The popstar, beauty brand founder and ‘Wicked’ actress has a penchant for cute-but-sexy fashions, oversized hoodies and cat ears.

There’s no doubt that Ariana Grande has dominated our ears for over a decade now. Ever since she showed off her singing talents as a teen star on the Nickelodeon show Victorious, and its spin-off Sam & Cat, her effortlessly melodic voice has graced six seminal albums. Her butter-melting sound and Mariah-level whistle tones are also highly coveted, with everyone from Lady Gaga to Justin Bieber wanting her to bless their tracks. As a result, not only is she now one of the most streamed female artist ever, she’s also broken 27 Guinness World Records for music, most of them the result of her acclaimed 2019 album Thank U, Next.

But what we don’t talk about nearly enough is her impact on our style. Ariana was a key part of forming our streetwear obsession in the 2010s with her pantless, oversized hoodie ensembles and matching sporty two-pieces. She evolved her cutesy style from children’s TV into something that is still sweet and girly but also sexy and mature, pairing cat ears with lacy bralettes and knee-high boots, not to mention the nostalgic references to outfits in beloved y2k movies.

Though Ari has been out of the spotlight the last year or two, working on the highly-anticipated movie adaptation of Wicked, she continues to impact our style with her spacey, ethereal beauty collection r.e.m. beauty. To celebrate her big impact on our fashions and our bank accounts, we look back at the style evolution of Ms Ariana Grande. At the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards, 2012Our first introduction to Ariana Grande-Butera was in 2010 as a young star of Victorious — the Nickelodeon TV show about a performing arts high school — and she quickly became the standout star of the series. Having to dye her hair that vibrant burnt red every other week for four years for the role, Ariana began to wear her hair tied back into a high pony — something which would eventually become a signature look for the star. Her off-screen fashions, too, were similar to the energy of her character, with Ariana often appearing at events and premieres in cute pastel mini dresses with girly detailing.

In “The Way” music video, 2013The first single Ariana recognises as really her, separate from her Children’s TV persona, was “The Way” (we don’t talk about “Put Your Hearts Up”). The lead single from her 50s-piano-pop-and-r&b-inspired debut album Yours Truly, was the first signposting of Ariana’s own style — ditching the red hair for her natural auburn in cute ringlets and picking out a slightly more mature outfit of a black mini dress and knee-high black socks. This was the start of Ariana’s sweet but sexy style. 

Photo by Neil Mockford/Alex Huckle/GC Images

On the streets of London, 2014Some may remember 2014 as Ariana’s Judy Jettson white gogo boot era that she wore in music videos for “Problem” and “Break Free”, but this wasn’t the most iconic accessory the singer was sporting in the mid-2010s. That title belongs to the kawaii cat ears. At concerts, in Instagram selfies and walking the streets of London on her way to BBC Radio 1, Ariana often had a pair adorning her head — some were black and fluffy, or sparkly and silver, while others were wired and wrapped with tiny flowers. The Furry aesthetic had never been more chic.