Fifty years of David Bowie's hairstyles in one animated gif

The iconic British singer's birthday is celebrated with a series of illustrations that encapsulates his looks between1964 and 2014

Linda Sharkey
Wednesday 28 January 2015 14:23 EST
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(Copyright: Helen Green)

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To celebrate David Bowie's 68th birthday last week, illustrator Helen Green created an animated gif of his hairstyles through the years.

The unique illustrations , in both black and white and colour stills, feature the British singer's iconic looks between 1964 and 2014 in 29 frames, which are available to print through Society6 for $15 (approx. £9)

Green shared the gif on Tumblr with a simple message that read "Happy Birthday David Bowie" and it had more than 40,000 responses. She told The Independent: "The idea for the GIF came about whilst listening to Bowie's latest career-spanning compilation 'Nothing Has Changed'.

"I felt inspired to create a short visual journey through many of Bowie's styles and guises, from young Davie Jones in 1964 to David Bowie in 2014, it's my little tribute to how he's fascinated us over the years."

Bowie has many memorable hair and make-up moments. How to forget his boy-next-door image for the 1972's androgyne Ziggy Stardust with his Suzi Fussey–cut and coloured flaming red hair or his bleach blond hair from 1993. He once described himself as an artist “who tries to capture the rate of change,” and have done so utilising shifts in hair and makeup with unprecedented speed.

This celebratory gif encapsulates 50 years of Bowie's looks, from his iconic Ziggy look to his permanent curls.

Happy belated Birthday Bowie.

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