The master of creative reinvention......
 |
| Aladdin Sane, David Bowie - 1973 |
Key Bowie Look No. 1 - Bowie and Mod
David Bowie was born David Jones and did not adopt the Bowie moniker until 1965 (Barnett 2013). Whilst he was still at high school in the 1960s, Bowie became interested in the mod look coming out of London at that time (Dailey 2011). Even back then Bowie was an early adopter using food colouring to dye his hair (Daily 2011). Bowie's style consisted of three button suits paired with white button down shirts and inch thick black ties stereotypical of the mod scene (A Dandy is Aspic 2011).
 |
| David Bowie - 1960s |
 |
| David Bowie - 1960s |
Although originally a jazz singer and saxophonist, Bowie frequented the legendary Marquee club in London and was influenced by the rhythm'n'blues sound played by the bands who performed there (Bowie 2007). He appeared in his first band, The Konrads as a backing singer but left to pursue solo aspirations (Shergold 2010). It was during this period that he started the 'Society of Prevention to Cruelty to Men with Long Hair' and appeared on the BBC talking about the public's reaction to the styles adopted by himself and his peer group (A Dandy in Aspic 2011; Barnett 2013). Bowie described his look during this period as the 'archetype' mod (Bowie 2007).
David Bowie on the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Men with Long Hair, BBC - 1964
Key Bowie Look No.2 - Bowie and Glam
Bowie and his contemporary, Marc Bolan were leaders in the glam rock scene (Polhemus 2010). Both were involved in the mod scene of the early 1960s before transitioning to glam rock via a flirtation with the psychedelia and hippy movements (Polhemus 2010). Glam rock is often seen as a joke and not taken seriously. However, the world of fashion and music would be completely different today without it; it was crucial in leading the way for the subsequent movements of punk, goth and new romantic (Polhemus 2010). With flamboyant costumes, striking hair and elaborate makeup at the core of glam rock, it shook up gender exploration as a revolutionary challenge of masculine stereotypes with its unisex agenda (Polhemus 2010).
 |
| David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust - 1972 |
 |
| David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust - 1973 |
Bowie adopted the alter-ego of Ziggy Stardust during this period (Polhemus 2010) which the BBC named one of the most 'iconic creations in pop history' (BBC 2013). The androgynous
persona of Ziggy Stardust was defined by outrageous costumes, outlandish make up (BBC 2013) and spectacular live performances (Doonan 2013). 'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars' is one of the most important albums of 1972 if not the entire decade (BBC 2013).
'Jean Genie', David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust - 1972
Key Bowie Look No. 3 - Bowie and New Romantic
Bowie's androgynous glam period and his subsequent Berlin trilogy at the end of the 1970s was the main inspiration for the new romantic movement which surfaced at the end of the 1970s/start of the 1980s (Rimmer 2014). The new romantics took the ideology of punk one stage further as they were keen to recreate the initial buzz which had been created at the start of the punk scene in 1976 (Polhemus 2010; Rimmer 2014). The movement was centered round the Blitz club in London which Bowie went to lengths to visit (Dailey 2013). The video for 'Ashes to Ashes' featured Bowie dressed as sad clown, Pierrot with whom he had a longstanding obsession (Dailey 2013) and the Blitz Kids, the legendary patrons of the Blitz club (Rimmer 2014). 'Ashes to Ashes' went on to become a Blitz club anthem. The advent of MTV and the music video in 1981 was moving musicians into
an image led era which Bowie used as an advantage to further explore his
performance persona in the early 1980s (Dailey 2013).
 |
| 'Ashes to Ashes' Pierrot costume designed by Natasha Korniloff - 1980 |
 |
| 'Ashes to Ashes' single cover - 1980 |
'Ashes to Ashes' video, David Bowie - 1981
Bowie and High Fashion
Louis Vuitton revealed in 2013 that Bowie would be appearing in a one minute advert for the brand (Sowray 2013). The advert is the second installment in the brand's 'L'Invitation au Voyage' series (Sowray 2013). It features model Arizona Muse and Bowie, who is playing the harpsichord and singing 'I'd Rather Be High' from his latest album, 'The Next Day' (Alexander 2013). He was chosen to front the campaign as Louis Vuitton thought he fitted the brand (Fernandez 2013). The decadent and extravagant video has had nearly 34 million views on You Tube in the six months since its release (Louis Vuitton 2014).
'L'Invitation au Voyage', Louis Vuitton campaign - 2013
Bowie and Men's Style Magazines
Bowie's status as a fashion icon has not been overlooked by the two most authoritative publications on men's style; GQ and Esquire (Conde Nast 2014; Esquire 2014). Both magazines believe that Bowie is just as important to men's fashion now as he ever has been (Esquire 2014; GQ 2014). Esquire state Bowie is a 'fashion legend' (Berlinger 2014). Bowie has featured on the cover of Esquire several times with the most recent cover, the 'Heroes' issue in June 2013 which was dedicated to five different 'Esquire icons' (Esquire 2013).
 |
| David Bowie (1978), Esquire - June 2013 |
GQ refer to Bowie as a 'boundary breaker' (Bazner 2014) and the 'soundtrack to style' (Jones 2002). In 2000, Bowie was awarded the 'Most Stylish Man' award at the GQ awards (Jones 2000). This was topped by the 'Lifetime Achievement' award in 2002 (Jones 2002). GQ editor, Dylan Jones, believes that no pop star has influenced men's fashion more than Bowie and any reader who thinks otherwise should not be reading GQ. With his continued relevance to contemporary fashion, it looks like Bowie's reign as king of pop fashion is set to continue.
 |
| David Bowie by Markus Klinko, GQ - 2002 |
'Fashion', David Bowie - 1980
No comments:
Post a Comment