My Fashion Icon: David Bowie - Turn To The Left
I’ve had all kinds of Ch Ch Ch Changes with fashion down the years, mini punk for fancy dress as a kid, and into my teens and 20s there were many styles; Duranie, new romantic, socialist revolutionary, an extremely brief brush with office party girl, grebo guru, riot grrrl, alternative, raver. And then interest in clothes stopped for me a bit when I had a baby. It slowly crept back and what became clear to me after this hiatus was how much more brave I always wanted to be. And the person who was always on my shoulder with tips, ideas and inspiration was David Bowie. The ‘Chameleon, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature’ himself. Right from the start he was a dandy. And he was a very special kind of dandy.
Recreating himself with characters SO bold for the time that he broke the speed of light, or at least a few music journalists minds. Bowie absolutely smashed boundaries when he wore the dress designed by Michael Fish for the cover of The Man Who Sold The World. When Michael Watts asked him for The Melody Maker “Why aren’t you wearing your girl’s dress today?” Bowie replied with; “Oh dear. You must misunderstand that it's not a woman’s. It’s a man’s dress” which was pretty out there for 1972. It’s the reinvention that really inspires me, I only wish I’d been more detailed with it when I was younger. Dress to your mood, fancy dress for boring chores, one day femme, next day masc. To not be confined in societal and personal expectations of self identity is to be free!
I realise ALL the song related puns have been made before and he’s been written about extensively, so it’s difficult to not go over old ground. I would urge you, if you take an interest, to go searching. I spend HOURS down Bowie rabbit holes!
There’s a ton of info and pics on this one.
This one includes Kansai Yamamoto and Freddie Burretti who both worked closely with Bowie on various highly recognisable costumes, they basically invented Ziggy’s look!
GQ does a piece on him that gives a good view.
Kansai made that incredible vinyl jumpsuit, black with shiny silver sequin stripes and balloon legs and Burretti made his shiny red platform boots (insert red shoes related joke here and dance the blues) and his amazing blue suit, the one he wore in the Life On Mars video.
Suzi Ronson (Fussey at the time) created the famous red mullet for Ziggy after Bowie asked her to change his hair. It was long, natural soft curls at the time. Suzi’s scissors and bright red dye created a radical shift that went on to really make him stand out among the sea of denim and dirty hair at the time.
Photos of Bowie are not royalty free so go digging.
But enjoy my teen single collection, including my prize possession China Girl picture disc.
Bowie always played with looks, even when it was seemingly plain and simple, it was all thought out, all devised to create a mood and reflect the style of his music. When I was young I thought his music was all really different from one stage to the next, but now when I listen back I can hear that clear thread running through it all. Bowie fans have an era that they remember finding him, not always to do with age, but the song or album that you found first. Or Labyrinth! I watched The Man who Fell To Earth while staying with family friends when I was perhaps around 13. It was on late one night and I was allowed to stay up and watch it…alone. I was too young really, certainly too naive, but that film had a powerful impact on me. The sets, the clothes, the colours, the whole thing was just gorgeous and strange and brilliant.
Changes One photo by Tom Kelley - Changes Two photo by Greg Gorman
I’ve had these since I was a very young teenager. Obsessed with his beautiful face, elegant hands and mysterious eyes.
The people whose fashion I admire most seem to be tipping a very suave hat to him too. The Fabulous Fashionistas are a group of amazing older women who have colour, style, courage and mostly a bit of money, cos money helps, there’s no denying it. I seem to recall only one of them does it on a shoestring. Also being thin is a massive bonus when experimenting with clothes, even though it goes against all I wish to be and believe in. Part of the reason I’m not so bold is because I feel conspicuous and fat, the other part is riding a bike...which can be quite tricky in flowing garb, I’ve tried.
Despite being quite safe in my choices, dressing like a teen skater boy most of the time or possibly a lazy lumberjack, inside I’m all sequins and bright colours, amazing shapes and styles, bold and bizarre, an androgynous glam rocker. I’m Ziggy, The Thin (or fat) White Duke, Aladdin Sane and Halloween Jack. I’m strutting about in stacked boots with crazy hair and high glam fashion. I’m a slightly younger fabulous fashionista sista.
Although I’ve steered close to a few looks down the years, I was never as bold as Bowie in his exploration of characters. But if you have a look at the clothes I occasionally brave…it’s there. You can see it in the gold satin bomber jacket, and in the frankly ludicrous red silk cape with golden embroidery from a Chinese circus troupe. It’s in my gold DM’s, my silk kimonos, my sequin jacket. I think if you scratch the surface most of us have a little sparkle underneath.
Cheddar Gorgeous at Slaughterhaus Bristol. Photos by Von Cake
His Influence continues today. Many artists have borrowed from his lexicon to add flavour to their own work. He’s been popping up in graffiti form a lot since his far too early death in 2016, I think this has opened up the door to a whole load of new fans who are finding his music and his styles. The designers he worked so closely with still influence the new guard and fill the catwalks with a familiar palette of colours and shapes echoing Bowie’s boldest looks. The Starman turns up in a lot of artforms; Cheddar Gorgeous did a fantastic performance going from spaceman to blue suit for Slaughterhaus, Bristol. Joe Black paid homage to Bowie with his beautifully reimagined dress for Ru Paul’s Drag Race UK. It seemed to confuse the judges, they seemed confused a lot!
David Bowie was the ultimate fashion guru. Often way ahead of the pack and always dancing with gender bending ideas. He shocked and delighted, caused a stir and started conversations. His outfits and characters gave him an onstage persona, an outlet, a safe space to be as wild as he liked. By all accounts, once offstage he reverted to a more quiet and shy person. In Quicksand he sings “I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man. Just a mortal with the potential of a superman.” But he really was a prophet and a total superman!
He truly was and remains a huge inspiration and my ultimate style icon.
Written by Von Cake
I’m Von Cake, a freelance photographer and writer. I’ve been writing for The Everyday since its inception and have really enjoyed the freedom to explore my journalistic desires through this medium. Most of my pieces are self explorations and reminiscences of my own life. Through this lens I can explore various cultures and movements. Even when I try not to, I often find myself in the writing. My dream is to be a photographer and writer full time and earn enough to live well from it. My favourite places to be are in the pit at the gig or in my writing chair at home. I was told to stop daydreaming out of the window a lot at school. Well...I never stopped. Keep dreaming.
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