Stevie Nicks Revealed the Reason She Wears Her 6-Inch Platform Boots: ‘They’re a Weapon’
Ever since joining Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks has donned a distinctive stage style. The billowing lace and chiffon make her an easily identifiable figure. She explained that while her boots are an integral part of her fashion sensibility, they also have a more utilitarian purpose. She revealed why she considers them a weapon.
Stevie Nicks has a specific onstage uniform
In her early years with Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks designed an onstage look with costume designer Margi Kent. She wanted a unique look that would help her stand out as a frontwoman.
“It was a handkerchief dress with a jacket, long, droopy chiffon sleeves, and velvet platform boots. I didn’t want to wear high heels,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “That’s when it started.”
All of these elements make up the Stevie Nicks style, but she said that her black platform boots help her transform into a performer.
“I don’t put the boots on until right before I walk up to the stage,” she explained to Rolling Stone. “But when my little foot goes into that boot, it is like Cinderella. All of a sudden I become me.”
She shared that her platform boots are more than just for looks
The five-foot-one artist explained that her six-inch boots are not just there to give her a heightened onstage presence.
“If you put on a pair of really strong suede boots to your knee, that have got a substantial little platform and a really good heel, then if somebody tries to drag you off that stage, you can seriously kick them with that boot,” she told Variety.
She added that the boots have been useful in dealing with unruly fans in the past.
“A few times I’ve said, ‘Let go of my hand,’ and some people don’t. And my foot starts to raise, and they get it, like, ‘I don’t want to be kicked with that boot. So I better back off.’ So they have their moments where I feel like they’re a weapon.”
Though she’s never had to actually kick someone, she said that the security of the heavy boots is comforting.
“Sometimes your fans just get out of control, and they’re so happy and so excited that they grab your hand — and you’re at a bad angle when you’re bending over to shake hands,” she said. “They could just pull you off, and it would be really easy to do. So that’s the point where you have to look at them like, ‘Don’t even think about it.’ My fans are great, but every once in a while, I’m happy to have my boots on.”
Stevie Nicks shared that she maintains a sharp attitude too
The boots aren’t the only weapon Nicks has. She explained that for much of her career, she’s employed a sharp attitude against any kind of disrespect.
“In Fleetwood Mac, Christine [McVie] and I were a force of nature,” she told NME. “In the first two months I was in the band, Chris and I made a pact that we would never be in a room full of famous English or American guitar players and be treated like second class citizens.”
She added that the pair was quick to shut down any kind of mistreatment.
“If we weren’t respected, we would say, ‘this party’s over.’ We have stayed true to that our entire career.”
