The Village People is an American disco group founded in 1977 by Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and Victor Willis. The group’s name is a reference to Greenwich Village, a neighborhood in New York City where many prominent figures and people who identified with the LGBTQIA+ community lived.
The musical troupe is generally comprised of six members, each wearing a different costume evocative of a certain macho male persona and suggestive fantasy archetype.
Village People’s first album debuted in 1977 and featured the hit song “San Francisco (You’ve Got Me).” The group is best known, however, for such hits as “Y.M.C.A.” (from the 1978 album “Cruisin’”) and “Macho Man,” (from the 1978 album of the same name). The Village People was often described over the course of more than 30 years performing as partly camp while also toying with hyper-masculine cultural archetypes.
The costumes, however, remain an enduring part of the Village People’s legacy and place as part of the pop culture lexicon. The staple costumes and figures in the troupe include a cowboy, police officer, biker, G.I., construction worker and a stereotype of an Indigenous man.
The troupe is set to perform at two events from the Presidential Inauguration of Donald Trump and Vice President-elect J.D. Vance.
Here, WWD looks back at the men who popularized the archetypes and the costumes that made the Village People.
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Victor Willis, Police Officer or Admiral
Image Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images Victor Willis is a founding membe of the Village People and contributed to the musical group’s songwriting. Willis often dressed as one of the various characters who were incorporated into the musical troupe, including a police officer, admiral and athlete.
For his various looks, Willis often styled pieces like a police officer’s uniform in shades of navy blue or black. His admiral’s uniform often featured a crisp white color. Both costumes were often accompanied by a hat.
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Felipe Rose, Indigenous Stereotype
Image Credit: Chris Walter/WireImage Felipe Rose was also an original member of the Village People. Rose claimed Native American descent and dressed in stereotypical Indigenous attire, including a large feathered head dress, beaded necklaces and arm bands, among other elements.
The costume has been criticized for its stereotypical nature and appropriation; elements like the headdress have certain cultural significance for the indigenous community.
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Alex Briley, G.I.
Image Credit: Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Alex Briley initially joined the Village People and wore nondescript clothes but then settled on the G.I. uniform. The uniform and character represents a soldier in the United States’s armed forces, in particular the army.
The uniform often features the army green color or camouflage. The design features a utilitarian cut, with short or long sleeves, pockets or a jumpsuit style with a belted at the waist.
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Glenn Hughes, Biker
Image Credit: Archive Photos/Getty Images Glenn Hughes took on the Biker character for the Village People. Harkening back to the 1960s and 1950s and popularization of the macho biker figure, Hughes wore leather-clad apparel from his fitted trousers to the jacket with chainlink detailing, boots and even a hat.
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David Hodo, Construction Worker
Image Credit: Michael Putland/Getty Images David Hodo often wore the Construction Worker costume. The costume consisted of a hard hat, plaid shirt, blue jeans and tool belt. Sunglasses were sometimes added and the plaid shirt could be buttoned or unbuttoned.
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Randy Jones, Cowboy
Image Credit: ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images Randy Jones opted to portray the stereotypical American Cowboy in the Village People line-up. The garb for the character often included blue jeans, a button-down shirt with rolled sleeves to the elbow, a vest, cowboy boots and a coordinated hat. Other iterations on the costume also featured embellished button-down shirt, but the cowboy hat and boots were mainstays for the costume.
