For many, Bowie’s starring role as Thomas Jerome Newton in 1976’s The Man Who Fell To Earth remains the high water mark of his film career. Based on a novel by Walter Tevis, the film follows Newton, an alien who came to Earth to bring water back to his thirsty homeworld. Despite his civilization’s current straits, they are quite technologically advanced. Soon after his arrival on Earth in a human disguise, Newton patents several alien technologies to create a massively successful technology firm almost overnight. He becomes acquainted with human customs, but they become his ruin. His alcoholism and addiction to television in particular begin to unravel him. Just before he is about to board his spaceship for the first time amongst a media frenzy, he is captured by the government who has discovered his alien nature. They imprison him in a hotel, and experiment on him ruthlessly, exploiting his alcoholism as a means to control him. He ends up being too late to save his dying family on his home planet, but he records an album of alien messages that may one day reach his planet through radio signals. The film ends with Newton as a wealthy yet despondent alcoholic who has resigned himself to be stranded on Earth.
Newton and his family are depicted throughout the film in their traditional alien garb, which is what this outfit is meant to depict.