Those with a reservation at pop’s top table rarely arrive on musical merits alone. The video age may be dwindling alongside the music industry’s wider fortunes, but a true star still has to have that visual wow factor to shine brighter than the last. Here’s a predictably contentious list of six who, in the words of Prince, got the look.

DAVID BOWIE
Glam rock was a cruel fashion leveller – the likes of Sweet and Slade just looked like brickies with blusher – but Bowie’s calculated manipulation of its look was his making as a true superstar. For an artist whose style changed with the tides it’s tricky to pin down a definitive period, but the ‘Aladdin Sane’ era ranks among the most legendary looks in pop history, from the lightning bolt across his face to the first public sighting of the mullet. We should warn you from bitter experience though; shaving your eyebrows off in affectionate tribute is not a good idea. (NC)

LADY GAGA
Even Bowie with a good decade under his belt at the forefront of cutting edge fashion hasn’t got as many dramatic looks as Lady Gaga. Similarly for Gaga, fashion is about theatrics – she’s the one person who looks at the catwalk and wonders how to, you know, amp things up a bit. At her best when she’s more McQueen than Madonna, the skirt-eschewing pop star makes skimpy look playful rather than slutty. Her best look? Possibly the delicate lace of her 2010 Brits performance. Her most memorable? The meat dress. So far. (JK)

RUN DMC
You know what the most iconic kind of trainers of all time are? Adidas Superstars – those shell-toe, three-striped works of peerless genius. You know why? Because the most iconic hip hop group of all time, Run DMC, did a song about them. Run DMC own that black Kangol hat, dookie rope chain and Adidas shell-toes look that everyone on the planet would draw if given the ‘rapper’ clue in Pictionary. (MB)

THE WHITE STRIPES
Jack and Meg made life sartorially simple for themselves when planning the White Stripes’ wardrobe. Basically, if it wasn’t red, white or very occasionally black, it wasn’t worth wearing. It’s a slightly cartoonish concept for a band whose two-piece blues rock had such authentic chops, but as with all those featured in this list it gave them an instantly identifiable and unique look. Jack might have made a rod for his own back though – he looks a bit odd now, post-Stripes, in a beige jacket. (NC)

ADAM ANT
In what was possibly pop’s most colourful era, Adam Ant still managed to broaden its spectrum by several hues during the burgeoning video era of the early 80s. With a look few could realistically imitate, Adam took fashion advice from Malcolm McLaren (who subsequently stole his Ants to form Bow Wow Wow) and combined Native American, pirate and highwayman to form a swashbuckling, widescreen couture composite. Of its time? You might think so, but Adam’s still rocking the look right now at the sprightly age of 56, and looking damn good on it. (NC)

MADONNA
Never mind the eye-endangering pointy bra and the S&M gear of her mega success years, Madonna’s Desperately Seeking Susan-era look inspired a generation of teens all over the bubblegum-chewing world to ape her style. It was a thrift store trolley dash that anyone could afford, mixing chains, crucifixes, string vests, bangles and leggings to become the de facto uniform for both the Madge devotee and then just young girls in general. It reached such a fever pitch that Macy’s in New York actually opened a department called Madonnaland, churning out Ciccone clones 10 to the dozen. (NC)

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WORDS BY MATT BARKER, NICK COQUET, JAMES KENDALL