Thursday, October 27, 2011

Platform Shoes -A Cornerstone Of A Generation

By Janet Alexia


In the late 70's and early 80's, the Glam Rock revolution took over much of America and the United Kingdom. Born with a blend of punk and rock trends, these glam rockers were characterized by everything they did being bigger and more outrageous than anything else. This included big hair styles, outrageously flamboyant outfits, excessive make up, and platform shoes. When it comes to platform shoes, the bigger and more outrageous, the better, much like other glam rock trends.

Some glam rock artists developed entire personas around their outrageous outfits and on stage antics. The more outrageous and larger than life antics of these rock stars were often characterized by glittering metallic outfits and matching platform shoes. These outfits perpetuated the larger than life persona by making the rock star look as well as act larger and more outrageous than how they did in their normal life. The disco crazy helped bring about the popularity of some of the more outrageous styles.

Combined with the anything goes mentality so characteristic of the glam rock revolution, a universal interest in all things space related seemed a natural byproduct of the race to space of the previous decade. The continued public interest in space exploration and the endless possibilities it represented is evidenced by the space-style outfits many glam rockers adopted. Such stars as Ziggy Stardust took the space traveler look to extremes with entire personas characterized by glittery skin, clothing, and of course, matching platform shoes.

Not to be outdone, glam rockers such as the popular band KISS, took the outrageous glam rock style even further. These rock stars never show up in public without full regalia including full face make up of their characters, space-traveler looking metallic Lycra jumpsuits, and platform space boots. Of all the glam rockers, KISS is usually the first band which comes to mind when a person mentions 70's music and platform shoes. They have become the icon for platforms and glam rock.

Many historians believe these glam rockers were at the heart of the increased popularity of outrageous platform shoes and other fashion trends of the era. Since majority of the platforms worn during this era were worn by young teens and women in their early to mid twenties, this gives credibility to the idea. Since a part of this demographic was usually fans of the glam rock revolution stars, it is reasonable to assume that their taste in fashion was heavily influenced by the glam rockers they idolized and emulated.




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