History of clothing: part 3

Continuation of our summer series which addresses the 2It is half of the 20th century.

The 60s :

These years exploded norms with audacity and emancipation. After May 1968, the diversification of clothing identities continued. After that, nothing will ever be the same again...

Unisex blue jeans, mini skirt stylistic emblem of feminist struggles, women reclaim their bodies and the way they dress them, showing bare legs and cleavage without a bra. It’s the sexual and clothing revolution.

Fashion liberated from the seventies :

Bell-bottoms, long bohemian dresses, flowing blouses, celebrating shapes and materials that are the antithesis of the mantras of consumerist society. Clothing becomes a sign of socio-ideological belonging. Make way for pacifist demands, freedom, a cool attitude.

Rebellious 80s fashion :

No more Peace and Love, the 1980s are banging, heckling. Show off and money, tan and outrageous make-up. You have to be “too much”.

Under the leadership of Jean-Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac... the shoulder pads are XL and the pop colors sting the retina. In the escalation of the cult of the body and appearance, the “working girl” plays sports in her Lycra leggings.

Top models are becoming real stars, led by Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson and Naomi Campbell.  

The cuts are sharp, architectural, innovative, embodied by Claude Montana to name but one.

Paris saw the first “exotic” Japanese designers parade, led by Comme des Garçons and Kenzo. Fashion magazine print runs are accelerating.

Who says eighties says fluorescent, like the blinding k-way that everyone wears. From accessories to makeup, the smallest detail reverberates…

Cascade of extravagant patterns, stripes, polka dots, diamonds, willingly drowned in a cocktail of sequins and bling bling rhinestones. The reign of disco and sultry parties!

This time creatively embraces its own contradictions with the emergence of sartorial, marginal and rebellious countercultures: punk, new wave, gothic…

 

1990, multiplication of currents :

More hyped than ever, the 1990s brought a powerful vintage air popularized by bomber silhouettes and platform shoes.

Coming from California, the wind blew across this entire generation lulled by the sounds of the Spice Girls and infused with the “teen” fashion of the cult series Beverly Hills. More British, sexier, this wave continues and revisits animal prints, sporty-sexy looks and garish make-up.

Next come the pop stars who shake up the clean look of TV series. Britney Spears in a mini-mini skirt, pink pompoms in her hair, and visible lingerie, Youth shows off her navel with lots of mini-tops and low-rise jeans, all reappropriating the cool look of parents to which we add a zest of impertinence.

Rap and Hip-Hop are becoming popular and influential.

Kate Moss explodes with the Calvin Klein campaign: more rock and blacker.

Courtney Love with a bad grunge look displays an exacerbated femininity, deliberately filthy, sometimes licentious.

Precursors of the Manga trend, its followers adopt torn baby doll dresses, long knee-length socks, leather boots and dark, dripping make-up.

Full of paradoxes, the Nineties saw extreme or minimalist trends coexist and/or clash.

At the end of the century, the “cyber” look appears, adorned with futuristic clothing which borrows its cuts from the industrial world, cut from new technical materials such as neoprene or microfibers. It is the kingdom of excess and science fiction, on the cusp of the year 2000. A trend embodied by Alexander McQueen, John Galliano and Thierry Mugler time and time again.

Exactly in its opposite, a more sober fashion is emerging which lays the foundations of a sustainable and responsible consciousness in the making. The flamboyant Eighties, with their insolent prosperity, gave way to a darker decade which opened with a recession.

We refute materialism and ostentatiousness to advocate “anti-fashion”, minimalism and modernism. In his article of June 26, ARTIST has already told you about these influencer creators such as the “Antwerp Six”, including Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten. The very people who draw inspiration from Japanese fashion to design ready-to-wear that is emancipated from haute couture and full of restraint.

We know that Fashion is constantly evolving. She is often inspired by the past, which she repeats eternally! Different styles that we love or hate, it doesn't matter, they leave an impression!

See you on Sunday August 14 for the 4It is and last part of the history of clothing at the start of the 21st century.