What the Band Wore by Alice Harris is an unprecedented collection of photographs that illustrates four decades of pop, rock, soul, disco, funk, punk, reggae, heavy metal, and hip hop fashion. Sparkling sequins, safety pins, and even suits from outer space are spotlighted in more than 80 images by acclaimed music photographers, including Terry O’Neill, Henry Diltz, Matthew Rolston, Bob Gruen, and Lynn Goldsmith.

Featuring exclusive comments from legendary artists, What the Band Wore traces the evolution of stage wear from the 1960s through the 1990s, from the self-made counterculture style of Jefferson Airplane, Janis Joplin, and Sly & The Family Stone to the custom designs that Bob Mackie, Bill Whitten, Larry LeGaspi, Vivienne Westwood, and Issey Miyake created for the most renowned names in music. Whether it’s Elvis Presley or Janet Jackson posing in tight leather, Freddie Mercury masquerading as a harlequin, or Run-DMC sporting their iconic footwear, these pages thread together a fabulous celebration of fashion and music.

Kiss

One of the many acts covered are Kiss, who are perhaps even better known for their iconic make up. Here’s the start of that story.It didn’t take long for the band to implement gimmicks to stand out among the scores of other hard rock bands in New York. Kiss began experimenting with new approaches: Gene Simmons began teaching himself how to breathe fire, while smoke machines and lasers became an integral part of the band’s show. But the most important development arrived shortly after their first gig at the Popcorn Club in Queens: the group started to wear stage makeup.

“At the same time that we were forming in New York, there was a very big glitter scene, where boys were basically acting like girls and putting on makeup,” Simmons told the fanzine Porkchops & Applesauce in 1996. “Y’know, all the skinny little guys, hairless boys. Well, we were more like football players; all of us were over 6 feet tall, and it just wasn’t convincing! The very first pictures we took when the band first got together, we looked like drag queens. But we knew we wanted to get outlandish.”

You can find out more of this story and read the whole article from FAR OUT Magazine here

What The Band Wore