe, or Madonnabe, is a person (usually female) who dresses or acts like American singer Madonna. When she emerged into stardom in the mid-1980s, an unusually high number of women, particularly young women and girls, began to dress and do their hair and makeup in the style that Madonna displayed in public. The term was popularized by writer John Skow in a May 1985 ''Time'' cover story on the singer. Numerous sociologists and other academics commented on the Madonna influence in her wannabes, and mainly because by that time, using fashion with identity was a fresh concept. At some point of her career, and largely thanks to this phenomenon, Madonna was the most-imitated woman in the world on the report of American journalist Ricardo Baca.

The term was officially recognized by the Webster's Dictionary in May 1991. Following the disappearance of the trend, critics and journalists refer to female pop stars who emulate Madonna (with styles or musical) as Madonna wannabes. The term is also used as a nickname for her fandom, mainly to refer her female fans, especially young ones.

History

In 1982, Madonna met French jewelry designer Maripol at the Roxy nightclub in New York City. Both Madonna and Maripol styled the looks of her first two albums, ''Madonna'' (1983) and '' Like a Virgin'' (1984). The French designer made a line of official Madonna jewelry and accessories for her Virgin Tour in 1985, while the singer herself briefly sold a line of her own punk-chic clothing, called Yazoo, at her friend Maripol's Bleecker Street shop.

Some authors placed her video "Lucky Star" from her debut album as the beginning of the style and fad. According to professor Santiago Fouz-Hernandez and author of ''Madonna's Drowned Worlds'' (2004), following the Virgin Tour, Madonna was immediately imitated by girls, and audience seemed to consist mainly of wannabes and look-alikes. By this time, it was common to see young women across the world dressed in the style affected by Madonna. John Skow from ''Time'' commented on the phenomenon:

"The bright side of this trend is that these Wanna Be's (as in "We wanna be like Madonna!") could be out somewhere stealing hubcaps. Instead, all of them, hundreds of thousands of young blossoms whose actual ages run from a low of about eight to a high of perhaps 25, are saving up their baby-sitting money to buy cross-shaped earrings and fluorescent rubber bracelets like Madonna's, white lace tights that they will cut off at the ankles and black tube skirts that, out of view of their parents, they will roll down several turns at the waist to expose their middles and the waistbands of the pantyhose."

A thrift shop look that incorporated many beads, lace tops, bleached hair, ratted hair, rosaries, crucifixes, skirts, bracelets and bustiers. Some typical attires of the wannabes were wearing men's boxer shorts on top of tight women's short pants or leggings, and other underwear as outerwear elements, fingerless gloves, ankle-high boots. Also net tops to display the belly button, as well as ribbon or bow shaped headbands or tiaras in the hair, called Madonna bows.

The fad peaked in 1985 and began to decline by that year's end, as her national tour wound down. Tough the mania subsided, many women continued to wear the look and some features of the Madonna wannabe style for a couple of years. The style remains though nostalgia and costume parties.

Reactions

The trend impacted retailers and also costume contests of that era, thus Madonna's trademark look became an iconic fashion trend of the 1980s. Authors of ''Defining Visions: Television and the American Experience Since 1945'' (1998), commented: "No pop star had more impact on retail clothing sales than Madonna". In the TV program ''The 80's: The Decade that Made Us'' by the National Geographic, it was explained that "Madonna inspires countless girls across the globe to hit the nearest shopping mall to match her distinctive style". To a larger extent, author Jennifer Grayer Moore, wrote in ''Fashion Fads Through American History'' (2015):

A prime example is Macy's, when their department store opened "Madonnaland" in 1985, a boutique selling clothes modelled after the singer's style. In June 1985, there was a look-alike contest at Macy's Herald Square in New York City. Pop artist Andy Warhol, who Madonna had met through her relationship with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, her stylist Maripol, MTV contributor Nina Blackwood, and ''Madonna: Lucky Star'' author Michael McKenzie were the judges. After its launch of "Madonnaland" by Macy's, many other retailers followed suit. American journalist Ricardo Baca explained that Madonna was the most imitated woman in the world at some point.

Madonna reacted to this trend, and revealed in an interview with ''The Washington Post'' her own surprise for this phenomenon at the fact that a way of dressing she had chosen had suddenly become, quite spontaneously in fashion. In another interview with Michael Gross in 1985, she revealed: "I was flattered that people wanted to look like me and dress me. But I think it was all part of a spirit that I had, and I think that the people who wanted to dress like me saw the humor more than anybody else".

Impact on young female audiences and identity

The Madonna wannabe phenomenon was studied by sociologists and other academics, as was noted by Spanish professor and philosopher Ana Marta González. The young female audience was the main target impacted by this trend. French academic Georges-Claude Guilbert described the Madonna influence on wannabes as "so deep" that "have undoubtedly influenced the decisions of many young women". According to Lisa Lewis, for many young girls, imitating Madonna meant creating a space and identity of their own. By this time, using fashion and identity was a fresh concept that Madonna boosted with this trend, thus "her free style of dressing, speaking and behaving encouraged for many female fans a discovery of their identity and body". Gary Goshgarian found that John Fiske and others interviewed young girls and find that the "Madonna wannabes are most taken with her assertive self-enjoyment, her seeming indifference to men".

In the journal ''Frontiers'' (2001) from University of Colorado, an individual described: "Behaving like Madonna was a political statement for most of us. However, such statements we believed needed to be expressed with appropriate clothing. This quest for Madonna-ness, almost down to the bones, provoked a consumerist desire in most of us, prompting periodic excursions to the mall to update our wardrobes to keep up with the ever-changing fashion statements of Madonna". Madonna herself, commented about this: "Maybe kids now see someone in the public eye doing what I do. Maybe that's the phenomenon and why young girls are dressing up like me—because finally someone else is showing that it's O.K."

Continuity with the term

Following the disappearance of the trend, critics and public used the term to refer female pop stars who had notable similarity with or majorly influenced by Madonna. When inducting Madonna into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, American singer and actor Justin Timberlake stated that "The world has always been full of Madonna wannabes, and I might have even dated a couple" referring to his former girlfriend, Britney Spears. William Anthony Donohue, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, called Lady Gaga a mediocre "Madonna wannabe" due to the usage of Catholic imagery in her "Alejandro" music video. Chris Riemenschneider, a journalist of ''Star Tribune'', wrote an article in 2012 ranking several singers as "Madonna wannabe", including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Katy Perry, Rihanna as well as Lady Gaga who topped the list with 10 out of 10 rating.

Some outlets have referred to her fandom, mainly female (young) audiences as "Madonna wannabes" since then. According to Sean MacLeod, author of ''Leaders of the Pack'' (2015), Spice Girls's debut single "Wannabe" was coined from the fans of Madonna, who were dubbed "wannabes".

See also

* Madonna fandom
* Madonna impersonator

References

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Further reading

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External links

Official website for Madonna

{{Madonna

Wannabe
1980s fashion
1980s neologisms
Fashion of Madonna
Music fandom
Social phenomena