Style Icon: Kim Gordon

Just as Sonic Youth is recognized with influencing the Seattle Sound, their bassist-slash-guitarist-slash-vocalist Kim Gordon can be credited with setting the basis of female grunge style.  Sonic Youth formed in 1981, a decade before grunge music and fashion hit the main stream, and already she had the look of effortless, confident cool nailed down.  She's performed in everything from homemade screen-print shirts to flowing, bohemian dresses, all while rocking a look of complete control.  She's expanded on her status as a fashion icon by starting the now-defunct fashion line X-Girl in the mid 90s, and, more recently, designing collections for Urban Outfitters and Surface to Air.  Though combining high fashion and rock-n-roll might seem like a paradox to most, Kim pulls it off with her ever-present intelligent, nonchalant attitude.