From the Vault: Blond Ambition Tour

I don't talk about music much on my blog (and when I do, it gets taken down - whoops!) but it's one of the things that I love most in this world & what I hope I get to write about when I'm a journalist. Since this is more of a fashion blog, I thought I would do some articles on my favourite stage wardrobes. And who better to start with than the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna?

The tour that I most know her for is her Blonde Ambition Tour. That hair! That cone shaped bustier! That... is pretty much all I know it for (since I wasn't actually alive when it was on). Jean Paul Gaultier was the man responsible for the edgy & provocative costumes. Gaultier called designing for Madonna "one of the best times of my career".

Gaultier also said "Madonna is fabulous. She is a fashion freak, un monstre de mode. I remember the first time I saw her on TV singing Holiday, and I was thinking she was English. I couldn't think she was American to dress like that. And when I met her in the flesh I was not disappointed".

The cone bra may just be one of the things Madonna is most associated with. Scandalous when it first came out, it was in fact modelled on a piece Gaultier had designed in the eighties. Gaultier said that the piece was inspired by a corset he had seen as a child, at an exhibition with his grandmother. He said that the conical version was simply "an extension of that idea".

The Like a Virgin song sequence on the tour was the most controversial, with Madonna lying down on a bed - with two (allegedly) hermaphrodite dancers behind her - and simulating masturbation. In Toronro & Canada, police received several complaints about the "lewd and obscene" behavior in this scene and demanded she changed it. In the end, no changes were made and the bed was later donated by Madonna to UNICEF (obviously this entitled her to FREE BABIEZ 4 LYFE!!).

Parts of the show were inspired by Madonna's recent role as Breathless Mahoney in Dick Tracey.

This review from the New York Times read: Madonna clearly wants to make a major statement with “Blond Ambition,” about the malleability of gender conventions and about a woman taking control. But in the past, she has brought a sense of fun to her purposefulness – a light touch that made her a welcome relief from the ponderousness of earnest 1980’s rockers. It’s fascinating to watch her perfectionism and her iron will at work, but there’s not much pleasure in it.

A lot of her fans were divided on what they thought of this tour - some thought it was the highlight of Madonna's tour, while some thought it was overly (and needlessly) sexy, especially considering that her Sex book was on the way. Personally, I much prefer 80's Madonna - who was a bit cheeky, fun, wore more than a leotard and actually had something covering her scary biceps. The costumes on this tour were some of my favourites & so I hoped you liked the first installment of "From the Vault"!

x

Information & pictures from here, here, here and here.