1980Released
4:50

Did You Know?

Interesting facts and trivia about Fashion - 2017 Remaster. By Songfacts®.

David Bowie said that he considered this song to be a sequel to The Kinks' 1966 send-up of the fashion scene, "Dedicated Follower Of Fashion." Bowie blasted the shallow nature of the fashion industry, but at the same time, expressed a morbid curiosity in it all: "When I first started going to discos in New York in the early '70s, there was a very high powered enthusiasm and the scene had a natural course about it. It seems now to be replaced by an insidious grim determination to be fashionable, as though it's actually a vocation. There's some kind of strange aura about it."

This song draws an implicit analogy between fashion and fascism. Goon squads – referenced in the lyric, "We are the goon squad and we're coming to town" - are groups of thugs who are hired to perform violent acts on their boss' behalf. In the context of this song, it is most likely that Bowie is light-heartedly comparing goon squads to the New Romantics – a late '70s subculture, who were known for their meticulously flamboyant fashion sense. Moreover, the lyric, "Turn to the left, turn to the right," is not only referring to the mechanical movements of fashion models, but also to the military instruction. In 1974, Bowie caused controversy after he made some pro-Fascist comments, including calling Hitler "one of the first rock stars." Bowie later blamed his wacky comments on the huge amount of drugs that he was consuming at the time.

No doubt about it - Bowie was a fashion icon. Ever since he rose to prominence in the late '60s, he set trends, if not redefining style as we know it. Bowie was famous for his chameleonic personas, including (but certainly not limited to) the androgynous Ziggy Stardust and the dapper Thin White Duke. His style innovations continue to influence designers, musicians and fashionistas to this day. In 1992, Bowie secured his place in the fashion industry when he married the Somalian supermodel Iman. In 2004, the couple featured in an advertising campaign for designer Tommy Hilfiger's spring collection. Bowie and Iman had one child together: Alexandria Zahra Jones, born August 15, 2000.

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Song Analysis

Key, BPM (tempo) and time signature of Fashion - 2017 Remaster.
CKey
MajorMode
4/4Time Signature
109BPM

Album

The album Fashion - 2017 Remaster is released on.

Released By

The record label that has released Fashion - 2017 Remaster.
Parlophone UK
© 2017 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC
℗ 1980, 2017 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC under exclusive license to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company

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