Iconic stage outfits

Iconic stage outfits are more than just clothes. They’re world-building devices, character introductions, plot twists and punchlines all stitched into sequins and chiffon. From boybands winking at their own image to rock gods in platform boots, here’s a tour through some of pop

culture’s most unforgettable looks – and what they say about the artists who wore them.

5 Seconds of Summer

In the “Telephone Busy” video, 5SOS dress like a parody moodboard of “every era of boyband ever” – but filtered through their warped, alt-rock humour. Luke wears a long black faux-fur coat, giving tortured rockstar / 90s grunge heart-throb. Michael shows up with bright red hair and a patch-covered leather jacket, full early-2000s pop-punk poster boy. Its like sidequest gone dark! Calum in an oversized bright blue “Ryoko Athletics” jersey channels the classic sporty member in baggy streetwear. Ashton in a leopard-print coat over a plain white tee brings glam, slightly feral drummer energy, like a 70s rockstar dropped into a 2020s pop video. Their big, slightly disproportionate heads and the plain white backdrop make them look like action figures of “The Boyband™” instead of real people. It’s visual satire: they’re reclaiming the label by literally dressing up as the stereotype and laughing with their fans about it.

Britney Spears

Think Britney and you instantly see at least three outfits: the schoolgirl uniform from “…Baby One More Time,” the red latex catsuit from “Oops!… I Did It Again,” and the sparkly, nearly-nude VMAs bodysuit. Those looks defined late-90s/early-00s pop – hyper-polished, a bit cheeky, and absolutely built for MTV replay. Each costume marked a new chapter in her evolution from teen star to full-blown pop icon.

Amy Winehouse

Amy’s “costume” was deceptively simple: towering beehive, thick black eyeliner, tiny dresses, ballet flats and tattoos on display. It was a retro London soul girl meets punk pub singer. That consistency turned everyday outfits into a uniform – instantly recognisable and perfectly matched to the throwback heartbreak of Back to Black.

Stevie Nicks

Stevie’s chiffon capes, flowing skirts and platform boots rewired what an ethereal rock star could look like. Instead of leather and denim, (or leather and lace one might say) she brought witchy maximalism to the stage, spinning under spotlights in layers of black lace. The shawls and top hats weren’t just dramatic; they created a visual language for her mystical, soft-rock storytelling.

Dolly Parton

Sequins, rhinestones, fringe and sky-high hair: Dolly built an entire brand out of sparkle. Her stage outfits amplify the humour and heart of her songwriting – over-the-top and glittering, yet grounded in warmth. She leans into “country Barbie” aesthetics while writing some of the sharpest, most empathetic songs in the genre, and that contrast has become part of her magic.

Katy Perry

Katy turned pop concerts into candy-coated theatre. Cupcake bras, spinning peppermint discs, dresses made of movie snacks – nothing is too ridiculous. Those cartoonish outfits let her play the role of pop’s chaos clown while still delivering big emotional hooks. The costumes say, “We’re here to have fun,” even when the songs cut deeper.

Lady Gaga

From the orbiting rings of The Monster Ball to the infamous meat dress, Gaga turned fashion into concept art. The meat dress, especially, became one of pop culture’s most debated outfits – both a provocation and a statement about bodies, fame and consumption. On Gaga, clothing isn’t just styling, it’s a thesis.

Björk

Björk’s 2001 swan dress at the Oscars transformed red-carpet expectations. It was whimsical, surreal and deeply sincere. Like her music, it refused to play by the rules – an Icelandic fairytale creature wandering into Hollywood’s most formal room and staying perfectly, defiantly herself.

Michael Jackson

From the red Thriller jacket to the single white glove and military-style jackets, Michael’s wardrobe became visual shorthand for pop itself. The sharp tailoring and glittering details amplified his choreography – every spin, toe-stand and moonwalk read clearly even from the back row.

Elton John – and the Dodgers baseball uniform

Elton has worn everything from feathered angel wings to light-up glasses, but the 1975 Dodger Stadium shows gave us one of his most iconic looks: a fully sequinned Dodgers baseball uniform, cap and all. It mashed up American sports culture with glam-rock excess and announced that any space – even a ballpark – could be his glittering stage.

Harry Styles

Harry’s wardrobe of ruffled shirts, pearls, flares, jumpsuits and sherbet-coloured suits stretches the idea of “masculine” stagewear. He pulls from 70s rock, queer club culture and grandma’s jewellery box all at once, inviting fans of every gender to treat fashion as play, not a rulebook.

Taylor Swift

Taylor’s eras are colour-coded wardrobes: sundresses and cowboy boots for her country debut, red lipstick and stripes for Red, snakes and dark bodysuits for reputation, pastels and hearts for Lover, and glittering, jewel-toned bodysuits across The Eras Tour. Each visual era works like a chapter heading in her musical autobiography. Across her career, each Taylor Swift “era” has arrived with its own clear visual identity, making her discography feel like a series of self-contained worlds. The debut and Fearless years were all curls, sundresses and soft sparkle; Speak Now leaned into fairytale gowns and deep purples; Red brought stripes, high-waisted shorts and that now-iconic red lip. With 1989, she stepped into sleek crop tops, city-girl pastels and neon, before reputation flipped the palette to black, chrome and snake motifs. Lover exploded into candy-coloured hearts and pastel suits, while folklore and evermore shifted to cardigans, plaids and misty cottagecore aesthetics. Most recently, Midnights has wrapped her in inky blues, glitter and 70s-tinged disco glam. Visually, each era is so distinct that fans can identify it from a single outfit – a rare level of world-building for a pop artist.

Chappell Roan – MTV VMAs 2024

Chappell Roan’s 2024 VMAs look – a sheer dark gown with a sweeping moss-green cloak, heavy cross necklace and gothic, storybook styling – cemented her as pop’s new theatre kid queen. Across her era of jesters, knights, queens and witches, she’s turned concerts into costume parties, with fans arriving dressed to match the night’s theme.

Spice Girls

Five women, five instantly recognisable silhouettes: Posh’s little black dresses, Scary’s animal prints, Sporty’s track pants, Baby’s pastel minis and Ginger’s Union Jack dress. That tiny Union Jack at the 1997 BRIT Awards turned into a symbol of Girl Power and 90s British pop, proving how strong character-based styling can be.

Janelle Monáe – Glastonbury 2024

At Glastonbury 2024, Janelle appeared like a walking bouquet: a dramatic floral cape, matching boots and a flower crown. It fits her Afrofuturist, genre-bending vision – political but joyful, turning the stage into a living art installation and her body into a symbol of blooming, defiant joy.

David Bowie – Ziggy Stardust

Ziggy’s metallic jumpsuits, padded shoulders and red platform boots made Bowie look like he’d been beamed down from Mars. The costumes matched his androgynous, sci-fi storytelling and helped audiences accept that this wasn’t just David in another outfit – it was a full alien rock-prophet alter ego.

KISS

KISS pushed comic-book energy to its limit: black-and-silver armour, towering monster boots, bat wings, face paint turning each member into a character – The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman and The Catman. Their looks made every show feel like a live-action graphic novel, where the outfits mattered as much as the solos.

From 5SOS dressing as living, bobble-headed clichés in “Boyband” to Chappell Roan turning award shows into gothic theatre, these outfits all do the same job: they make the music visible. On the world’s biggest stages, the outfit is never “just” the outfit. It’s the loudest lyric of the night, you just read it with your eyes instead of your ears.