Understanding the history of fashion within culture and how these trends came to be is going to be very important in this essay, as all modern fashion does have a connotation to a key period in fashion history. In understanding these individual aspects of history, they all have a context to go around it and represent a social movement at the time.
Dior & The New Look -
(Post WW2, McDowell classes this as the start of 'modern fashion history'.
A response to the war ending and material being used in more excessive ways than before. Symbolises freedom and a new world. Introduces the new woman silhouette to the world which has been reapropriated by countless designers all through 20th century culture and costume design.
Elvis Presley & Rock + Roll
Introduction of leather jackets and other key pieces still popular in todays society. Birth of The Teddy Boys who dressed in Saville Row suits. Links to mods and rockers- the emergence of subcultures. The first real rock stars started to emerge with a set style, which the public started to pick up on, re-appropriate and pastiche.
The Swinging 60's
Introduction of the mini-skirt, eccentric pattern making and experimental design. The focus was on the youth-boom, with fashion, music and politics all informing the atmosphere of the time. According to McDowell, other sources and video archives, the vibe was revolutionary, where sex and love were free game and inhibitions were being released.
In main stream culture, the visual representations of this time are Woodstock (1969), The Beatles (Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band) was a huge moment in mainstream music history, introducing an up-beat, still slightly watered-down version of rock and roll, which was still a very new sound for many in that era. The typography became just as wild, with hand rendered lucid styles reflecting the groovy design aesthetics of the day.
YSL & Le Smoking
Smoking was a huge social past time in these era's, and Yves Saint Laurent introduced the smoking suit for women, which was really controversial in those days as women conventionally wore skirts and dresses rather than trousers.
"Few respectable restaurants or hotels allowed female guests to wear them inside. Nan Kempner was famously turned away from Le Côte Basque in New York while wearing her YSL tuxedo suit. Yet in the defiant style befitting of this androgynous, no-nonsense look, she removed the bottom half and waltzed into the restaurant wearing the jacket as a thigh-skimming mini dress instead. The manager later said that for formal dining attire trousers were as unsuitable as a bathing suit."
Their 'pop art' collection was the first to really channel contemporary culture, inspired by the societal and artistic movements of the day. Slim-line fur coats and dresses inspired by the contemporaneous art of Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol drew the most attention in editorials and fashion photography, foreshadowing the Studio 54 movement.
Summer of Love
The summer of 1967 brought out the hippies all across America (mainly San-Fransisco), Europe and the UK and was a social phenomenon that occurred throughout the summer. Over 100,000 young people joined the movement, sometimes called flower children, and were an eclectic group fully woke in the ways of the world. Many were suspicious of the government, rejected consumerist values, and generally opposed the Vietnam War. A few were interested in politics; others were concerned more with art (music, painting, poetry in particular) or spiritual and meditative practices. There was also lots of acid, free love and psychedelic patterns, which in turn influenced the new-wave styles of music and fashion on the streets and in mainstream culture. Many sources refer to the summer as "Utopianism", due to the social atmosphere within Haight-Ashbury, San Fransisco at the time.
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2012/07/lsd-drugs-summer-of-love-sixties
Bowie & Androgyny
One very prominent for today - the rise of gender fluidity and androgyny in the 1970's, fashion historians say stems from YSL's smoking suit and the filtration of trousers into the women's wardrobe within popular culture. Bowie was the poster-boy for expression and fashioning transferable identities; introducing dresses and heels into mens wardrobes, as well as masculine oversized attire into the female wardrobe.
Punk on the Kings Road
The rise of anarchism as a reaction to monarchy and elitism, fuelled by music and social fire. Postmodernist attitudes to design were common, with breaking gender boundaries a by-product of this. Having hubs of energy in New York and London more than any other cities, shaggy spiked hair and studied black leather jackets (back in from the 1950's) (mods and rockers), motorcycle boots, Dr Martens and thick chain necklaces were the permanent outwards expression of anti-establishment disgust. The way you dressed was a visual signifier for personal values, and so clothing became a reflection of the times.
https://www.ceros.com/originals/punk-rock-graphic-design/
Japanese designers in Paris
The early 1990s saw Fashion Shows reach a new level of immersion and spectacle (Dubord), Paris became a hub of creative talent all across the world, especially designers such as Suzy Menkes, Issy Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo, who all brought individual aspects of design and ready to wear to the runway, which filtered down through the streets in less obvious ways than the punk or hippy movements.
Versace and the supermodels
The Supermodels of the 90's will never be forgotten in the fashion, publishing or advertising worlds. Combined of Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen, the supermodels had the benefit of triple exposure to aid their careers, something which had never been done before in the fashion/advertising industry. By appearing both in shows, in tv commercials and print ads, the models faces rose to a new level of recognisability and celebrity status within normal society, bringing in new aspirational figures for young girls and a new super-class for advertisers to make you aspire to be like. Recently (22nd Sept), Versace who pioneered the supermodels in the 90s showed off their SS18 collection at Fashion Week in Milan, with the presentation acting as a testament to the late Gianni Versace on the 20th anniversary of his death, showing how valued the history of fashion is amongst that particular community, and has interest in society. (Over 12,962 have watched this on youtube alone, with hits reaching the millions on Instagram and other online news outlets - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjASbGh19lY).
Marc Jacobs and grunge
The grunge movement was mainly pioneered by bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam, yet stemmed from Marc Jacobs and the publishing industry. Magazines such as i.D and The Face started off as 'street style' looks, showcasing the unique (and often alternative) to the less 'fashion savvy' public. Grunge was embraced by generation X (1961-1981) as a social sign of rebellion and again embraced a post modern design aesthetic. Brutalist typography and designers such as David Carson and Ray Gun were breaking design boundaries in terms of grid/layout and concept, potentially inspired by the album artwork of grunge bands. Grunge has since been commercialised, and retailers such as Topshop are stocking 'grungy' items, not because they embody the aesthetic of the time, yet want to impose their 'coolness' onto the consumer- and in turn the consumer is buying it to look rebellious, not caring and slightly nostalgic due to the distressed casual aesthetic associated with grunge. Also links to the Riot Gurll movement and protest.
Calvin Kleins minimalism
Klein's outlook on simplistic clothing channeled modernitys aims and intentions, using the phillosophy that simple is better. By removing embellishment and excessive ornament, the formality of silhouette and design came to the fore front, and influenced many trends through the 1990's, 2000's and present day. The standard go to 'nice top and jeans' for most females going out wear in the modern day was introduced by Klein, and so his impact on society one may assume is aided by the accompanying advertising and graphic design. By keeping the logotype slender and minimal, the brands reflections were clear to the general public, and appealingly more accessible to the general public than others at the time.
Alexander McQueen's runway robots (channels postmodernism)
McQueen was the king of fantasy fashion, creating mainly unwearable outfits to bring a creative new dimension to the possibilities of fashion. Incorporating fine art, sculpture and showman ship into the pieces, each model was clad in an in intriguing way to draw in the audience- especially at shows and editorials. McQueen created an immersive nature to his brand, elevating the level of show away from the standard runway. The reference to 'robots' in this subheading is because McQueen actually had robots incorporated into his 1999 collection show, where paint was sprayed onto the models plain (but still couture) garment, creating unique patterns- literally art. The fantasy of McQueens shows and imagery dissolved into popular culture, with online platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and fashion specific websites making it common social knowhow in the 21st century millennial. (Opinion formed after small focus group discussing McQueen)
The typography and graphic design to accompany the McQueen brand is a fusion of art and contemporary culture, with a definite shock factor. The dark use of illustration and colour pallet is typical of a high fashion brand, yet unconventional due to the reflection of grunge connotations. By introducing the ugly, the bizarre, the immersion moves away from fashion and onto society as a whole, suggesting a new level of creativity and possibilities being within reach.
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| Identity for V&A Exhibition, 'Savage Beauty', 2011 |
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