Re-creating the Glories of the Glam Rock Era

The movie: “Velvet Goldmine.”

The setup: Eccentric ‘70s English glam-rock scene is revisited in the story of fictional star Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), whose clothes, wigs and eye makeup speak as loud as his music.

The costume designer: London-based Sandy Powell, who received Academy Award nominations for “Orlando” and “The Wings of the Dove.”

The background: In case you spent the early ‘70s trapped inside a symphony hall, you may have missed this blip on the cultural landscape. “It was quite a fleeting moment in music and fashion history,” admitted Powell. Nevertheless, think David Bowie at his most outrageous, or even “Cabaret,” a movie made in the ‘70s about the ‘30s. “A lot of ‘70s fashion derived from ‘30s shapes,” Powell explained.

The look: Here, the style takes root when Slade, dabbling with his image early on, sheds the hippie look and performs in a long purple frock with a deep decolletage. The rest is shock chic, gender-bending and flashier than a neon sign. His stage clothes include sequined bodysuits worn with feather boas, headpieces and blue wigs; a leopard ringmaster’s outfit; a green creature-from-the-Black-Lagoon get-up with green body glitter; and sequined, iridescent leggings. Offstage was dress-up time too. There are flared pantsuits in outrageous colors. One, a white satin suit as slinky as a negligee, is paired with a matching halter top. Footwear of choice was platform shoes with 5-inch heels.

Influential: Style icons were T. Rex’s Marc Bolan--known for his sequined top hat and satin tails--followed by Bowie. “The music was a kind of crucial part of my growing up,” Powell recalled. “As an 11-year-old, Marc Bolan was my first idol. He used to wear girls’ shoes--Mary Jane dance shoes with a little strap.”

Powell also referred to Britain’s Nova and Nineteen magazines for teenagers (“Vogue and Harper’s weren’t relevant”) and tapes from “Top of the Pops,” an “American Bandstand”-type of television show.

Scene Stealer: Nearly outdoing Slade as fashion king is his manager, Jerry Devine (Eddie Izzard), with his dazzling suits. They’re made in awning stripes and Op Art patterns, plus magenta, turquoise, orange and reptile-print velvet.