Ever wonder why some rock stars look like they’re perpetually stuck in a Halloween party? Well, we’re about to unmask the spooky origins of some of rock’s most iconic looks.
Let’s start with the queen of ’80s rock herself, Pat Benatar. It’s 1977, and Benatar is scrambling for a last-minute Halloween costume. Inspired by the delightfully terrible 1953 D-movie Cat-Women of the Moon (a flick so bad, even Ed Wood would blush), she cobbles together an outfit of black spandex, boots, and enough eyeliner to make a raccoon jealous.
Little did she know, this hastily assembled costume would become her signature style. In her autobiography, Between a Rock and a Heart Place, Benatar recalls, “That night, though, something changed. I don’t know if it was because I felt like I was playing a role or I simply removed my personal shell, but I had newfound bravado, a sexual swagger that wasn’t there before.”
The crowd went wild, and Benatar, no dummy, decided to keep the look. As she puts it, “From that moment on, I wore variations of that outfit every time I played. My stage persona was born.”
But Benatar’s not the only rocker with a closet full of skeletons. Let’s shimmy over to KISS, the band that turned makeup into a marketing goldmine. Initially, they tried to imitate the New York Dolls’ androgynous look, but found it lacked originality. As Ace Frehley recalls in his memoir No Regrets, their early makeup attempts were less than stellar: “Gene looked a bit like an angry mime, with whiteface and bat wings; Paul dabbed a little blush on his cheeks; I smeared silver paint all over my face.”
Eventually, each member developed a specific character. Gene Simmons leaned into horror (surprise, surprise), Paul Stanley became… well, Paul, Ace embraced his inner spaceman, and Peter Criss inexplicably became a cat. Because nothing says “rock ‘n’ roll” like a little kitty drummer, right? (Frehley notes in his book that Criss “was no pussycat.”)
Speaking of horror, let’s not forget the godfather of shock rock himself, Alice Cooper. Cooper and his band drew inspiration from cinema, particularly What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? and Barbarella. They realized that a male villain in women’s clothing and makeup would be controversial and headline-grabbing. Add some sinister eyeliner (suggested by bassist Dennis Dunaway to help the back row see Alice’s expressions), and voila! A rock horror icon was born.
David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust persona came from a cocktail of influences, mixing the flamboyance of British pop star Vince Taylor, the bold designs of Japanese fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, and the futuristic aesthetic of A Clockwork Orange. The result was a look so iconic, that it’s still influencing fashion today.
Now, if you think these rockers had multiple personalities, meet Fee Waybill of The Tubes. This guy didn’t just have one or two stage personas – he had a wardrobe full. From the Italian-inspired La Dolce Vita look to a film noir-esque character straight out of The Maltese Falcon, Waybill is one of the most underrated chameleons of rock fashion.
One of his most memorable characters, “Quay Lewd,” sported platform boots that made KISS’s Gene Simmons look like he was wearing ballerina flats. When asked about these 18-inch monstrosities, Waybill quipped, “I had 40 years of practice, so I got used to them. It was tricky at first but I got the hang of it in the end.”
So, what’s the takeaway from this haunted tour of rock fashion? Sometimes, the scariest thing in rock isn’t the music – it’s the fashion choices. But these wild, wonderful, and occasionally wacky looks have become as iconic as the music itself.
Next time you’re struggling to put together a Halloween costume, remember: you might just be one eyeliner pencil away from rock stardom. After all, in the words of Alice Cooper, “We’re all going to go to bed looking like Alice Cooper if we live long enough.”
-Staci Wilson
Photo: Alice Cooper (Stefan Brending / Lizenz: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA-3.0 de)
Interesting.
Thanks, Mike!