“Groupies” by Beatrice Brandini
In my experience the saying “the clothes do not make the monk” has always had value and truth, but it is also true that the clothes make the rock star!
Elvis Presley
The interpreters of music, be it soul, rap or rock, have always manifested themselves also through their bizarre and personal look. Probably this attitude that characterized (and still characterizes today) their personality began to manifest itself with a young and talented boy who came from Tupelo, Mississippi, called Elvis Presley. Elvis sang, moved and dressed in a way that greatly scandalized the right-thinking people of the time, obtaining, as often happens, emulation from the younger generations. We could say that Elvis was the first true music star.
Jimi Hendrix
Then Jimi Hendrix with his guitar and his psychedelic jackets. It was the seventies and a subculture called Hippie was beginning to appear. The flower children fought against the war (Vietnam), were in favor of free love and, alas, the therapeutic and dreamlike use of drugs such as LSD.
David Bowie and Mick Jagger
On the other side of the ocean there was punk with Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren and their boutique in King’s Road. Mick Jagger and David Bowie with their glam rock have always played with their sensuality, having an androgynous physique “helped” them in this role play. Just like nudity or military uniforms, for John Lennon they were an act of rebellion from the system.
Elton John e Freddie Mercury
Michael Jackson e Prince
And again, Elton John with his glasses, hairstyles and his flamboyant style, Freddy Mercury with his leather aesthetic, ostentation and assertion of his homosexuality; Michael Jackson, with his iconic red leather bomber jacket, Prince with his amazing and shiny outfits. Each of them, with their own amazing talent, has, also through their look, created an immediately recognizable collective imagination.
Tupac
TLS
Eminem
Nineties rappers played with ostentation, the logo and signature were a status symbol, the culture of hip-hop music, born in the Bronx, contrasted with the hegemony of the major labels. Sneakers, cargo trousers with a low crotch and oversized sweatshirts were their standard uniform.
Kurt Cobain
90s grunge with its maximum manifestation through bands like Nirvana, a music contaminated by Hard Rock, Metal and Punk Rock; also in this case a subculture that in fact could not accept and undergo the transition from hippies to yuppies.
Madonna
However, there was also another path that began to manifest itself in those years, and it had only one queen: Madonna, the most famous representative of pop music and culture who influenced and determined trends for the following decades.
Lady Gaga
Nicki Minaj
Katy Perry
Janelle Monáe
Today, from Lady Gaga to Micki Minaj, from Katy Perry to Janelle Monáe, there is both the desire to create a “scandal” through transgression, and the desire to address certain themes, such as that of female emancipation, through a dress .
Cher
Annie Lennox
But today there are also festivals, such as Coachella in the Colorado desert, in California, which have now become more of a showcase for a selfie to post on social media, than a message in music.
Donna Summer
Abba
The singers of the past did not have image consultants, perhaps someone advised them, but everything was born in a spontaneous and personal way. They loved what they wore and because of this they were much more believable than today’s characters. In fact, switching from one brand to another, from one designer/style to another, is not always rewarding, because, no matter how good you are, people will remember you and talk about you more for your look than for your talent.
Diana Ross
If I think of a cowlick I think of Elvis, of a jacket with frogs of Jimmy, of a felted and striped sweater of Kurt… they didn’t follow fashion, they were the fashion, always consistent, and already further on.
The great, unique Renato Zero
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice