Fashion Theory

The Journal of Dress, Body and Culture

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David Bowie is

Sara Idacavage

To cite this article: Sara Idacavage (2015): David Bowie is, Fashion Theory, DOI:
10.1080/1362704X.2015.1100808

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Published online: 02 Nov 2015.

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 Fashion Theory, 2015
DOI: 10.1080/1362704X.2015.1100808
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
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Reviewed by
Sara Idacavage David ­Bowie is
Sara Idacavage is a fashion David Bowie is, Philharmonie de Paris, Paris, March
historian and archivist with a
master’s degree in Fashion
3–May 31, 2015
Studies from Parsons
School of Design. In addition
to ­experience working in
archives, Sara has worked as
Introduction
both a curator and installer David Bowie is makes a strong case for David Bowie as an influential
of multiple exhibitions, and artist and postmodern icon, perpetually shifting personas and borrow-
­previously served as the
­editorial director of BIAS:
ing ideas from across the vast landscape of popular culture.
Journal of Dress Practice. The show became the fastest-selling exhibition in the history of
saraidacavage@gmail.com ­London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in 2013, and traveled across the
globe to Toronto, São Paulo, Berlin, and Chicago before making its way
 2 Sara Idacavage

to the French capital. Although the design of the exhibition has been
adapted for each venue, many of the items and display methods have
remained consistent throughout its tour. Co-curators Victoria Broackes
and Geoffrey Marsh selected more than 300 objects from the David
Bowie Archive after being granted unprecedented access to the collection,
which consists of thousands of photographs, handwritten lyric sheets,
and, of course, his memorable stage and screen costumes. Although
­costumes only constitute a small fraction of the materials that the exhibition
uses to chronicle Bowie’s artistic phases, they are certainly one of the key
draws for the show. After all, Bowie and fashion are ­inextricably linked.
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One can’t discuss his music or other accomplishments without mention

of his sartorial choices, as they have played a crucial role in constructing
the image of a man whose career is e­ xplicitly based around spectacle.
David Bowie is recognizes this connection, highlighting the importance
of clothing to his music by featuring costumes in a way that transcends
museum conventions by displaying mannequins in modes that emulate
live stage performances.
The exhibition presented Bowie’s oeuvre through the lens of his
creative process instead of adhering to a chronological timeline. Thus,
subjects and ideas were strung together to seemingly disparate subjects
and ideas to help explicate the interrelated influences present throughout
­different points in his career. The unconventional title—­devised by m ­ usic
journalist Paul Morley—was intended to “crush time” a­ ltogether by
looking at Bowie’s work as a never-ending series of cultural r­ eferences that
continues to resonate today, while also leaving much of the e­ xhibition and
its subject open to interpretation (Phaidon 2013). Through a s­ taggering
presentation of Bowie’s myriad of artistic i­nfluences, the ­ exhibition
­examines the very nature of creative process and ­postmodernist art from
the perspective of Bowie’s bricolage approach.
The shiny-new Philharmonie de Paris building, with its reflective sur-
face and extraterrestrial shape, was a fitting venue for a show about
a man who rose to fame under the alter-ego of a glittering alien mes-
siah. David Bowie is was the inaugural show held in the building’s
800-square-meter exhibition space, which will host installations con-
nected to Cité de la Musique’s musical programming. Throughout the
exhibition, richly painted walls, neon lighting, and multi-level platform
displays provided a cohesive look. The use of large, bold lettering on
the walls, spelling out statements such as “David Bowie is Plagiarism
or Revolution” and “David Bowie is Making Himself Up,” helped to
differentiate the themes, and served as catalysts for thinking about the
surrounding objects and what was to come next.
Although visitors were required to walk through the first few rooms
consecutively, the majority of the exhibition was built in a free-flowing
manner to allow guests to choose their own paths. Upon entering the
exhibition, visitors were provided with location-sensitive audio guides
that were created especially for David Bowie is by Sennheiser, a German
 David Bowie is 3

audio company. These audio devices transmitted songs, interviews, and

other commentary by Bowie and his collaborators through visitors’ ears
as they were in close proximity to related installations. For example,
an area displaying artifacts related to Bowie’s childhood triggered the
devices to transmit an interview of Bowie speaking about his childhood.
After guests walked a few feet towards a video screen, the guide auto-
matically switched to providing audio for the video being shown, allow-
ing visitors to freely wander between spaces without interfering with the
audio components of the show.
The entrance to the exhibition directed the visitor’s attention to a
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wall inscribed with a quote from Bowie: “All art is unstable. Its meaning
is not necessarily that implied by the author. There is no authoritative
voice. There are only multiple readings.” The quote, which comes from
the album notes of Bowie’s 1995 release 1.Outside, was prominently
displayed at the front in order to clarify the exhibition’s methodology.
Below the lettering, visitors were treated to their first sight of a holy
relic from the church of Bowie: the black vinyl “Tokyo Pop” bodysuit
designed by Kansai Yamamoto for the 1973 Aladdin Sane tour, featur-
ing sculptural, record disc-shaped pant legs. (This was one of multiple
costume replicas used in the exhibition, necessitated by the chemical
degeneration of some of the original pieces.)
Although David Bowie is intentionally disregarded chronological
structure, the show began with a glimpse into the early years of Bowie’s
life and career, starting back when he was just an unknown young lad,
David Robert Jones, living in the London suburbs with his parents. The
first room includes an assortment of materials related to these formative
years, including early work as an illustrator, a framed Little Richard
portrait that once hung in his childhood bedroom, and early gig posters
and publicity photos from multiple music groups that Bowie formed as
a teenager, which failed to become commercially successful. The mis-
cellany of items helped to portray a young man with seemingly end-
less amounts of creative energy. Moreover, these materials gave fans a
chance to search for clues about the “authentic” Bowie, whose ambigu-
ous personality has been shrouded by the masks of the varied characters
that he has created and embodied throughout much of his career.
The next room continued to follow the chronological format, jump-
ing from Bowie’s (relatively unnoticed) early solo work to his initial
thrust into the spotlight with the success of the song “Space Oddity” in
1969. Bordered by tubes of neon lights, the sci-fi inspired room blended
together publicity for the folkish young singer with ephemera related
to the space-age ballad that helped land him a place in the public eye,
including a Life magazine cover featuring the first moon landing and a
Japanese poster for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, which served as
inspiration for the song’s title.
Upon leaving the space-themed room, visitors were confronted by
one of the exhibition’s defining displays, centered around a mannequin
 4 Sara Idacavage

Figure 1
Installation view of
Bowie’s costume from his
performance on Top of the
Pops (1972), Philharmonie
de Paris. Courtesy of William
Beaucardet.
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in the iconic multicolor quilted suit worn by Bowie during his break-
through television performance on Top of the Pops, recorded on July 5,
1972. Presented in front of a video screen projecting the performance, the
costumed mannequin stood in a large mirrored enclosure that ­allowed
visitors to gaze inside while audio from the performance permeated
their ears and images of Bowie in the displayed ensemble ­reflected like a
­kaleidoscope from wall to wall (Figure 1). Here, e­ xhibition d
­ esigners did
the costume justice by presenting it in a surreal setting that reflected the
young singer’s ability to captivate audiences. The success of the display
was made apparent by seeing the groups of visitors standing in front of
the installation for two or more full loops of the video before moving
on.
After walking through a small hall displaying the words “David Bowie
is Wearing What He Wants” in sparkling 3-D letters, visitors entered
a ­remarkably large and cluttered room that diverged from the initial
chronological format. Here, multi-level platforms displayed an assortment
of costumes and other paraphernalia while a mash-up of B ­ owie’s hit
songs played on speakers spread throughout the open space. A visual
montage of some of Bowie’s diverse influences—Lauren Bacall, Peter
Pan, Oscar Wilde, Charlie Chaplin, and Bob Dylan, to name a few—
was shown on screens and books that hung scattered across the ceiling.
Between the loud music, chaotic visuals, and the addition of interviews
activated in visitors’ headsets at various points around the room, this
space seemed slightly overwhelming, caused by an abundance of ­objects
vying for the visitor’s attention (Figure 2). The costumes, however, func-
tioned as ­focal points, and were shown with objects that r­ elated to their
creation. These included an enlarged letter from designer ­Alexander
McQueen, mood boards for Bowie’s Reality tour costumes, and e­ xamples
of Sonia Delaunay’s designs for the 1923 Dadaist play Le Cœur à Gaz.
 David Bowie is 5

Figure 2
Installation view of the “mash-
up” room, Philharmonie de
Paris. Courtesy of William
Beaucardet.
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­ elaunay’s designs clearly inspired the movement-restricting, trape-

D
zoid-shaped tuxedo worn by Bowie during his appearance on Saturday
Night Live in 1979, which was shown beside a video of the performance
to provide additional context.
The inside of the large display platforms housed a small enclosure
with padded walls that resembled a recording studio that stood feet
away from a more eye-catching display entirely focused around Bowie’s
gender-bending looks. The large glass case included a screen displaying
Bowie’s video for the song “Boys Keep Swinging”—a cheeky commen-
tary on gender roles featuring Bowie dressed in drag—and a variety
of sexually ambiguous ensembles such as vinyl and fishnet bodysuits,
as well as a rather masculine Thierry Mugler suit that Bowie wore to
the 1996 Brit Awards with a dangling Vivienne Westwood earring and
kitten heels by Katharine Hamnett. The display also featured a crum-
pled tissue blotted with Bowie’s lipstick from 1974, which, housed in
its own glass box, was a deliberate example of pure object fetishization,
although a taste of hagiography seems unavoidable when paying tribute
to a performer with an almost religious following.
The large “mash-up” room was connected to two smaller areas,
one with an assortment of other stage costumes and another with a
marquee-style sign reading “David Bowie is Someone Else,” which
­
served as an introduction to a section devoted to Bowie’s numerous act-
ing roles. In addition to a screening room showing a montage of stage
and film appearances, visitors could view a small selection of related
costumes and props.
Farther along in the exhibition, there was a dark room mostly dedi-
cated to Bowie’s time living in Berlin. Many critics and fans regard this
time as one of the most important periods in the artist’s career, marked
 6 Sara Idacavage

by the release of some of his most innovative and experimental music.

Aside from displaying a synthesizer and other music-related artifacts
related to the highly respected “Berlin Trilogy” of albums—Low (1977),
Heroes (1977), and Lodger (1979)—the room was used to display
visual art by Bowie such as an oil painting of his Berlin comrade Iggy
Pop, helping to reinforce the idea of Bowie as an interdisciplinary artist.
Paris was highlighted here as well, with a small section dedicated to his
notable performances and recording sessions within the city.
Towards the end of the exhibition, visitors entered a large room
that focused on Bowie’s innovations in music videos, introduced by the
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phrase “David Bowie is a Picture of the Future.” The section began with
a stunning display of Bowie’s ice-blue suit and multicolor tie designed
by Freddie Burretti for the 1972 “Life on Mars” music video, which
was shown on a large tilted screen that hung above the costumed man-
nequin. The minimalist video features various shots of Bowie singing
alone in an all-white room at the peak of his Ziggy Stardust era, com-
plete with thick makeup and flaming red hair. The white walls of the
display emulated this setting, and also made the suit look particularly
striking (Figure 3). Here, once again, the exhibition designers were able
to reinforce Bowie’s ability to captivate audiences. Throngs of visitors
appeared to be spellbound as their eyes gazed between the music video
and the costumed mannequin, which stood silently in place of the man
on the screen. The room also gave visitors the opportunity to closely
examine an array of other costumes, such as the silver Pierrot or “Blue
Clown” costume from the 1980 “Ashes to Ashes” music video. Observ-
ing the ensemble up-close revealed craftsmanship at the level of haute
couture, made even more impressive by the sight of preliminary felt-tip
pen sketches of the costume produced by Bowie himself. The juxtapo-
sition of the sketches and finished costume helped to demonstrate his
ability to precisely manifest his artistic visions.
The exhibition culminated in an extremely large, open room that
could only be entered after visitors returned their headsets and exit-
ed the main exhibition space. There, footage of some of Bowie’s live
performances dating from the 1970s through the 2000s was projected
onto high scrim walls that partially concealed some of his most iconic
stage costumes. Organized in a grid structure, small enclosures contain-
ing costumed mannequins were periodically revealed like a peepshow
through lighting effects to coincide with the video displays, while a
handful of other costumes were displayed in front of the screens and on
stage-like platforms. Moving lights, towering platforms, and the “3-D”
sound system produced a theatrical experience that could not have felt
more different from the dimmed lighting and glass enclosures used in
traditional costume displays, and helped to produce the effect of being
in a live concert setting.
Although the list of objects mentioned in this review may seem
­exhaustive, it barely scratches the surface of what was included. Labels
 David Bowie is 7

Figure 3
Installation view of Bowie’s
costume from the video
for “Life on Mars” (1972),
Philharmonie de Paris.
Courtesy of William
Beaucardet.
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explaining the various objects in the exhibition were displayed in French

closely beside each piece, while English-versions of each were presented
in groups of labels beside the displays. Fortunately, these were easy to
match up without being in close proximity, although at the time of my
visit there was a noticeable amount of damage to the lettering where
ink had been rubbed off, causing some words on the labels to be fairly
illegible. The audio components of the exhibition, including all music
and interviews, were entirely in English, which could have potentially
made it difficult for non-English speaking visitors to understand what
was being played in their headsets.
While curatorial text was presented to provide provenance for each
piece, deeper meaning was often evoked through juxtapositions between
objects, allowing the visitor to interpret Bowie’s work through visual
 8 Sara Idacavage

connections. Take, for example, a series of Kabuki theater inspired

robes designed by Kansai Yamamoto for Bowie’s Aladdin Sane tour in
1973. Alone they represent one of Bowie’s essential characters. How-
ever, shown alongside traditional Kabuki theater posters and a 1971
Vogue Paris editorial featuring a model with the flaming red hairstyle
that Bowie would later adopt as his signature coiffure, it’s easier to see
the ways that the artist researched and reformatted a myriad of cultural
influences and combined them in ways that can only be described now
as quintessentially “Bowie.”
The all-white mannequins, specifically made for the exhibition
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to match Bowie’s body, were impressive considering the singer’s

­ever-changing physique, which required every form to be sculpted to
the exact measurements of each garment in order to replicate how it
looked originally. The exhibition also included a list of Bowie’s body
measurements taken in the early 1970s, which were displayed in a
­
­notebook kept by designer Freddie Burretti. These handwritten notes
list Bowie’s chest as 34.5” and waist as 26.5”, confirming that the
­little skintight l­eotards shown in the exhibit were, in fact, capable of
being worn by someone with a larger-than-life stage presence. The
­mannequins were also notable for their varied postures and poses; many
rested in confident stances with legs spread slightly apart, while others
pointed, held out their arms, or emulated other movements to evoke
Bowie’s performance style. An exceptional example was the mannequin
wearing B ­ owie’s knitted, one-legged Ziggy Stardust jumpsuit by Kansai
Yamamoto, which was presented crouched on the floor with one leg las-
civiously extended. Bowie’s presence was heightened by the use of silver
masks that were copied from a resin life mask that was produced from
his visage in 1975. Although many mannequins were shown without
these masks (or even heads), it was difficult to imagine anyone but Bowie
in these costumes, which seemed to exude the performer’s undeniable
charisma and confidence from every thread.
In addition to its triumphs, the exhibition does have a few pitfalls,
although many of these faults seem inevitable considering the amount
of items and limited space that the exhibition designers had to work
with. (It was an ambitious undertaking, to say the least.) Displays often
entailed reading wall text, examining written ephemera, and listening
to a conversation through the audio guide in tandem. This can be a
wonderful experience for those who thrive on perpetual stimulation,
but also overwhelming for those who do not. Furthermore, the contin-
ual scattering of bric-a-brac throughout the spaces is indeed a fitting
way to visually represent Bowie’s creative process, but visitors may have
been hindered by the lack of linear narrative, as well as the lack of clear
direction to navigate oneself through the space. This, of course, was
intentional, and helped to differentiate David Bowe is from other career
retrospectives.
 David Bowie is 9

Although the Sennheiser audio system was an effective way to

i­mmerse visitors in the exhibition, there were noticeable faults with the
“3-D” sound experiences, or rooms where audio was projected through
­multiple speakers. The loud music in the “mash-up” room made it a­ lmost
impossible to listen to interviews that were activated at various points
around the space, and was often audible in the adjacent rooms as well.
Apart from auditory issues, the exhibition’s flaws were mostly limited
to visual distractions (half-empty display cases, exposed doors and exit
signs, suits shown with socked feet), although there were some pieces
that would have benefited from additional context or a different display
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method. For instance, two costumes from Bowie’s 1979 S­ aturday Night
Live performance were shown in different rooms, making it difficult to
see the connection and appreciate the diversity of influences that Bowie
was pulling from concurrently. (These pieces were shown together during
the exhibit’s staging in Chicago, which I had seen previously.)
The experience in the closing “live performance” room was also hin-
dered by periods of silence that occurred between some songs, which
made the extremely large space feel quite empty. Although some cos-
tumes were placed in front of the screens at ground level, allowing vis-
itors to stand just a few feet away, it was significantly more difficult to
observe the metallic leotards and other iconic looks that were obscured
by scrim far above the ground, and even more difficult to match them
with wall text.
Despite any glitches, the innovative audio guides and immersive
displays found in David Bowie is provide a glimpse of what we can
possibly expect from future costume exhibitions that move towards
­becoming increasingly interactive and theatrical experiences. Perhaps
the most astonishing aspect of the show is how it managed to fit such an
enormous amount of disparate objects and ideas into a space without
losing sight of the purpose of the exhibition. Who (or what) is David
Bowie? The curatorial team provided numerous ways to answer this
question by demonstrating Bowie’s ability to perpetually transition be-
tween styles and media. However, the exhibition ultimately reveals that
it is more important to appreciate the influences and impact of Bowie’s
work than to try to define the chameleon artist himself.

Reference
Phaidon. 2013. “David Bowie Is - an interview with the V&A ­curator.”
Phaidon news, March 18. Accessed May 1, 2015 http://www.phai-
don.com/agenda/art/articles/2013/march/18/david-bowie-is-an-in-
terview-with-the-vanda-curator/