Martina McBride performs on 'Fashion Rocks' Friday night at 8 on CBS.

Martina McBride still remembers the first outfit she ever wore on tour - even though she'd probably like to forget it.

"When I first started out, I opened for Garth (Brooks) back in 1992," McBride says. "I was in a short, white skirt, a white jacket with white fringe and white cowboy boots. ... I had it made for me by a local woman here in Nashville."

Yikes. That's a whole lotta look.

But today, you're more likely to see the country superstar in Alice & Olivia shirts, a well-worn pair of Dolce & Gabbana leather and suede pants, and a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti shoes.

What she'll be wearing during the Fashion Rocks concert - airing Friday, on CBS - is still up in the air, but you can bet it will be fashionable: The concert opens New York's famed Fashion Week and includes segments by the industry's leading designers and models. In addition to McBride, the concert features an array of music's top trendsetters including Maroon 5, Jennifer Lopez, Fergie, Avril Lavigne, Fall Out Boy, Ludacris, Aerosmith, Santana, Carrie Underwood and Usher.

There was a time when the only way to get a bunch of A-list musicians together for a concert was to save a continent from starving to death. Now they'll do it for a pair of Jimmy Choos and some knitwear from Tommy Hilfiger. For those who love music and fashion, this shift in priorities is a good thing.

One of the most stylish groups today, Maroon 5, luckily gets the importance of fashion, though for frontman Adam Levine, the relationship was slow to accept. And not long ago, he thought all the fuss about fashion was nonsense. Luckily, as he is about to sign a contract to be the face of a fashion label, his position has shifted.

"I always kind of turned my nose up at fashion," he says. "I always wrote it off as shallow, but I kind of started to realise that wasn't the case. As cliche as it sounds, it really does have something to do with who you are - whether you care about it or not, it says something about you."

And according to Jonathan Van Meter, editor in chief of Fashion Rocks magazine, it also says something about who you are as a performer.

"Fashion defines the pop star - sexy, funny, dangerous, chic - whatever it is, it's expressed through fashion first. One of the most important things is how someone looks. People say, 'That looks like someone who sounds like what I like.' "

The blurring of the lines between music and fashion continues to grow as more and more musicians see the lucrative connection of entering the fashion industry - be it with clothing lines or fragrances.

"In the late '80s, to be just an actor or just a pop star wasn't enough," Van Meter says. "In a weird way, the culture of the hyphenate life began. Now it's the grabbing of every media, flooding the zone with your brand - actor, musician AND a fashion designer."

Artists such as Gwen Stefani, Jennifer Lopez, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Jessica Simpson and Justin Timberlake recognise the power of fashion every time they step onstage or make an appearance. For McBride, the feeling seems to work its way from the outside in, then back out again.

"I really feel great in them," says McBride of her leather pants, "powerful."

"I always feel great in something that's strong. ... I gravitate towards darker colours onstage. When I do TV appearances I can wear a dress, but onstage it has to feel really strong - a lot of my songs are really big."

We're guessing there'll be a whole lotta big Friday night - but not much in the way of white fringe jackets and white cowboy boots.

- Michael Korb, Zap2it