For Kate Bush, it’s been the banner yr that nobody noticed coming. Since Netflix hit Stranger Issues catapulted the legendary British singer-songwriter again into the zeitgeist through the use of her 1985 monitor “Working Up That Hill,” it’s been a fruitful time for Gen-Z to find—and long-time followers to rejoice—her genius. As she reclaims the highest of the charts and rakes in hundreds of thousands of views on her electrifying music movies, her renaissance has additionally ushered in a renewed appreciation for her singular magnificence. Since 1978, when then-19-year-old Bush’s debut single “Wuthering Heights” shot straight to primary, she’s embodied a dreamy, bohemian romance. Her unmistakable uneven shag, typically accompanied by a smoked-out gaze and rosy rouged cheeks, solely add to the rapture of watching her carry out.
“Kate has at all times existed fully in her personal universe, eschewing traits and seemingly simply creating work that issues to her,” says Rachel Gibson, the London-based hair skilled who runs the @The Hair Historian on Instagram. The way in which Gibson sees it, Bush’s signature hair look, which remembers the closely fringed, layered cuts of the late ’70s and ’80s with their distinct hot-brushed, hair sprayed end, is each of the time and all her personal. “Her hair completely enhances the daydreamy, otherworldly nature of her music, and though technically there’s fairly a particular haircut occurring there, and a few of her appears are very deliberately styled, it nonetheless manages to really feel completely easy,” she explains. “In an period of picture obsession, the place we won’t deal with a hair misplaced even in a throwaway selfie, the soft-focus, fuzzy imperfection of Kate’s hair feels simply fantastic.”
This free-spirited angle prolonged into Bush’s vivid make-up functions, at all times worn with pure aplomb, whether or not she was in a T-shirt and denims or swaying in a chiffon costume onstage. “She at all times appeared so naturally highly effective,” says make-up artist Grace Ahn. “Her hair and make-up had such a signature look—at all times darkish wavy textured hair with purple lipstick and dramatic eye make-up.” Certainly one of Bush’s most iconic coloration make-up combos, as immortalized on the duvet of her album Hounds of Love, was her lilac-washed lids worn with a berry-stained mouth. To this present day, it’s synonymous with Bush’s particular person model of glamour.
As an artist, performer, and storyteller, Bush continues to encourage on all fronts. In honor of her sixty fourth birthday, right here’s a glance again at a few of her most standout magnificence appears all through the years.