PHOTOS: From Mask Off to Mask On, Here’s How Daft Punk’s Style Evolved Over The Years

By Ammar Haziq • 23 Feb 2021 in Fashion

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Today’s a pretty sad day for dance music fans worldwide after the legendary French duo, Daft Punk announce their break up after 28 years of grooving.

We’ve always known Daft Punk in their sci-fi get up, but other than hardcore fans, how did these two Parisian dudes decide to wear masks and make bomb-ass music? Let’s rewind it a little.

Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter met in high school in 1987, where they bonded over similar taste in music and movies, including the 1974 cult-classic film Phantom of the Paradise by Brian De Palma.

A spoofy sci-fi take on the classic Phantom of the Opera, the film including its aesthetics and music had a huge impact on the two young men. People say this is where Daft Punk got their inspiration for their robot personas.

Thomas and Guy-Manuel then formed an indie rock band called Darlin’ in 1992 – along with future Phoenix guitarist, Laurent Barncowitz. A negative review in Melody Maker magazine called their music “a daft punky thrash”.

Other up-and-coming musicians at the time might have dismissed or screamed at the review, but the boys found it amusing. After Darlin’ disbanded, Daft Punk was born and the rest is history.

In the ’90s, Daft Punk either toured as themselves (without any stage personas) or wore perspex masks (or other weird-looking ones) that distorted their faces. They eventually moved on to wearing full helmets starting in 2001, which soon morphed into the robot masks that became their iconic look.

While we’re bummed out about it, we decided to walk down memory lane and see how the duo evolved from Parisian rockers to underground DJs and ultimately, global icons.

Here is Daft Punk over the years in photos: