Willow Smith's Stylistic Evolution: Icon in the Making

Willow Smith's career in music and acting has seen her accumulate accolades throughout the years. She went from starring in the blockbuster I Am Legend when she was just 7 years old to being the youngest artist with a double platinum single in the form of "I Whip My Hair." Willow has been a success as an entertainer.

As a celebrity kid, she has also established herself as a fashionista. She's a trendsetter, leading the way for all Gen Zs looking to steer clear of traditional gender roles. She has fashioned her style to celebrate her individualism without necessarily meeting societal expectations. Working with her stylist, she's always pushing the boundaries in her dressing.

Willow dressed in a casual, comfy style during her younger years for the most part.

Her outfits typically featured brightly colored outfits that emphasized comfort. In her younger years, she used to walk down the red carpet in simple outfits whilst being a doting young star. It was common for her to dress in denim jeans, a t-shirt, and a comfy jacket with little to no make-up and accessories for one of her father's or mother's blockbuster premiers, especially pre-2010.

Her outfits typically featured brightly colored outfits that emphasized comfort. In her younger years, she used to walk down the red carpet in simple outfits whilst being a doting young star. It was common for her to dress in denim jeans, a t-shirt, and a comfy jacket with little to no make-up and accessories for one of her father's or mother's blockbuster premiers, especially pre-2010.

In 2010, she transformed her style by sporting more adventurous hairdos and exploring new types of clothes. However, she remained a dashing and stylish child star. She also added accessories to her dress code, which accentuated her looks whilst being simple. For instance, at The Karate Kid premiere in the U.K., she wore a denim jacket and white t-shirt with a half-shaved, side-swept hairdo.

Between 2010 and the end of 2012, Willow Smith style featured brightly colored clothes with elaborate looks. She still stole the spotlight every time she hit the red carpet. Importantly, this period marked her first foray into creating a style of her own.

In 2013, she started to sport a more mature look while also shedding her love for brightly colored and elaborate attire. In fact, after 2013, she turned into a teenager-y look, experimenting with a simple casual look while oozing an understated luxurious feel. She also developed a soft spot for black, which she has retained until today.

“High-fashion nomad,” Willow told Billboard of her style aesthetic in 2015. “I could literally climb a mountain and survive a couple nights in nature. That’s a requirement for my clothes because one day I was on the freeway and I saw a mountain, so I literally just pulled over and climbed it. If you’re an artist, the way you dress also gives people a vibe of how your music is and your personality.”

2016 marked the formative years of her sense of fashion style as we know it today. She started sporting an eclectic aesthetic that has come to define her sense of style. From wearing tailored suits to wearing black and lacy dresses, she transformed her looks into a dark and bold feel and style.

After 2021, she added a punk aesthetic that accommodates brightly colored dresses with tinges of black while accessorizing to the max. These days, she has found a perfect blend of personal styling while sticking true to punk aesthetics.

For an artist who hit the limelight as an artist for a song about her hair, we cannot talk about her style evolution without talking about her hair evolution. Over the years, she has sported a bob, afro, clean shave look, side shave, cornrows, baby locks, or full locks. Her fashion journey has been about evolving her hairstyle as much as her dressing.

And as someone who has confessed to be, "best friends" with her hair, we can't wait to see what this young fashion icon has in store.