Indie Idol: Grace Jones
Photo: Getty Images
In this series, we’d like to give you a little primer on those icons – musicians, artists, girls-about-town, that are often cited by fashion designers, and editors, as inspiration behind collections, and editorials.
Who: Grace Jones
What: Singer, Model, Actress.
Fans: Missoni, Versace, Philipp Plein, Guy Bourdin, Andy Warhol, Helmut Newton, Thierry Mugler, Lady Gaga, Lorde, Kanye West
Photo: Corbis
Tell Me More: Grace Jones is one of those cross-pollinating talents who dabbled in so many different things in her long career. First, there was her career as a model during the 1970s, which took the Jamaican-born beauty to Paris, where her dark skin, shaved head, and overall androgynous look, made her a favorite of designers like Yves Saint Laurent, Claude Montana, and Azzedine Alaia. She also became a muse to photographers Helmut Newton and Guy Bourdin, who defined the high fashion look of the decade.
1981′s Nightclubbing,’ photographed and art-directed by Jean-Paul Goude.
Post-modeling careers, Jones began her music career when she was signed to Island Records, the famous label established by Chris Blackwell. Unlike many an immediate modeling-turned-musician career failure, Jones records actually made it to the charts, and she crossed over easily from disco to pop to reggae. She was known for her original covers of songs by the The Pretenders, David Bowie, and Iggy Pop, as well as The Normal’s “Warm Leatherette” which was the soundtrack for the most recent Missoni runway show. Jones also ventured into acting ( although not as successful as her musical career) with roles in Conan the Barbarian, and the James Bond’s A View to a Kill.
The iconic cover for 1985′s ‘Island Life,’ photographed and art-directed by Jean-Paul Goude.
However, Jones most recognizable work stems from her relationship with photographer Jean-Paul Goude. The two met in the decadent late ‘70s New York, and he quickly became her manager, her artistic director, as well as her lover. The manipulated images he created for her album covers – before the advent of photoshop – and his book Jungle Fever, have become some of the most alluring, controversial, and copied photographs of the ‘70s and ‘80s. The recent Paper magazine cover featuring Kim Kardashian found its inspiration in images from Goude’s Jungle Fever, although the image itself did not feature Jones.
Photo: Getty Images
Signature Style: Jones tall frame and dark skin stood out among all other models at the time, perhaps that’s why her most iconic look was simply, herself, nude with bold colored makeup. Once her music career took off, she favored structured pieces with a strong shoulder, that would cut a bold silhouette against concert lights. Her penchant for wearing a hood, also became one of her trademarks, and an inspiration for everyone from Donatella Versace, who based her Spring 2014 couture collection on the image, to Lady Gaga, who took to wearing a hood in a similar fashion in her everyday life. Her iconic style, persona, and devil-may-care attitude has also made her an icon in the gay community, who worship at the altar of her every move.
Photo: Getty Images
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