David Bowie - Fashion

What this video is

Released in October 1980 as the second single from Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), 'Fashion' arrived at a precise cultural inflection point: post-Berlin Trilogy Bowie returning to commercial accessibility while embedding sharp satirical critique of the New Romantic subculture then erupting in British clubs. The video, shot inside New York's Hurrah nightclub, positions Bowie and his musicians as 'street thugs'…

Why it matters

A pivotal document at the nexus of new wave, post-punk, funk, and art-rock, 'Fashion' and its video together represent Bowie's most commercially successful deployment of avant-garde performance aesthetics. The clip codified the use of choreographed crowd mimicry as meta-commentary, influenced…

The director

David Victor Mark Mallet (born 17 December 1945, West Horsley, Surrey, England) is a British director of music videos and concert films. He co-founded the influential production enterprise MGMM with Scott Millaney, Brian Grant, and Russell Mulcahy, rising to…