80's Revival

As summer is approaching us; fashion designers and entrepreneurs are forgetting about the maxi dresses, sun hats, and summer statement shoes- instead they are stocking, shipping, selecting, and preparing for the Ready To Wear (RTW) 2009-2010 Autumn/Winter Fashion collections that debuted in New York City, London, Paris, and Milan. Major flagships across the globe are slowly manifesting a large collection with an 80’s decadence, piling the ethnic inspired summer fashions onto sale racks and replacing them with shoulder padded blazers, satin pants, oversized wrap dresses, embellished/bleached attire, rompers, leggings, and large trench coats. Each designer has been reminiscing of a time of decadence; especially with the current economic crunch, a little 80’s happiness can well remedy the situation.



Marc Jacobs executed the 80’s theme perfectly; from the big-coifed hair to the embellished, stocky shoes to the gold lamé gloves. Everything was reflective of the Dynasty and glam era. When Marc Jacobs was asked about how the collection’s theme was fathomed in an interview, his reply was, "I was thinking about the good old days in New York…when getting dressed up was such a joy." The show was opened by model Kamila Filipcikova, sporting a dark gray tweed cardigan, pleated charcoal trousers, a black clutch, and black patent pumps. Closing the show was Dutch model Lara Stone dressed in an elaborate white and black floral dress. The Marc Jacobs show soon developed into a frenzy of big shoulders, A-line shift dresses, metallic leathers, brightly colored raincoats, stud embellished or quilted clutches in loud colors, body con suits, high-waisted pants, purple thigh high boots, oversized sunglasses, and full floral skirts. Tights would alternate from psychedelic floral patterns of green and pink to more demur pale floral patterns to shiny solids and blacks. The designer certainly had a penchant for utilizing striking colors such as lime green, fuchsia, and yellow. Marc Jacobs’s Ready to Wear Fall 2009 collection definitely allows the modern women to dress for an era of optimism.

Fashion youth and New York designer Alexander Yang once again stunned the fashion crowd with his dark glamazon 80’s collection. In contrast to other glitzy and brightly colored 80’s themed collections, Wang’s collection had a solid color palette of only black and white, leaving much of the collection and imagination to modern gloss and stark textures of crocodile, furs, tweed, lamination, and metals. “We worked a lot with all kinds of metal; brass, nickel, gun metal and I think that’s a new way to accent that black and white,” quoted Alexander in an interview. A lot of inspiration was also drawn from armor and the medieval days, and how ferocity is translated in the modern day. The leather biker silhouette is in for a hit for Fall 2009, as are the trends of hoods worn with felt hats and leather leggings worn with oversized crisp white shirts. There was only a single colored dress, a tight plum dress with a scoop collar and a split in the shoulder. Not only was Wang’s collection powerful and beaming with luxury, but also very affordable, a plus for those suffering from the recession. Wang has definitely made a name for himself; an entire enterprise erupting under his feet which is quite miraculous especially in today’s economic crunch.

Frida Giannini’s Fall RTW 2009 Gucci Collection can be described as iridescent, disco, powerful, and a “new way to propose the black version of the black,” stated the designer herself, as the collection took an unexpected turn of using great amounts of sequins, lurex, and gloss to brighten the collection’s black pieces. One of the stand out pieces of the collection was the tight thigh high leather boots, a bold choice as it is uncertain whether the boots will be in the lime light or become untouched by the public. Toilettes of big-shouldered blazers, satin blouses, and tapered trousers, flowing tunics in bright colors with large polka dots, the mix of metallics and furs, leather cuffs, sequined jumpsuits, and liquidy sequin mesh dresses were also among some of the most powerful looks. Giannini certainly celebrated the edgy female form and decided to dress women expensively and luxuriously for fall. “I really wanted to express dangerous woman, dangerous to me it means that she has the capability to be androgynous but at the same time extremely feminine and she really wants to stand out. She is a very strong and independent woman … I think this collection is for a very tough woman, someone that can have a really strong opinion [about her],” stated the Italian designer while interviewed about the collection by The New York Times.

The bubbly decade of the 80’s was certainly a prominent theme on the runway for the 2009-2010 Autumn/Winter RTW collections, whether it was because of nostalgia portrayed by the March Jacobs collection, ferocity by Alexander Wang, or celebration by Gucci, its fashion has definitely inspired the current. With new silhouettes to dress and textures of satins, lurex, and leather, this years fall fashion will convey a fiery vibe of optimism, power, and luxury even in a time of recession.

(All images from Style)