Six fashion icons who were influenced by David Bowie
Rob Kenny is a Fashion PR executive, who most recently was on the PR team managing Joan Collins’s and Naomi Campbell’s press trips to Ireland. He joins Team Beaut for a fabulous weekly comment on all things fashion and style.
Many celebrities and music superstars arise to inspire both fashion designers and fashion trends alike. However, the stars that exude real influence are the ones who prove themselves to be unquestionably original and confident in their own sense of authentic style. Few have become icons of popular culture, whose fashion choices have changed perceptions of sexuality, femininity and self-identity. Think Madonna, Prince and the late David Bowie.
Unlike so many pop artists today who use fashion to desperately try to stand out from the crowd, David Bowie’s style was never a gimmick for attention. His look continued to grow as he did; his wardrobe evolved simultaneously with his music. For Bowie, his art was not only expressed through his music but also through his fashion choices. At a time long before androgyny was commonplace on the runways of Paris and Milan, Bowie was treading closely on the lines of drag. Yet everyone loved him for it, as he dared to go places others were too scared to go before him.
Long time friend of the star, supermodel Kate Moss threw a Bowie tribute party this weekend as she marked her 43rd birthday and many celebs were in attendance to pay their respects to the late icon. After the bash in the English countryside, The Voice UK judge Boy George tweeted:
Had a lovely night in the Cotswolds celebrating Kate Moss's birthday and dancing to classic Bowie. In fact her birthday was a Bowie tribute!
— Boy George (@BoyGeorge) January 17, 2016
Following the news of Kate’s Bowie party last weekend, I knew I wanted to focus this week's article on David Bowie and his extraordinary contribution to fashion and the influence it had on some of the world’s leading fashion figures. So let's take a look at some notable style icons who were inspired by Bowie and his incredible career.
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- Jean Paul Gaultier
“He inspired me by his creativity, his extravagance, his sense of fashion that he was constantly reinventing, by his allure, his elegance and his play on gender.”
- Burberry
Christopher Bailey, the man behind Burberry, dotted glitter around his models' eyes and blared the icon’s music at his LCM show last weekend, to pay tribute to the legend.
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- Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent head designer, Hedi Slimane, stated “I was born with a David Bowie album in my hand, he was Adam, and Angie Bowie was Eve, to me.”
- Tilda Swindon
Tilda Swindon and David Bowie were good friends for many years. As Bowie was against letting the media into his private life, the celebrity friends enjoyed their relationship in private, until in 2013 when David decided to have some fun with how the media claimed the pair looked alike. Tilda starred alongside Bowie in his 2012 video The Stars (Are Out Tonight).
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- Kate Moss
This list would not be complete without acknowledging Kate’s love for Bowie. A standout moment of their friendship was when Kate collected the ‘Best British Male Award’ for David at the Brit Awards in 2014. Noel Gallagher of Oasis introduced the supermodel by saying, "David Bowie is sending his representative on Earth, which is the one and only Kate Moss, who is going to accept this award on his behalf."
- Lady Gaga
After stealing Bowie’s style in her video ‘Applause’ Lady Gaga told TV Presenter Alan Carr “He’s sort of like an alien prince. He still runs my universe as well, like, every morning I wake up and I think, ’what would Bowie do?”
Do you think David Bowie deserves to be deemed a style icon? What's your absolute favourite Bowie look?