7 Rock Icons WhoDefied FASHION

By: Karl Manrique

Stevie Nicks, David Bowie or Janis Joplin are some of the musicians’ names we usually see topping the lists of rock stars who influenced us with their style. But beyond those names, if you truly love fashion, in this article I will share 7 of my personal style icons who have influenced me and whom I admire for their musical contribution and genius — names that have been forgotten by fashion magazines’ rankings.

Many of these musicians fascinated me with their music, their stories, but also with their style — one that was created when rock didn’t need stylists, but rather exuded individual and genuine personality.

You might wonder why all the figures that appear on this list are male, and I want to clarify that this was intentional, since, although there’s a long list of women I admire both musically and for their way of dressing (whom I’ve already mentioned in other articles), this is a way of proving that inspiration and admiration are not limited to the gender you belong to, but can come from any person you admire, regardless of sex.

This article gathers musicians from the 60s, 70s, and 80s who disrupted the scene with their way of dressing — beyond simple extravagance — by showing their personality through elegance, statement, and coherence with what they performed.

Brian Jones

The Rolling Stone that those who are not true fans of the band don’t know, but who is said to have been responsible for naming and founding this legendary group.

He not only experimented with and mastered all kinds of instruments but also did the same by creating outfits never before seen at the time — especially on a man.

Brian played with tailoring taken from the fashion boutiques of the moment, which he mixed with antique jewelry, fur coats, and second-hand garments made with rich fabrics from classic eras. Short in stature but great in personality, he shared his love for fashion with his then-girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, whom Kate Moss has mentioned as one of her style influences.

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Marc Bolan

Marc Bolan, the inventor of glam and leader of T. Rex, a British cult band that imposed itself in sound and style even before David Bowie. Bolan is not only a music legend but will always be remembered for wearing women’s clothing on several occasions, colorful designs in shiny fabrics typical of the seventies, pieces by designers like Zandra Rhodes, and high-heeled shoes — not to mention his unmistakable corkscrew hair.

Few mention him in lists of style-influential rockstars, giving Bowie the spotlight for polishing and theatricalizing glam to establish it worldwide; but it was Bolan who coined it with originality and naturalness — if that word can even be associated with the term glam.

Dave Davies

The most eccentric member of The Kinks. Even in the 1960s, when the band was starting out, Dave was already playing with hats, quasi-theatrical costumes evoking past centuries, musketeer boots, flamboyant sunglasses, and psychedelic prints, breaking away from the rest of the group’s aesthetic.

A modern dandy — that’s how I’d describe Davies today, a legendary guitarist who, among this list, could be considered one of the least mentioned when talking about fashion. That’s why it’s even more worthwhile to write about his explicitly British style, which remained experimental and eye-catching, especially at a time when uniformed bands dominated the scene.

Keith Moon

Each member of The Who strongly imposed their persona on stage, especially after they each defined their own style, once the band’s Mod era ended in the late sixties.

We will always remember Roger Daltrey, with his fringes creating a vortex on stage; Pete Townshend and his Union Jack flag jacket; and the quiet elegance of John Entwistle with his unforgettable skeleton suit.

But among them all, Keith Moon, the drum destroyer, has always been my favorite, as he was the one who experimented with different styles each time. He was not only a performative showman who surpassed other drummers with his playing but also with his way of dressing.

Original prints on t-shirts we’d love to replicate today, exuberant fur coats, and that caricatured dandy image he adopted in the seventies have made every photograph of him reveal his extroverted personality. One of my favorite Keith Moon outfits will always be that suit he wore during The Who’s performance at The Rolling Stones’ Rock n Roll Circus in 1968.

Joe Strummer

Leader of one of the greatest punk bands in history, Joe Strummer not only established a sound distinct from the noise and chaos of the Sex Pistols; he filled his lyrics with meaning, addressing the social and political issues of the time — when being rebellious was not just fashion, but cause. Through The Clash’s lyrics, we can trace the social sentiment of the late seventies.

But Strummer imposed his style and ideas not only through his songs and chords but also through his way of dressing. Although in The Clash’s early days, their stencil-painted shirts were, in a way, Bernie Rhodes’ idea as a publicity strategy for the group, over the years Strummer defined a style he kept until his death — full of mohawks, protest t-shirts, pins, and patches. A collage of ideology in every outfit.

Bryan Ferry

If we talk about someone fashionable in Roxy Music, Brian Eno will undoubtedly be mentioned — who contrasted with another stylish rival within the same group: singer Bryan Ferry. Eno should also have been on this list, but I didn’t want to include more than two members from the same band.

Ferry’s style seems special to me because, unlike what many believe, rock is not always sloppy and dirty — especially British rock.

Stylish and elegant in his dress and movement, Bryan Ferry shaped his style outside of obvious extravagance, always starring on stage with tailoring that was adorned mostly by his mysticism.

Martin Gore

Guitarist and main songwriter of Depeche Mode, Gore always positions himself on one side of the stage, letting Dave Gahan take the spotlight with his dancing and voice, while he provides the hypnotic sounds that make this group unmistakable.

Over the years, Martin Gore has not lost his dark extravagant vein, but it was in the 80s, when the band was just beginning, that he gave us his best looks: harnesses, vinyl or leather pants, platinum hair, eyeshadow, leather jackets, and chains — giving the band a visual avant-garde twist in its early days.