A Q&A with Gwen Stefani on Her New Eyewear Collection and Upcoming Album

Have you always worn prescription glasses?
I got them right around the time that I got pregnant with my last baby. [Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale is two]. I was so lucky because my whole family wore glasses and I always said, “I’m fine. But I’m starting to get a little blurry with my reading.” I thought it was from being pregnant.

You have described your gx by Gwen Stefani line as “fun, stylish and some attitude.” Is that how you’d describe yourself?
We’re all the same. We all have sides of ourselves that are fun, sad sides and sides that need work. For me, I would just describe myself as someone who likes to be creative, whether it’s making music or designing. I like the process of designing maybe even more than I like the final product. I like the dream of what it’s going to be; I like the potential. That’s true with music, as well. I just made a record and it was a lifesaver for me. The process of driving to the studio and thinking, “Is it going to happen today? Am I going to get one of those amazing songs?” A song is so powerful when you’re writing about your life [and you can] reign in those emotions and put them into a song. When you’re driving home that day and you’re listening to that song in your car, it’s so healing and magical. That whole process is great. Having it finished and mastered and sharing it with people—that exchange is beautiful, as well—but I really love the actual process of writing and designing.

How would you describe the evolution of your own personal style over the course of your career to where you’re at now?
The biggest thing that changed my style is the collaborations I’ve had with different people. That’s what success has brought me, being able to collaborate with different and amazing people, even on my records. I never had a stylist until I met Andrea Lieberman and did the Eve video [“Let Me Blow Ya Mind”]. She’s literally the same person as me, just a New York version—edgier, cooler. Our friendship and collaboration really evolved my style in a lot of different ways. She introduced me to a lot of stuff I was naïve to, like different designers and the whole fashion world. I was really late to the game because I grew up in Orange County. For the most part, I still go back to the same things I’ve always loved: a little bit Orange County girl, a little bit chola, a little bit Jamaican [with] an English school girl twist. With becoming a mother and all the different things that influence your style, that’s how you evolve.