1975 was a drug-induced blur of artistic glory and torment for David Bowie. Having shed the skin of Ziggy Stardust, the icon and friend of Cutler and Gross moved to Los Angeles – a city that paved the way for the new Hollywood Hideaway collection.
It was here that Bowie filmed ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ and recorded the career-propelling ‘Station to Station’ album. However, he remembered only “flashes” of this time, consumed by hallucinations and paranoia.
We explore Bowie’s tumultuous year in Los Angeles when he existed in a trance of musical greatness and personal darkness.
Bowie wearing Cutler and Gross, photographed by Steve Schapiro in 1975.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Fresh from touring the United States with his ‘Young Americans’ album, David Bowie moved to Los Angeles to begin shooting the cult sci-fi film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’. Bowie played the protagonist – Thomas Jerome Newton – a humanoid alien who journeys to earth in the hope of saving his dying planet.
The director Nicolas Roeg gave Bowie freedom to develop his character’s clean-lined aesthetic and iconic flame-like hair; make-up artist Martin Samuel recalled that Bowie was particular in his vision, specifying exactly which Schwarzkopf dyes to use.
By 1975, an emaciated Bowie had developed a cocaine addiction, and this worsened over the course of the year. He later recalled, “My one snapshot of that film is not having to act... Just being me as I was perfectly adequate for the role. I wasn’t of this earth at that particular time.”
A still taken from 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', 1975. Credit: British Lion Films.
Station to Station
In breaks between scenes, Bowie wrote a collection of songs and semi-autobiographical stories called ‘The Return of the Thin White Duke’. After shooting wrapped in September, Bowie began recording his tenth studio album, ‘Station to Station’. The opening lines of the title track hauntingly announced his new persona: “The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers’ eyes”.
The cold otherworldliness and flame hair of Bowie’s extraterrestrial character was of profound influence. A shot taken by photographer Steve Schapiro on the set of ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ was used as the album cover, and Bowie retained this distinctive aesthetic until the 80s.
“It marked the point at which David Bowie moved from pop musician to phenomenon.”
Biographer Paul Trynka on ‘Station to Station’
Biographer Paul Trynka wrote that ‘Station to Station’ marked “the point at which David Bowie moved from pop musician to phenomenon.” It is widely considered to be his most significant album, as it illustrates his musical innovation and virtuosity in blending genres. However, Bowie remembered almost nothing of the process, later admitting, “I know it was LA because I’ve read it was.” The recording sessions took place at Hollywood's Cherokee Studios, where the cocaine-consumed artist would work through the night, with 7am sessions lasting until 9am the next day.
The 'Station to Station' album cover, shot by Steve Schapiro. Credit: RCA.
Hedonism and Hallucinations
Bowie lived off a concoction of cocaine, bell peppers, and milk and would regularly go three or four days without sleeping. Severely malnourished and driven by an increased fascination with the occult, Bowie became progressively paranoid. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that he lived in a house lit with burning black candles and hallucinated that bodies were falling past the windows. In a 1977 interview, Bowie reflected that his “psyche went through the roof, it just fractured into pieces… I felt like I’d fallen into the bowels of the earth.”
Bowie blamed Los Angeles’ excess and extravagance for his downfall. He told NME in 1980 that the city “should be wiped off the face of the earth. To be anything to do with rock and roll and go and live in Los Angeles is, I think, just heading for disaster.” The biographer Paul Morley described the album as “the tunnel, the cavern, through which Bowie crawled – spent, emptied out, done with the temptations and devastations of America.”
The full-throttle lifestyle eventually became unsustainable. In 1976, he moved to Berlin with fellow Cutler and Gross customer Iggy Pop in the hope of getting clean. The following year he began work on his next album, ‘Heroes’.
“Bowie crawled – spent, emptied out, done with the temptations and devastations of America.”
Biographer Paul Morley
David Bowie wearing Cutler and Gross on the cover of The Sunday Times magazine, 1975.
Hollywood Hideaway
Los Angeles witnessed a year of extremes for Bowie as his creativity and sanity were tested. The hedonistic lifestyle ensnared the artist, but ‘Station to Station’ stands as a testament to his genius amongst the chaos.
The city’s debauchery and decadence in the 70s formed the starting point for Cutler and Gross’s Autumn Winter collection: Hollywood Hideaway. It introduces seven maximalist silhouettes that nod to archive frames worn by luminaries and evolve Cutler and Gross’s legacy for the modern day.
Shop The Collection
David Bowie, 1975
1975 was a drug-induced blur of artistic glory and torment for David Bowie. Having shed the skin of Ziggy Stardust, the icon and friend of Cutler and Gross moved to Los Angeles – a city that paved the way for the new Hollywood Hideaway collection.
It was here that Bowie filmed ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ and recorded the career-propelling ‘Station to Station’ album. However, he remembered only “flashes” of this time, consumed by hallucinations and paranoia.
We explore Bowie’s tumultuous year in Los Angeles when he existed in a trance of musical greatness and personal darkness.
Bowie wearing Cutler and Gross, photographed by Steve Schapiro in 1975.
The Man Who Fell to Earth
Fresh from touring the United States with his ‘Young Americans’ album, David Bowie moved to Los Angeles to begin shooting the cult sci-fi film ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’. Bowie played the protagonist – Thomas Jerome Newton – a humanoid alien who journeys to earth in the hope of saving his dying planet.
The director Nicolas Roeg gave Bowie freedom to develop his character’s clean-lined aesthetic and iconic flame-like hair; make-up artist Martin Samuel recalled that Bowie was particular in his vision, specifying exactly which Schwarzkopf dyes to use.
By 1975, an emaciated Bowie had developed a cocaine addiction, and this worsened over the course of the year. He later recalled, “My one snapshot of that film is not having to act... Just being me as I was perfectly adequate for the role. I wasn’t of this earth at that particular time.”
A still taken from 'The Man Who Fell to Earth', 1975. Credit: British Lion Films.
Station to Station
In breaks between scenes, Bowie wrote a collection of songs and semi-autobiographical stories called ‘The Return of the Thin White Duke’. After shooting wrapped in September, Bowie began recording his tenth studio album, ‘Station to Station’. The opening lines of the title track hauntingly announced his new persona: “The return of the Thin White Duke, throwing darts in lovers’ eyes”.
The cold otherworldliness and flame hair of Bowie’s extraterrestrial character was of profound influence. A shot taken by photographer Steve Schapiro on the set of ‘The Man Who Fell to Earth’ was used as the album cover, and Bowie retained this distinctive aesthetic until the 80s.
Biographer Paul Trynka on ‘Station to Station’
Biographer Paul Trynka wrote that ‘Station to Station’ marked “the point at which David Bowie moved from pop musician to phenomenon.” It is widely considered to be his most significant album, as it illustrates his musical innovation and virtuosity in blending genres. However, Bowie remembered almost nothing of the process, later admitting, “I know it was LA because I’ve read it was.” The recording sessions took place at Hollywood's Cherokee Studios, where the cocaine-consumed artist would work through the night, with 7am sessions lasting until 9am the next day.
The 'Station to Station' album cover, shot by Steve Schapiro. Credit: RCA.
Hedonism and Hallucinations
Bowie lived off a concoction of cocaine, bell peppers, and milk and would regularly go three or four days without sleeping. Severely malnourished and driven by an increased fascination with the occult, Bowie became progressively paranoid. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that he lived in a house lit with burning black candles and hallucinated that bodies were falling past the windows. In a 1977 interview, Bowie reflected that his “psyche went through the roof, it just fractured into pieces… I felt like I’d fallen into the bowels of the earth.”
Bowie blamed Los Angeles’ excess and extravagance for his downfall. He told NME in 1980 that the city “should be wiped off the face of the earth. To be anything to do with rock and roll and go and live in Los Angeles is, I think, just heading for disaster.” The biographer Paul Morley described the album as “the tunnel, the cavern, through which Bowie crawled – spent, emptied out, done with the temptations and devastations of America.”
The full-throttle lifestyle eventually became unsustainable. In 1976, he moved to Berlin with fellow Cutler and Gross customer Iggy Pop in the hope of getting clean. The following year he began work on his next album, ‘Heroes’.
Biographer Paul Morley
David Bowie wearing Cutler and Gross on the cover of The Sunday Times magazine, 1975.
Hollywood Hideaway
Los Angeles witnessed a year of extremes for Bowie as his creativity and sanity were tested. The hedonistic lifestyle ensnared the artist, but ‘Station to Station’ stands as a testament to his genius amongst the chaos.
The city’s debauchery and decadence in the 70s formed the starting point for Cutler and Gross’s Autumn Winter collection: Hollywood Hideaway. It introduces seven maximalist silhouettes that nod to archive frames worn by luminaries and evolve Cutler and Gross’s legacy for the modern day.
Shop The Collection