As one of the highest-paid British female singers, Dua Lipa is known for reviving dance-disco pop and accumulating seven Brit Awards and three Grammys in the process.
But it’s not just her music that has made her a viral icon.
The British-Albanian singer, who will turn 30 on August 22, has used fashion to help propel her onto our algorithms.
Her early red carpet appearances – like the 2018 Brit Awards’ blush Giambattista Valli tulle gown and the punky Vivienne Westwood corseted mini at the 2021 Brits – showed she isn’t afraid of drama or versatility.
Lipa’s wardrobe journey has been anything but predictable, and as she reaches her 30th birthday, it’s clear that her style has grown with her – bold, playful, high-fashion, but always grounded in authenticity.
So, here’s a look back at the star’s most iconic looks and how she came onto the British music scene.
2016
At the age of 14, Lipa began posting clips of herself performing covers of popular songs to YouTube, and soon signed a contract with TaP Management while working as a waitress in a cocktail bar.
But the singer only became a regular feature on the red carpet in 2016, following her first UK and European tour, which began in January that year.
In November, she landed her first British Vogue supplement cover, signalling her crossover from music to style influencer.
Early appearances often didn’t feature a lot of colour, leaning into the ‘pale grunge tumblr’ aesthetic of the time. Lipa’s youthful attitude to red carpets laid the groundwork for her signature mix of trends and timelessness.
2017
Lipa’s first album, “Dua Lipa”, was released on June 2, 2017. Its sixth single, “New Rules”, released in the following month, became Lipa’s first number one in the UK, and the first by a female solo artist to reach the top in the UK since Adele’s “Hello” in 2015.
Along with her musical success, her fashion began to explode too.
She began appearing in magazines like InStyle, Paper and Teen Vogue, taking part in fashion shoots that leaned into Y2K nostalgia and streetwear aesthetic – trends she would become known for later in her career.
Her ambassador role for Foot Locker aligned her look with youthful sneaker culture, cementing her influence among Gen‑Z style followers.
2018
By 2018, Lipa had been named the most-streamed woman in the UK by Spotify.
She had four singles reach the UK top 10 in 2017, with “Be The One”, “New Rules”, “No Lie”, and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, a charity single for the families of the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire in London.
It was this same year that Lipa received nominations in five categories at the Brit Awards, more nominations than any other artist that year.
At the 2018 awards ceremony, she wore a pastel pink Giambattista Valli tulle gown from its spring 2018 couture collection, announcing her transition into high-fashion territory.
She also carried a white rose in solidarity with the Time’s Up movement. The look subsequently went viral and landed Lipa on the ‘best-dressed’ list of multiple publications.
That year also saw her fronting campaigns for Adidas Originals’ “Original Is Never Finished” and “Here To Create”.
Her presence on magazine covers – from British GQ to Elle – reinforced her growing reputation as a fashion risk‑taker.
2019
Now a bona fide British icon, Lipa’s image began dominating industries beyond music.
Her partnership with Yves Saint Laurent on their Libre perfume marked her entry into beauty branding.
Simultaneously, her “Future Nostalgia” era exploded in popularity, with hits like “Levitating” bringing disco‑meets‑pop sheen. At the time of the album’s release, Lipa became the first British female artist since Vera Lynn to have three top-ten singles in a single calendar year, with Lynn having three in 1952.
Her fashion focus didn’t falter.
She wore a drop-waist Christopher Kane dress to the 2019 Brit Awards – a style that would later dominate the runways – and turned heads in her Saint Laurent blue bow dress after the ceremony.
She was the cover girl for the Spanish edition of Vogue’s October 2019 issue. She starred in a Vogue sitcom clip set in the Nineties titled “Dua’s World”, where she wore the “best” collections of New York Fashion Week.
It was also her first year attending the Met Gala, where she wore a striking psychedelic-print Atelier Versace ball gown that she paired with a bow at her hip and a Sixties-inspired hairdo for the “Camp: Notes on Fashion” theme.
She also revealed her first capsule collection with Pepe Jeans London, which captured her style heritage – chain‑mail dresses, micro minis and Nineties throwbacks – blending designer credibility with her street‑style roots.
2020
Despite pandemic lockdowns, Lipa maintained a palpable presence.
Her fans only swelled as “Future Nostalgia” became the most-streamed album by a woman (and fifth most-streamed album overall) on Spotify in 2020.
Her final collaboration with Pepe Jeans, Denim Decades, celebrated decades of denim through her style lens – from skinny jeans to metallic minis.
Even working from home, her Instagram posts showed elevated basics: tailored jackets, statement eyewear and cool streetwear layering.
2021
2021 was a defining year for Lipa, working again with Elton John for his studio album The Lockdown Sessions. On October 15, the single Cold Heart reached the number-one spot on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Lipa’s third song to achieve this feat.
At that year’s Brit Awards, Lipa sported British fashion in two iconic Vivienne Westwood dresses.
For her red carpet arrival, she wore a Clueless-esque golden-yellow, off-the-shoulder minidress with a corset-style bodice. She also paid homage to the late British singer Amy Winehouse with a retro brunette beehive.
On stage, she performed a medley of songs from “Future Nostalgia” wearing a Union Jack mini kilt and a white shirt, referencing Spice Girl Geri Halliwell’s iconic 1997 Brits look.
Following awards season, Lipa graced the cover of British Vogue in February and TIME in March as part of their “100 Next” list.
She also debuted on the catwalk at Versace’s spring/summer 2022 show in Milan – walking to her “Future Nostalgia” soundtrack and establishing herself not just as muse but a runway star.
2023
In May 2023, Lipa landed the lead single “Dance The Night” for the Barbie movie soundtrack, which coincided with her acting debut as Mermaid Barbie.
For the film’s European premiere, she wore a tropical neon butterfly and floral print Versace gown with an embellished choker and slicked-back up-do.
Her style choices rode the wave of maximalism: glimmering gowns, pastel suits, and two-tone hair moments that balanced nostalgia and novelty.
2024
Her promotion to global ambassador for YSL Beauty in February 2024 cemented her status in beauty.
Lipa leveraged pared-back looks for beauty campaigns and red carpet appearances – sporting a dark palette, slicked-back hair and flawless skin – while still referencing her bold performance persona in daring silhouettes.
2025
Turning 30 certainly isn’t a finish line for Lipa, but another stage. Her style now reads like a personal archive of London club culture, global fashion and unapologetic femininity.
From her early mini-dresses to her couture coat hybrids, her most memorable fashion moments are those that reflect her evolving self – not just a projected image.
In the summer of this year, Lipa’s holiday looks began to go viral on Instagram, particularly among her Gen Z followers, where she posed in micro-shorts, football shirts and showed more of her day-to-day casual ensembles.
At 30, her wardrobe remains as much about trends as it does about identity – a blueprint for how to evolve without losing yourself.
