Fashion Fling – David Bowie Style Lives On!
By Staci Layne Wilson
@StaciWilson
Full disclosure – I’m a huge David Bowie fan. I, along with the world, was sad to learn that “The Man Who Fell to Earth” has now left it. And as he did in life, never leaving anything less than polished to perfection, he orchestrated every detail of his departure.
“There’s a starman waiting in the sky/ He’d like to come and meet us/ but he thinks he’d blow our minds”
Bowie’s final music release, Lazarus (see the music video here), was a “parting gift” for fans in a carefully calculated finale. Tony Visconti, the producer of Blackstar, the audacious artist’s 25th album and the only one not featuring his photo on the cover, confirmed David had planned his poignant final message, and videos and lyrics show how he approached his impending death. Bowie bowed out in New York City on Sunday, January 10, just two days after his 69th birthday.
“Turn and face the strange / ch-ch-changes / Oh look out now you rock and rollers / pretty soon now you’re gonna get older”
He may have been older, but Bowie was anything but out of touch. The fiercely fashion-forward pioneer of glam rock, a man who paved the way for famous reinventors like Madonna and Lady Gaga, had a brand new music video out called Lazarus that was blowing the minds of everyone from eight to 80. In a final wink, at the end of the video Bowie steps backwards into a wooden wardrobe which becomes a coffin.
David Bowie began as a long-haired flower child, folksy and fey. The blonde was often seen in flared dungarees, floppy hats and shoes by Terry De Havilland. Hunky Dory was his fourth album, released in 1971. It was just before his big break-out, and introduced the bellbottom-wearing Brit to a gaggle of groupies and caught the attention of the world.
“Dressed like a priest you was / Todd Browning’s freak you was / Young girl / they call them the Diamond Dogs”
It wasn’t until 1972 that Bowie really came into his own, androgynous and sci-fi inspired, with his The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars persona came into play. His music and his look were a blazing blend of rock, cabaret, jazz, and torch. He was influenced by factions as disparate as the beauties of Warhol’s The Factory to the shivery spacesuits of Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Just one year later, the Aladdin Sane album, featuring the iconic lightning bolt makeup, catapulted Bowie into the fashion pantheon of fame forever. He looked smashing in everything from feather boas and fitted jumpsuits with platform heels to elegantly tailored suits and ties with Italian leather loafers. In the 70s, Bowie donned couture from Michael Fish, Kansai Yamamoto, Paul Smith and Freddie Burretti to name a few.
Not only was “The Thin White Duke” inspired by fashion – he inspired the designers themselves. From Alexander McQueen to Hedi Slimane, from Vivienne Westwood to Tommy Hilfiger. A recent Jean Paul Gaultier runway show in Paris entitled Rock Stars paid homage to the man by recreating Ziggy Stardust on model Hannelore Knuts — she dressed in a one-legged, star studded net catsuit and strutted to applause from guests.
“Put on your red shoes / and dance the blues”
Model Hannelore Knuts
His last album, Blackstar, was released on Friday — his birthday. He is to be honored with a concert at Carnegie Hall on March 31 featuring the Roots, Cyndi Lauper and the Mountain Goats.
“Oh I’ll be free, just like that bluebird / oh I’ll be free, ain’t that just like me?”
More on Bowie’s Fashion Legacy
My In-Depth Report on the DAVID BOWIE IS exhibit in London, 2013
David Bowie Fashion Music Video
Tilda Swinton as David Bowie Photo Shoot
Fashion Fling – Iconic David Bowie Style Lives On!
