Why I’m Still Obsessed With Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope In 2022

Janet Jackson’s seminal genre-crossing album, The Velvet Rope, celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. Featuring enduring hit singles such as “I Get Lonely” and the AIDS-awareness ballad “Together Again,” the album left an indelible print on the pop and R&B landscape since its release in 1997. But Jackson’s style during The Velvet Rope era enjoys an equally strong and enduring legacy.

The star didn’t shy away from experimentation during this time. She sported sculptural braids constructed out of velvet-red hair; paired a corset with a suit, push-up bra, and a dramatic top hat for one of her most iconic visuals; and, while on tour, embraced masculine-leaning tailoring.

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Jackson launched the introspective record with a stylistic and sepia-toned bang: the Q-Tip-assisted track “Got ’Til It’s Gone.” The musician drew heavy inspiration from Apartheid-era South Africa and ’60s and ’70s Africana fashion for the music video. Janet, playing the role of a demure lounge singer, debuts a sculptural Medusa-esque hair ’do and dons giant hoop earrings with a floor-length skirt and a delightfully lived-in Santa Fe Leather Co coat. The result resembles a Malick Sidibé snapshot. The extras in the video are immaculately stylish too. There are tonnes of camp collar shirts, zigzag print polos and wide-lapel blazers on the men, and high-waist pants, rayon dresses, and drab-toned head wraps on the women. This is a sweat-soaked party you long to be at.

A testament to the video’s enduring style appeal: Jackson’s main outfit is now in possession of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Jackson continued her streak of African-inspired fashion for the feel-good single “Together Again.” In the visual, Jackson sits in an arid climate among elephants, cheetahs, camels and a gang of punk dancers. Perhaps this is also a nod to the great Jean Paul Gaultier and his colourful punk 1996 collection. The reference would make sense; Jackson recently revealed she has repeatedly been inspired by the designer.

But perhaps the most instantly recognisable look from this period appeared in the futuristic video for “I Get So Lonely.” The singer provides an intriguing, feminine take on the men’s zoot suit by styling a leather corset over a white button-down and tie, expertly blurring traditional gender codes. The look has been replicated and referenced a few times since, including by Britney Spears in “Me Against the Music” and Rihanna during her “Talk That Talk” album shoot.

Smartphones and social media did not exist in 1997, so opportunities to extend and build upon the album’s visual codes were obviously more limited. But images of Jackson at various release parties for The Velvet Rope feel like a fabulous portrait of ’90s style. At the LA celebration, Jackson sports loose trousers and a see-through crocheted cardigan with bouncy red curls. One can easily imagine spotting the look on an off-duty model strolling through the Lower East Side.

Remarkably, Jackson adopted a radically contrasting look for 2001’s All for You, the follow-up album to The Velvet Rope. Then, the singer rocked revealing, midriff-baring looks similar to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera at the time. But over the years, the undeniable impact of The Velvet Rope has shown itself. Singer Normani, a self-admitted ’90s enthusiast, seemed to lean into “I Get Lonely”– flavoured sensuality for her hit video “Wild Side” last year. SZA carried on the legacy of soul-baring, navel-gazing alternative R&B with her acclaimed 2017 album Ctrl.

And recently, Jackson herself has provided meaningful nods and commemorations to one of her most celebrated musical – and style – eras. Earlier this year, the singer donned a very The Velvet Rope-esque suit and top hat, designed by CFDA chairman Thom Browne, to the 2022 Billboard Music Awards. And while in Europe for fashion month, Jackson visited fan-organised 25th anniversary parties. Of course, though, it will be impossible to recreate the magic of the album’s original release in 1997. As Jackson told us, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.”