We Spoke With Fergie About Her Shoe Line, Motherhood and the True Meaning of Fergalicious
“You’ve inspired me to go home and rewatch some John Waters movies.”
Fergie, Fergalicious, The Dutchess — whatever you prefer to call her — has read my author bio and found out we have something in common. “I read your description, you love John Waters movies and ’80s hardcore rock. I was like, ‘Ooh yes, go girl.’ So I’m loving everything you’re telling me right now.” Fergie motions towards my outfit, which consists of a sashiko stitched jacket that screams ‘weird aunt who runs a pottery class’, a vintage tee, high-waisted jeans and granny boots.
I find it baffling that a celebrity as well-put-together as Fergie, who is currently clad in a Versace cinched-waist leather corset with matching booty shorts and resembles a sexy cat burglar about to pull off the jewel heist of a lifetime, could find anything remotely nice to say about my frumptastic getup, but therein lies the enigma of Fergie. In her own words, “I’m a girl with many facets.”
I’ve been allotted a scant ten minutes to speak with Fergie while she’s in Toronto promoting her two footwear lines, Fergalicious by Fergie and Fergie Footwear (both available at Hudson’s Bay), but within seconds I’m totally bowled over by her personability, her perfectly applied tequila sunrise-coloured eyeshadow, and yes, the fact that she Googled me. “I read on your bio that you love perfect spelling. I know that in some of my words (e.g. “Fergalicious”) I spell the words wrong, but I am very aware of that. It’s just for fun though.”
Looking luminous and tan, Fergie proceeds to tell me that she is “really in a kind of transitional period right now.” Her last studio album was released in 2017, and her most recent foray into music — a breathy rendition of the Star Spangled Banner at an NBA All-Star Game — was not exactly, um, well-received. “Instead of trying to be a perfectionist, I’ve learned a little bit to laugh at myself and just be okay with the fact that I’m not always going to get it and it’s going to be really imperfect a lot of the time,” she says.
Rather, Fergie seems far more interested in taking her son, Axl Jack, on playdates than pumping out more raunchy club bangers. She says she spends a lot of her time journaling: “I’m checking in with myself, writing everything down, and just being curious about what I’m thinking about certain things. I’m old school.”
It’s all surprisingly wholesome for the pop star responsible for lyrics such as, “I’m such a lady, but I’m dancing like a hoe,” but not exactly surprising. After all, it’s been over a decade since “Fergalicious” blasted into our collective consciousness, singlehandedly creating a new neologism for horniness. When I ask if her definition of “Fergalicious” has changed over time she lets out a throaty laugh and says, “That’s a deep question. It’s about feeling your inner Queen or your inner goddess. I’ve found that more in a real type of way since becoming a mom, and really just starting to embrace the part of me that’s an entrepreneur and a boss.”
Photography Courtesy of Hudson's Bay
Photography Courtesy of Hudson's Bay
Photography Courtesy of Hudson's Bay
Photography Courtesy of Hudson's Bay
Photography Courtesy of Hudson's Bay
Of her shoe line, she says, “Shoes are a metaphor; you’re walking your path. Everyone’s got their own path and its an individual manifestation of everything that has occurred in your life. For me, its always, ‘walk your path with pride, walk your path with confidence.’ Another metaphor is to stomp out all those fears. It can be that self, that inner critic that is in our way and when you stomp that out of the way, the inspiration flows.”
Fergie has clearly stomped out her inner critic to achieve a near-unprecedented level of Zen. Though she seems fully content to be designing shoes and journaling, I’d suggest she would make an excellent motivational speaker. After less than ten minutes in her presence, I feel like I’m ready to conquer the world.
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