What Adele's £2,000 dress tells us about her style evolution

When Adele released her seminal debut album, 19, she wore a lot of black, and framed her face with a lot of fringe. Her fashion trademarks were dark winged eyeliner, gobstopper earrings, and maxi silhouettes.

Marking “thirty free” - the British singer’s 33rd birthday on 5th May - it was clear to see how much the star’s style has evolved since she was a shy teen arriving to take on the global pop scene.

The famously private Grammy award winner shared three new pictures with her 39 million followers to mark the occasion.

The most party-ready outfit of the set was Joseph Altuzarra’s £2,156 ‘Shibuya’ dress; a body-conscious silk maxi style, which is tie-dyed by hand in red, white and black. Adele is dancing in the picture - as should anyone embracing summer’s most fun tie-dye trend.

Another photograph showed the singer wearing a long-sleeve top in a Pucci-esque print, looking blissfully happy in the sea on an exotic-looking holiday.

In the other, black and white portrait, photographed by Raven B Varona, Adele appears completely relaxed. Wearing no makeup, with her hair slightly damp, she’s back in a black top and her statement hoop earrings, showing a tattoo of a planet on her arm.

The many sides of Adele, the fashion chameleon, have come to light in only recent years. She has always loved trends and labels (in June 2016 she wore a 1970s-inspired bespoke Chloe gown to perform at Glastonbury and she was famously a Spice Girls copycat dresser in her childhood) but in the last year she has given the public a better taste of her more colourful, varied sense of style.

“I know I look really, really different since you last saw me,” the singer said when she hosted Saturday Night Live in October, referring to her much publicised weight loss.

But as she whirled through a marathon 13 outfit changes in the broadcast, her celebratory, rich and playful sense of style, and her confidence were what really stood out, in outfits by Valentino, Ashish, Manolo Blahnik and Schiaparelli.

With a new record on the horizon (‘my album’s not finished,’ she said in October, confirming that it was at least in progress) it will be interesting to see how Adele’s image evolves next - the videos and cover artworks for Chasing Pavements, Someone Like You and Hello were defined by heartbreak, manifested in dark clothing choices and close up shots of dark eye make-up. On stage, it was all about opera diva floor length gowns.

Perhaps the “thirty-free” album could symbolise a whole new mood for the star - punchy swirl prints, and joyous technicolour clothing? The tie-dye dress, certainly, embodies her increasingly confident and exuberant approach to fashion.

This could be the beginning of a whole new style chapter.

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