Bj?rk’s Most Stylish Music Videos
Björk’s career spans over three decades in which she has established herself as a visionary artist, pushing boundaries with her music as well as her visual work. It is fitting then, that the Museum of Modern Art in New York is dedicating a new show to her work, exhibiting journals, costumes, and other ephemera in a mid-career retrospective. I was first drawn into the Icelandic superstar’s work through her videos, which were often groundbreaking collaborations with directors like Michel Gondry, Spike Jonze, and Inez and Vinoodh. To celebrate her museum debut, we’ve picked her most stylish videos.
Big Time Sensuality, Debut, 1993
What does one wear to dance around the back of a flatbed truck all over Manhattan? Why, a cropped angora sweater over a long silk slip dress, of course. This is one of Björk’s most iconic song and video, so it’s no surprise that both her silver eyeliner and her multi-knotted hairdo went on to become a trademark hair style of the 1990’s on par with “the Rachel.”
It’s Oh So Quiet, Post, 1995
This extremely stylized video by director Spike Jonze, is, like the song itself the loveliest way you can spend four minutes. And it stands as a testament to, among other things, the power of the simple shift dress. Who didn’t want to have a short sleeve satin dress just like this when this video came out? (Paired with pink hot pants underneath for modesty, of course.) Björk isn’t the only one with great style in this video either, from the older women in mismatched floral prints and floral umbrellas, to the dancing mailbox. It just brings joy into your heart.
Possibly Maybe, Post, 1996
A raver fantasy wardrobe, most of these clothes would not seem out of place on the runways today. From the blacklight-sensitive clothes that may have inspired Alexander Wang’s Spring 2013 collection, to the two-tone knit turtleneck that wouldn’t have seem out of place in Dries Van Noten’s Fall 2014 collection. Everything about his video makes me wish the future would actually look like this.
Bachelorette, Homogenic, 1997
I have always been obsessed with the beaded pink lace dress that Björk wears in this video. It’s asymmetrical cut which makes it look like a shirt from the back. She wears it with jeans with ripped knees and flat sandals with pom-poms. No one else could pull this look off.
Who Is it?, Medulla, 2004
It does not get better than an Alexander McQueen dress covered in bells.
Oceania, Medulla, 2004
Björk becomes an underwater creature with a face completely covered in crystals – but not forgetting the all-important heavy black eyeliner. This may be the most glamorous we’ve ever seen her. It’s beautiful.
Triumph of a Heart, Medulla, 2005
There are so many totally bonks fashion moments in this video. First there’s Björk’s drapey pink jersey dress and gold ankle boots that are the perfect take on a space-age disco look, for when you need to take your partying to another level. Then of course, there is her husband, the cat, wearing a white cotton tank top and blue worker pants and strangely resembling a young Paul Newman (Paul Meowman?). Later, the cat wears a red-carpet ready blue suit, undoubtedly, the most stylish cat of all time.
Mutual Core, Biophilia, 2011
Björk wears an ornate dress encrusted with beads, sequins and gems while half buried in the sand, which then gives the impression that she is actually wearing the earth. Her hair is a bright shade of blue and orange, which mirrors the amazing volcanic eruptions and tectonic plates shifting around her. Her wardrobe is as bold as the beats in the song.
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