Through her involvement in the fashion- and modeling industries, Milla Jovovich has become a fashion icon whose latest public appearances never go unnoticed by fashion critics and -publications. Below is a yearbook of sorts, showcasing how Milla’s sense of style has changed over the years.

1994 - Milla releases her debut album ‘The Divine Comedy’

Although having established herself a reputable career in modeling by the end of the 80’s, it wasn’t until 1994 that photo agencies began taking notince of her as she appeared on the red carpet (which she did, at the time, very rarely). In 1994, Milla’s trademark look was her casual style and ‘au naturel’ face, with her hair split evenly on the top of her head, with hair pins on either side. At the time, she was not yet accustom to the red carpet, and was often only spotted at concerts such as the Beat Goes On Concert in New York City in June, which allowed her to dress as she chose, without the glitz and glamour today’s Hollywood demands. In her own words, in this time, Milla favored the “skater girl” look, “the whole Avril Lavigne thing.”

1995-1996 - Milla modeling in ‘The Divine Comedy’ aftermath

In 1995-96, Milla was still a stranger to the red carpet. In 1995, at the Academy Awards of Fashion in April, Milla still relied on her casual, ‘au naturel’ look, though now with a touch of femininity, with her hair done in waves and with a touch of make-up on her face. June 1995, however, saw a notable transformation in Milla’s style as she was photographed at the Tunnel in New York City in a beautiful, full-length dress in shades of blue, tied by the waist with a rose decoration - a huge leap from her 1994 appearance at the Beat Goes On Concert. A new maturity had found its way into her style.

1997-1998 - Milla portrays the iconic Leeloo in ‘The Fifth Element’

1997 was, like most of the 90’s, another quiet year for Milla. She was, however, photographed at the 7th Annual Tommy Hilfiger Race to Erase MS Gala in January 1997 wearing a light, lilac sweater and a matching, dark violet handbag, a dark A-line skirt and a white, bejewelled pearly dog collar necklace, with her hair tied up. The new development in Milla’s style was evident; the Avril Lavigne-esque teenage years were behind her and an air of sophistication and professionalism had taken their place. She was slowly beginning to make a name for herself. In 1998, however, Milla was scarcely ever seen in public. She did, however, show up at the Annual MTV Movie Awards in Santa Monica in May, an event for which she chose a casual but feminine, figure-hugging outfit from her own wardrobe, despite designers having sent their outfits to her - in her own words, she preferred her own clothes as opposed to the designs.

1999 - Milla portrays Jeanne d’Arc in ‘The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc’

With the release of Luc Besson’s The Messenger in 1999, Milla began showing up at more and more events. Although still not an A-list celebrity, photographers were beginning to take notice of her and recognize her face on the red carpet. Stylewize, Milla continued to build on the femininity and sophistication of her style in 1997, as she appeared e.g. at the “Rock Style” Exhibit in New York City in December in a classy but sexy, figure-hugging full-length beige dress. Furthermore, her public appearances in 1999 revealed fully for the first time the one considerable change in style that had, however, already taken place in 1997 - her new, short haircut.

2000 - Milla portrays Eloise Ash in ‘The Million Dollar Hotel’ and Lucia in ‘The Claim’

The millenium brought with it a good many more public appearances for Milla. After having let her hair grow post-Joan of Arc, Milla again cut it short and dyed it dark, a do which premiered at the 19th Annual CFDA Fashion Awards in New York City in June. The year 2000 also allowed Milla to experiment more with fashion and find a style that reflected her personality, and many of her outfits that year had an air of cheekyness about them, such as e.g. light green geometric-patterned mini she wore to the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards in New York City in October or the dark but playful, almost girly dress she wore to the 19th Annual CFDA Awards. Although at times favoring a more casual look, such as the one at the OCRF Garage Sale in Los Angeles in November, all of her outfits were characterized by an air of femininity and class, as perhaps best showcased by the beautiful white, full-length Valentino dress she wore to Valentino’s 40th Anniversary celebration in June.

2001 - Milla portrays Katinka in ‘Zoolander’

Although post-millenium Milla was getting more project offers than ever, 2001 was another quiet year for her in terms of public appearances. After her January appearance at the 28th Annual American Music Awards, Milla was next seen at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival in May, flaunting a newly dyed, longer do (which the production of Resident Evil was undoubtedly response for) and a light, simplistic silky dress. Following her appearance in Cannes, Milla turned to comfortable, effortless chic, showing up e.g. at the October Nintendo Game Cube Party in a black, see-through A-line skirt and a flowing, lilac-blue blouse.

2002 - Milla portrays Alice in ‘Resident Evil’ and Erin in ‘No Good Deed’

The release of Resident Evil in early 2002 instantly garnered Milla more attention. Although still sporting feminine, classy outfits, she on occasion let loose her cheeky rock chick self, showing up at e.g. the Resident Evil New York press conference in March in a grey, one-shoulder sweater, black leather jacket and blue worn jeans. Hairstyle-wise, Milla continued to favor locks over straight hair, as already seen in 2001, but with a pinch of the 70’s Farrah Fawcett thrown in. For the Resident Evil premiere, however, Milla went for more playful, girly-style fashion, attending the event in a white, laced polo neck mini - a look she would further explore in coming years.

2003 - Milla launches Jovovich-Hawk with Carmen Hawk

Style-wise, the year 2003 was even more of a mixed bag than 2002, though this can in part be attributed to the fact that she attended only a handful of events in this time. In 2003, a sense of effortlessness made its return to Milla’s style, and while she still continued to favor a wavy hairstyle, this was now increasingly often replaced by the more casual updo, which suited her leisured, rock chic at the Dummy New York premiere as well as her more sophisticated style at the 1st Annual Oceana Partners Award Dinner in December, to which she wore a light pink top, straight-cut trousers and a lacy mini vest hanging on one shoulder as an eye-catching detail.

2004 - Milla portrays Alice in ‘Resident Evil: Apocalypse’

If 2003 was a mixed bag, so was 2004. However, in 2004 Milla’s outfits were marked by a notable, new approach - one of playfulness in color. Although Milla has never been one to shy away from colorful designs, in 2004 her clothes were more “color laden” than ever, as it were. For the Paris photocall of Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Milla spiced up her army-themed outfit of a rough-cut army mini, light, patterned top and brown cardigan with bright red, knee-length socks, showing off her long legs (not to mention eye for color). Although she then went for a more feminine style for e.g. the Tokyo premiere of the film, where she wore a strapless blue-green dress and white pearls, even then it was the many colors and shades of the dress that were the eye-catcher. Similarly, at the L’Oréal Style Labs opening ceremony, to which she wore a beautiful, patterned beige-white dress, the colors were again the eye-catcher in her outfit. Hairstyle-wise, Milla, though now sporting a shorter crop than in previous years, once again preferred locks over other alternatives, thus giving each outfit an additional feminine, if not girly, touch.

2005 - Milla and Carmen open the Jovovich-Hawk New York showroom

The year 2005 marked a whole new direction in Milla’s style. The 2003 launch of her clothesline Jovovich-Hawk allowed Milla to develop her personal style like never before, and thus all of her outfits (all Jovovich-Hawk, of course) were marked by a distinguishable personal touch. Her dresses of the year were all of unique cuts and material, all exuding femininity but rejecting the overused standard with original, even cheeky details adding perhaps a bit of a self-irony to the dresses themselves. A good example of this is e.g. the frilly and ruffled strapless dress she wore to the Sean “P. Diddy” Combs’ birthday party - although seemingly strapped, if one looks closely one will find that the ’straps’ are actually not in any way attached to the dress itself. ;) In this time, Milla also once again allowed her hair grow, which allowed her to experiment more with it, sometimes tying it up, sometimes allowing it to fall in waves on her shoulders and at times just letting it be as it is, untouched.

2006 - Milla portrays Violet in ‘Ultraviolet’

In 2006, Jovovich-Hawk entered its best year to date, with the duo being nominated for the prestigeous CFDA Fashion Fund Award. At the time, Milla’s style took another new turn, turning away from frills and loose fabrics to more curve-hugging dresses with a new maturity and class. Though frills were by no means out of the picture, they were now accompanied by darker color tones and sleeker lines and cuts, and geometric patterns began to take over in Milla’s outfits, as witnessed e.g. at the Ultraviolet press conference, which Milla attended in blue jeans, a dark, striped shirt and jacket. Although she once more switched to a shorter crop, she was (surprisingly) able to experiment with different hairstyles, as seen in the various photos taken of her at events in 2006. (2006 also marks my favorite year in terms of Milla’s style.)

2007 - Milla is pregnant and portrays Alice in ‘Resident Evil: Extinction’

Contrasting with the colorfulness of her outfits in 2004, 2007 was marked largely by one color - black. After showing off her slender figure in a see-through black mini, black stockings and jacket at the HBO Golden Globe after party and her casual chic in brown boots, black stockings and jacket and grey scarf at the BVLGARI Moscow promotional event in early 2007, April-month brought with it a real surprise - Milla was pregnant with her first child. Her growing baby bump thus required some changes in her style, and towards the end of the year she was seen in freely flowing, less figure-hugging designs, most of which were her own, such as the lilac-grey full-length dress she wore to the September premiere of Resident Evil: Extinction in Las Vegas. Hairstyle-wise, in 2007 Milla once again let her hair grow to shoulder-length, and the straight hair and bangs from 2002 made a return at the Resident Evil: Extinction Tokyo press conference, to which she wore a black, laced knee-length dress.