fashion 1980 - 1990

In the 1970s, the shape of fashion was usually characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider, looser clothes on the bottom. This trend completely inverted itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear looser shirts and tight, close-fitting trousers.

After the release of her single "Like a Virgin" in late 1984, Madonna became a fashion icon for many young women around the world who copied her "street urchin" look with short skirts worn over leggings, brassieres worn as outer wear, messy hair, cross jewellery, and fishnet gloves.

 

The 1980’s saw a rise in the popularity of the designer fashions, while high street fashion had greatly dropped during the 1960’s and 70’s. Fashion shows were more important than ever and were transformed into shows and televised with alot of media coverage.Power and money controlled the styles of the 1980’s and clothing was a sign of power. The well-off people around the world were literally rushing to pricey New York boutiques and Paris fashion shows to buy straight from designer’s lines.

Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaia were the two French fashion designer who best defined the look to that time. Thierry Mugler produced fashion designs that combined Hollywood retro and futurism, with rounded hips and sharplyshaped shoulders

On the other hand Azzedine Alaia was known for his inspiring combinations and was the master of all kinds of techniques that had previously been known only to haute couture. He included in his designs many new and underused materials, such as Lycra and viscose.

Beside the prevailing fashion image of the time two Japanese designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto offered a very natural look and marked a total break of the extravance and glamorous fashion designs. Flat shoes, no make-up, reserve, modesty, and secrecy were the hallmarks of their modern look.In American fashion, Donna karen and Ralph Lauren dominated the ready to wear styles in the 80s.

fashion 1970 - 1980

The decade began with a continuation of the hippie look of the late 1960s, with afghans, Indian scarves and floral-print tunics. Jeans remained frayed and bell-bottomed, tie dye was still popular, and the fashion for unisex was mounting then ever.

Due to the choices for available clothing that had become very diverse, it was nearly impossible to tell the do's and don'ts in fashion by the 1970s. The “anything goes” in terms of fashion was increasing during these two decades of rapid social revolution and holds on until nowadays, at least for the freedom of choices.

Kenzo Takada and Sonia Rykiel were the most influential fashion character to that time in France. Kenzo drew his inspiration from all over the world, mixing Western and Oriental folk influences with a fantastic 'joie de vivre' (joy of life) and an instinctive understanding of what his young customers wanted. He literally turned the fashion world upside down with his unusual prints, fluid lines and clever combined accessories. Sonia Rykiel, the so-called queen of knits in 1974, designed her first sweaters with reversed seams. She created a whole range of clothes that were extremely individual and yet could be worn almost anywhere.

Men's fashion changed more in the 1970s than it had done in a whole century. The typical male look was defined by narrow shoulders, tight-fitting lines, no tie, no interfacing, zip-up boiler suits, waisted jackets or tunics, sometimes even without shirt. Fashion designer of that time adopted the unisex look and transformed it even to the work clothes, like traditional suits and changed them to a more informal style.

A huge change in fashion was also the influential increase of Italian's fashion. Milan confirmed its status as the second center of international fashion after Paris. Capitalizing on the dominant trend of anti-fashion, Italy offered a glamor that had nothing to do with the dictates of Parisian haute couture. While profiting from a clearly defined style, Italian fashion was luxurious and easy to wear. The two most influential Italian fashion designers of the time were Giorgio Armani and Nino Cerutti.