The Resurgence of Glam Rock: From Bowie to Måneskin
Words by Taryn Patterson
Big hair, extravagant make-up, platforms, and sequin jumpsuits. These form the base for the costumes that started the ‘glam rock’ movement in the seventies.
Rock has always been a genre about challenging social norms and encouraging rebellion and originality. Rock stars have been fighting against expectations and generally sticking it to the man. Glam rock took this rebellion and increased it tenfold, creating new generations of music that subverted traditional roles of gender and sexuality with glitz and glam that challenged performance and fashion in a way that had not been seen before.
David Bowie is arguably the most famous glam rock star known to our generation. Bowie’s character of Ziggy Stardust took the beginning of glam rock and transformed it into a nationwide craze within the UK. Although he faced his share of hate for his extravagant clothes, hair, and make-up, his music consistently placed on the UK’s top 10 charts. As Bowie began to get recognition, gender was seen as solely binary, which was echoed in its fashion. Bowie was one of the first to challenge this binary as he played with long hair, and wore heels and dresses, with theatrical makeup and colors. Everything about him was entirely unique and shocking for the time allowing him to become an icon for generations to follow.
The seventies saw more than just Bowie pushing at traditional fashion and performance. Queen, Elton John, T.rex, the Runaways, and KISS are artists who challenged the norm and can be categorized within glitz and glam rock. Each of these bands and artists expressed themselves through fashion and their performances were designed to stand out to their audiences and create a shocking viewing experience. The inherent sexuality within each of these performers is another central aspect within glam rock. As the clothes encouraged both androgyny and showing skin (something still blasé at the time), glam rock encouraged its audiences to become comfortable with both dressing outside of their comfort zone and combatting the heterosexual norms of society.
These aspects of glam rock expanded in the eighties as the movement spread throughout the United States. There were two main shifts within glam rock upon its spread into the eighties.
In the United States bands such as Mötley Crüe, Skid Row, Poison, and Ratt led to a harsher version of glam rock, also categorized as glam metal. These artists followed the trend of big hair, makeup, and encouraging sexuality, however they follow a slightly different theme. These bands wore lots of black with animal print, neon colors, and leather and lots of their clothes were tight, cropped, and cut up to show off more of their bodies. Their performances played with lights, pyrotechnics, and machinery. Tommy Lee of Mötley Crüe played with stunts within their performances as he lifted his drum set in the air and above the audience doing 360-degree turns in the air. Glam rock in the eighties thus became about more than just shocking fashion, with the introduction of stunts that challenged normative perceptions of performance.
Another main shift within eighties glam rock was an increase in female performers. Men were not the only ones challenging gender roles and putting on a show. Joan Jett, Annie Lennox, Kate Bush, and Blondie utilized glam and androgyny within their performances as well. Annie Lennox and Joan Jett showed that women could dress in a masculine manner and wear their hair short in the same way that male artists would play with long hair and femininity. Blondie saw an all-male band with a female lead of Debbie Harry and Kate Bush showed pride in her femininity while being self produced and writing sexual lyrics which fought against the idea that women shouldn’t be sexual at the time. Each of these female artists challenged patriarchal expectations within their own right, taking glam rock from the men and showing that women were capable of being androgynous, sexual, and powerful.
Glam rock died out a bit during the nineties and early two-thousands; however, there has been a modern resurgence within the music industry that has continued to challenge fashion, gender, and sexuality. Lady Gaga for one challenged fashion and performance throughout her career, including her infamous meat-dress and her continuous space and future themed costumes, leading her to be one of the most talked about performers throughout the two-thousands. Janelle Monae, Harry Styles, and King Princess are a few modern examples of artists who continue to play with androgyny within their performances, continuing to fight against gender norms in our modern world.
One of the biggest bands of the moment channeling traditional glam rock is Måneskin. They follow an extremely punk-rock aesthetic and follow themes found within bands from the seventies and eighties. With dark makeup, lots of leather, and sexual performances, Måneskin is loud, beautiful, and confident. Their bassist, Victoria De Angelis, has been extremely vocal in empowering women through the freedom of showing off their bodies and taking control of their sexuality. Victoria has used their newfound fame to participate in the ‘Free the Nipple’ movement in her performances throughout the world. She shows her audiences that there is power in fighting for sexual liberation and encourages everyone to dress exactly how they please. The men in the band encourage the same confidence and individuality in their outfits. In seventies-inspired colourful jumpsuits, mesh shirts, extravagant make-up and jewelry, crop tops, and high heels, they show their inspiration from traditional glam rock with their own modern twist. Together, Måneskin is a fashion-force to be reckoned with and they have become so by dressing and performing unapologetically - exactly as they please.
