A designer lives inside Debbie Harry. She’ll tell you so herself.
As the lead singer of the pop-punk band Blondie, iterations of which have been performing for six decades, Harry has assembled her own stage wardrobe, a rough-hewn bricolage of shredded prom dresses, spandex bodysuits, fishnet arm warmers and skin-baring vintage castoffs.
“I’ve always fiddled around and tried to make statements out of combining things that normally would not be looked at,” she said. “That was the fun – to make it as rock-n-roll and as daring as you could. It was part of the expression of breaking out.”
Since forming Blondie in the 1970s with guitarist Chris Stein, her onetime boyfriend, Harry has rarely drifted out of public consciousness.
In recent years, she has released a memoir and, with her band, albums featuring new music as well as classic songs like Heart Of Glass, the disco track that helped make Blondie a household name.
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To some, Harry’s image as the Blondie frontwoman has been as influential as the band’s music.
Her rocker style was the basis for a new collaboration with Wildfang, a brand in Portland, Oregon, which this month released a small collection inspired by pieces that the 79-year-old singer pulled from her closet.
The collection includes a suit jacket and trousers, two shirts and a sweatshirt. Those items, priced from about US$45 (approximately RM200) to US$200 (RM893), make liberal reference to Harry’s familiar wardrobe staples – and to her raw, tear-down-the-barricades sensibility.
“We just started very low on the ladder with ripped-up stuff, safety pins and all that,” Harry said of the clothing she wore in Blondie’s early days.
“When the music got characterised as pop, we pivoted a little bit and started doing the Warhol thing in bright colours.”
Wildfang, a 12-year-old brand founded by former Nike employees, made its name by flouting gender norms and promoting inclusivity and unfettered self-expression, an ethos in line with Harry’s own.
The singer, who has incorporated the brand’s pieces into her wardrobe, represents the emotional essence of Wildfang, said Taralyn Thuot, its chief product and creative officer.
“She is confident and humble at the same time,” Thuot said.
Harry’s mini collection features plenty of her signature punk touches.
“Debbie was very prescriptive; she suggested the placement of grommets and chains,” Thuot said. “We even added thumb holes for the sleeves, something she loves. She knows how to style things.”
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Indeed, Harry had some ideas for how to wear the line’s double-breasted jacket, which is embellished with a silver chain.
“You could move the chain around in different ways or style the jacket with a corset underneath,” she said. “That could be very hot.”
Also steamy is the portrait of Harry that is emblazoned on a T-shirt in the collection.
Rather than having Wildfang reproduce a siren-y platinum-haired image from her Blondie heyday, Harry asked to use a current photo. Her hair is platinum, but her face is faintly lined.
“I don’t know if I’m making a statement,” she said. “I’m just keeping on.” – The New York Times
