What's Behind Katy Perry's Style Shift?

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When Katy Perry burst onto the scene in 2008 with her number-one hit "I Kissed a Girl," the then 23-year-old's unabashed pop sound was an inextricable accompaniment to her campy, bombshell look. An abundance of kitsch was always part of her persona – her performance looks only underscoring that. (This is the woman whose bra squirted whipped cream in the music video for " California Gurls ".) But Perry has lately undergone a significant aesthetic shift. She printed the lyrics to her song "Woman's World" on the train of a Balenciaga dress , attended the brand's couture show topless under a black coat , and showed up to the premiere of Diane von Furstenberg's documentary in an Artemisi corset top, a spiky bolero, and a pierced maxi skirt.

Gone are the safe, glamorous fits of Perry's tenure on American Idol . Styled by Tatiana Waterford, the musician has begun to test out more extreme looks from brands like Rick Owens, Sportmax and Didu, putting pedal to the metal in a racy Noir Kei Ninomiya dress for Vogue World: Paris and releasing her "Woman's World" cover art with a sheer Du Ciel bikini .

Physical reinvention is a tool artists have employed for decades. The Beatles ditched their matching haircuts and British Invasion suits for Seargant Pepper; Lady Gaga shed her outré dressing in favour of a country girl look for Joanne; and Harry Styles abandoned his boy band image for a sparkly, gender-bending style when he went solo. But the fashion almost always foretells a new era of music, and – with only an allegedly leaked demo of "Woman's World" to judge – it's unclear if Katy Perry's sartorial changes will come with a sonic shift, too.