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(24.06.2019)

Bill Kaulitz on style role models,
unnecessary gender boundaries and dealing with cyberbullying

It always has to be a bit extreme!” – Bill Kaulitz on how important it is to stand by yourself

No more excitement. Even if they are worn by boys or men. But back then, when the success story of Tokio Hotel, began and they mixed up the almost prudish German pop culture with their look and their music, there was no such thing except for a few exceptions. What that meant for Bill Kaulitz, what power he drew from it, and what power fashion still has for him today, read this and more in the exclusive Vogue interview.

Men are allowed to do that and women are allowed to – this thought was never there for me,” says musician Bill Kaulitz as we meet the lead singer of Tokio Hotel, shortly before the current “Melancholic Paradise” tour in Berlin. We’re here today to share Bill‘s old stage costumes and talk about fashion and style. The 29-year-old is always at the point, answers quickly and quickly and is to have fun for everyone. In the resulting video, he talks about his always expressive style of clothing, why strict gender separations are finally abolished and how important role models such as Nena or David Bowie were to him. He also explains that he almost never reads comments and shares his refreshing treatment of criticism: “They do not like that, then it must be right!

How has your interest in fashion developed?

I started sewing and making things myself when I was a little kid – at that time I did not have any money, but I never wanted to wear what the other kids wore. I always wanted to attract attention, I always needed that feeling of freedom and to be able to be visual. My mom always sewed and made things for me. It was so cute – now, looking back, I’m so glad I had a mom that was so cool. I always drew and sketched. Since I’m six, I’m also a huge David Bowie fan, so fashion has always been important to me.

Can you still remember the first piece your mother sewed?

One of the first pieces was a T-shirt with my arms cut off. She then sewed me the collar of a denim jacket on top. There I was, I believe, nine, I thought that was really good! I always had it on.

Where did your inspiration come from?

My inspirations back then were movies. “The Journey into the Labyrinth” with David Bowie is my absolute childhood film, which I could say! We had it on video at the time, and at some point the movie hung because I looked at it so often – there was this goblin king, his hair, the collars and jackets he was wearing, all the ruffles and ornaments and leggings and high ones Boots – that was great. And I was a huge Nena fan. This 80s fashion with the headbands, cut T-shirts with safety pins was mine. I watched a lot of films. “The Basketball Diaries”, “Kids”, or “We Children from the Zoo Station”.

How has what you want to express with your clothes changed since you were in public?

Fashion has always underscored what I felt. For example, when I look back at what I used to wear and what I liked, I would not put it on now. But at the time it was always authentic and always what I felt. Most of the time it came completely spontaneously. I have never considered the looks forever before. Back when I was so young, it was so important for me to wear the make-up and hair that way. It was always just a feeling that I expressed, and of course a rebellion against the norm. I have always liked to convince people of the opposite. For example, physical education teachers who said I had to do sports with the girls, they would not teach me – so I had to get a one on the testimony.

It always has to be a bit extreme. We also go on tour to countries where it is dangerous to dress like this. But I think it’s important to travel to exactly those countries because there are people who need exactly that, who care about what it’s like to see something like that, and who care about it. As a little boy, that’s exactly what I needed. I needed a Bowie, I needed a Nena, and I needed the people who came to us to perform, because there were just those dazzling characters.

What role does your clothing play in your masculinity and femininity, or how do you see yourself as a person in this world?