Daft Punk's Visual Evolution & Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent

From iconic "Homework" clips to dialogue-free abstract films, check out this breakdown of Daft Punk's visual history.

Not since pre-unveiled glory days of KISS back in the '70s has there been an artist in popular music that puts as much of an emphasis on visuals -- while remaining virtually anonymous to the world themselves -- as Daft Punk. When you think of essential visuals in mainstream music, they usually involve the artists themselves, whether it be Elvis' swivelling hips, the Beatles' revolutionary moptops, Madonna's chameleon-like omnipresence on early MTV or Beyonce changing trends in the fashion world with every public appearance. Unless you were a family friend or a long time collaborator, however, you would have virtually no chance of recognizing Thomas Bangalter or Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo if you passed them on the street.
Yet, despite keeping their own faces a mystery, Daft Punk have become iconic, both for their own trademark getups -- distinct robot costumes that the group wears to all public appearances, which both feeds into and satirizes the duo's purposefully dehumanized musics -- and their outsized, ambitious, and incredibly imaginative visuals. That partly stems from their famed live performances, the dazzling light-show spectacles of which helped make their rare stateside appearances (particularly their Alive 2006/2007 Tour, and its kickoff performance at the 2006 Coachella Festival) the stuff of legend among those in attendance. But the group's strongest visual impression comes with their music videos, which have become not only an essential part of the duo's legacy, but one whose history helps tell the story of the group themselves. On the release date of Daft Punk's latest sonic opus, "Random Access Memories,"