Before Lady Gaga was shocking people in a meat dress, before Madonna was rocking her wedding dress and ripped gloves on MTV, David Bowie told us about the stars in a jumpsuit and platform boots.
Arguably one of the first truly avant garde rock stars, Bowie influenced not only the music world but also the fashion world. He used his appearance to reflect the ideas in his music, which not many artists had done before.
Bowie’s vision for himself was big, so big that he created multiple personas over his career just to encompass them. With each change in musical style came a change in clothing. Bowie never stuck with the same thing too long, allowing himself to shed each persona when he felt it necessary.
One of the most popular and enduring of Bowie’s alter egos is Ziggy Stardust, an androgynous, bisexual alien with bright red hair. In a time where sexuality and gender were still taboo subjects, Bowie experimented and pushed boundaries. He never let the norms dictate how he expressed himself.
Fashion today would be different without Bowie. There were none quite like him before, but there were certainly plenty who were able to succeed after because of him. He stretched the limited ideas of gender expression and widen the options for people down the line. Just last week, Jaden Smith was announced as the face of Louis Vuitton’s Spring-Summer 2016 womenswear collection. I can’t help but wonder if that would’ve happened in a universe without the influence of David Bowie.
David Bowie not only showed that fashion is an accessible tool for self expression; he also showed importantly that it is temporary. Unlike a lot of decisions in life, the outfit you decide to put on today doesn’t have to affect the one that you put on tomorrow.
After his time as Ziggy Stardust, Bowie kept reinventing himself. By the ’80s, he looked more like a Rat Pack member and less like a being from outer space. You can keep changing your style. It’s not something that has to stay stagnant.
Bowie is often hailed as a fashion icon, but I believe, not because of his “eye” for style. He used his clothes to tell a story. Bowie made it OK to dress as yourself, in whatever outlandish outfit suited your mood that day. The expectations of others didn’t have a bearing on him and that is what I think is the key to style success. Feeling confident in what you’re wearing can often have a stronger effect on people than the actual clothes.
What I’m trying to say is that fashion is subjective. Just because I believe black boots to be the holy grail of shoes, doesn’t mean you do. Maybe you really like white high-tops or never leave the house without a pair of jelly shoes. Dying your hair crazy colors may be your thing, or maybe you’re proud that you’ve never touched a color box. You might love your look now, but later, it’s never too late to try something new.
If there is anything to take away from Bowie’s fashion legacy, it is this: clothes are a medium for you to express yourself, however you may be feeling in that moment. Don’t feel trapped in what you did yesterday, because as Bowie says in his song “Changes” sometimes you’re “just gonna have to be a different man.”
