Earlier this month, the music world mourned the passing of one of the brightest stars of the century, David Bowie, who was known for his fearless and inimitable fashion sense. He was the ultimate British eccentric who was mixing three piece suits with jumpsuits, wearing make-up and high heels, and gender bending before the term even existed. This post is a tribute to Bowie and all other fashion eccentrics in the universe.

Bowie wearing a striped bodysuit for his 1973 Aladdin Sane Tour designed by Kansai Yamamoto. Photo by Masayoshi Sukita.

Here’s to the crazy ones. The daring ones. The otherworldly and the audacious.  The ones who make us do a double take on the streets. The women who first put on men’s trousers, the men who can pull off a miniskirt, and those of both genders who managed to turn the dreaded socks and sandals into a fashion statement.

On my first-ever school trip to London aged 13, I saw a middle-aged woman near Piccadilly Circus wearing a bright orange top hat (and it wasn’t even Halloween!). The first thought that crossed my freshly post-Communist teenage mind was ‘Gosh, if she ever wore that back in Russia she would probably be institutionalised!’. This was the moment I fell in love with London and its eclectic street style that Bowie exemplified.

One of the presents I got this Christmas was the book ‘The Sartorialist: X’ by fashion  blogger Scott Schuman who, through his ingenious photography, brought street style to the attention of fashion editors and the masses. As I was flipping through the pages full of imaginative dressers from all four corners of the world, this one comment resonated with me: ‘…she is the kind of woman that has fun with fashion for the ‘right reasons’.’

Cover of The Sartorialist: X by Scott Schuman. Photo via Penguin.com

Indeed, this is what fashion should be about: not agonising but amusing, not uppity but uplifting, not fretful but fun. Exactly the kind of fashion Ziggy Stardust a.k.a. David Bowie would be proud to show off on the celestial catwalk.

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