Fashion week is happening and like always, the designers bring their A game and the spectators give us street style at its very best. Looking back at earlier fashion weeks, what strikes me the most is how fashion evolves with the motion of a boomerang. Take this year and last, for example, the off shoulder cuts, the wide leg pants, oversized clothing, kitten heels, tiny sunglasses, and handbags have all been the trend. These trends were also hits back in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s.
When you watch films from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s you can see much of the fashion we adore today. The arts find inspiration from one another; movies, photography, music, and fashion have always teamed up to create masterpieces.
One could even say that you might find more fashion inspiration from the old days than you will from the 2000s. Actresses like Audrey Hepburn have been viewed as trendsetters for decades, becoming a muse for major designers such as Givenchy, setting the tone for her contribution to fashion both as an industry and as a source of culture.
The style in the ’50s was all about classic silhouettes, chic and sophisticated trends. This particular way of dressing can easily be turned into something modern today. The snatched waistline is extremely popular today and so is a high waist midi skirt. A-line or skater skirts are a favorite today as well. The curly bobs, stylish silk scarves, and cat-eye sunglasses have all made a smashing come back and fashion pages today might have a slight resemblance to pages back in the day.
The 60’s 70’s 80’s and 90’s made room for more risk in fashion, both for designers and consumers. Hairstyles became bigger and bolder, makeup was brighter in the ’80s as the red lip, icy blue eyeshadow and rosy pink cheeks were the go to look and today the eyeshadow trends have become much grander.
These three decades had women looking sexier than ever, miniskirts were the thing in the late ’80s heading to the ’90s, shoulder pads in the ’80s, wide leg jeans in the ’70s and let’s not forget that bohemian chic “hippie” style of dressing that was all the rage in the ’60s.
Attending festivals like Coachella or Afro-punk will make you feel like you walked into the late ’60s and the ’70s all due to the styles that trend heavily during the music festival season.
The ’90s woman had more of a strong feminine vibe to her, she had short hair, as that was when the bob became a fan favorite, such as, “The Rachel,” which was a hairstyle inspired by Jennifer Aniston’s character on the sitcom “Friends.”
When it came to fashion in the ’90s, business suits were an everyday chic attire, the double breast blazer and matching micro mini skirt with sexy stockings and kitten heels. The platform heels, mom jeans, and biker jackets along with old jewelry in heavy aesthetic was the look and this gave fashion a chance to push more boundaries and make the fashionista look like a lot of women and this was very attractive. Music videos today still seek inspiration from the past, more than they do the present and that is a statement in itself. Fashion has definitely evolved over the years, but lately, it seems to be in boomerang motion bouncing ideas and trends from one era to the next. This is not a complaint, rather it is an observation; we enjoy these trends because nothing will ever be better than a classic.
