Glam Rock Fashion vs Visual Kei
グラムロック・ファッション / ヴィジュアル系
Glam Rock Fashion comes from Fashion History and Visual Kei from Subculture Style. They are reached for with some of the same intent, which is where they get confused.
Glam Rock Fashion
Early-1970s British rock used glitter, platforms, emphatic makeup, body-fitting clothes and quotations from science fiction and cabaret to turn performers into deliberately artificial stars separated from everyday life.
Visual Kei
Visual Kei is a Japanese rock and metal visual culture in which hair, makeup, costume, stage and photography construct a band persona as strongly as the music, crossing glam, gothic, punk, Kabuki and historic dress.
| Glam Rock Fashion | Visual Kei | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1971–1975 | 1980s– |
| Family | Fashion History | Subculture Style |
| Kind | Style | Style |
| Cues | Glitter, sequins and metallic shine / Platform boots and fitted jumpsuits / Strong eye makeup, colored hair and facial geometry / Science fiction, Hollywood, cabaret and music hall mixed together | Large gravity-defying hair built from sharp sections / Theatrical pale makeup, strong eyes and fine brows / Leather or lace mixed with jewelry, military and historic dress / Long silhouettes crossing gender markers |
| Best used for | Presenting a performer as an artificial star in live shows and cover imagery · Using excessive clothing and makeup to blur borders of gender and period | Designing costume, hair, makeup and photography as one band identity · Making changes in a performer's appearance carry a story across eras and fan culture |
| Type | Choose either heavy rock lettering or a narrow science-fiction face and pair it with a metallic edge. | Choose one lineage of sharp serif, blackletter or drawn lettering and align it with the costume quotation. |
| Composition | Emphasize the vertical full-body line, building one silhouette from platforms through the hair. | Make face and hair the upper focus, extending a long silhouette through shoulder, sleeve and hem. |
| Material | Reflect glitter, sequins, satin and metallic foil hard under stage lighting; paint the same geometry on the face. | Layer black leather, lace, metal and velvet, carrying one accent through makeup and hair. |
| Caution | Glitter and platforms alone make a 1970s costume. Build the performer's artificial persona through sound, stance and makeup too. | Black clothes and heavy makeup are not enough. Bind music, persona, costume and image change into one expression. |