Fashion Changes for the 21st Century - Admission/Application Essay Example

 Fashion Changes for the 21st Century Fashion in the final decades of the 20th century took on many of the challenges of the future world and insisted things were going to be different. To the degree that the sixties was a time of spiritualism, liberalism and rejection of possessions, the eighties was a return to religion, patriotism and materialism with the seventies acting as the fulcrum. Feminism was on the rise as more women were entering the workplace and insisting on gaining the same respect as men. This meant keeping their maiden names or insisting on the title Ms. instead of Mrs. or Miss. Coming out of the confusion of the seventies with its disco and punk rock, the eighties became increasingly concerned with symbols of power and business. As a result, the prevailing attitude regarding the economy became one of every man for himself. Electronics were gaining in popularity in many areas of life – synthesizers and keyboards in music, the introduction of the music video and digital animation, computers in the workplace and video games from the arcade becoming available in the home. New innovations in technology including the ‘nuclear age’, innovations in hair gel and mousse and increased use of personal technology made the science fiction shows on television seem possible just around the corner. As the world entered the 90’s, the realization began to set in that the new millennium was just around the corner. Prophecies that the world was ending coincided with fears that all those fancy electronics we’d come to rely on were about to quit at the same time that the social scene was reacting against the strictly business and hard angles of the 80s. These attitudes were expressed in the fashion world in the form of grunge. These trends in the industry have had a significant effect upon fashions of this century as society slowly emerges from the shock of a new millennium and begins to put itself back to serious work. One of the major influences on 80s fashions was the designer Vivienne Westwood, who developed her talents in the thick of the 1960s and 1970s rock and roll movement in Britain. Her fashions exemplify the sexual freedom and aggressive stance of female expression emerging in the women’s movements that rocked the world at this time. Through her early designs, Westwood discovered that “there was a dramatic potential in the clothes themselves that could be heightened: laden with associations, biker gear links sexuality, violence and death, in a twentieth century archetype” (Savage, 2001: 28). She began a new line of clothes that were based on these ideas by adding metal studs, chicken bones, chains, zippers and other gear to the clothing she made. Doing this, Westwood became the mother of the punk rock fashions during the 1970s, establishing her name and position as a fashion trend setter and establishing the inverted triangle silhouette as a symbol of power and strength by cinching the waist and bulking up the shoulders (Savage, 2001: 28). She entered the 80s by re-introducing a sense of femininity within her designs by defining the new romantic “pirate” movement of loose blouses and tight pants and the “savages” movement of asymmetrical skirts and ripped layers. “Westwood’s reworking of the corset for outerwear has become one of her most recognizable trademarks. Romantic and historically accurate, the corsets are also surprisingly practical. Stretch fabrics allow ease of movement, and removable sleeves convert a daytime garment to evening wear. Once a symbol of constraint, corsets are now an expression of female sexuality and empowerment” (“Vivienne Westwood”, 2004). Westwood’s designs highlighted the inverted triangular shape the corset pulled out of the female shape which emphasized the shoulder and de-emphasized the waist, strong features of 80s fashion that attempted to provide the new businesswoman with the silhouette of her male counterpart. Further impacting the fashion world, it was this period of Westwood’s career when she reintroduced the use of petticoats, combining them with bowler hats and head scarves and the concept of wearing bras and corsets on the outside. “Madonna’s now legendary conical bra, created by Jean Paul Gaultier and worn throughout her Blonde Ambition tour nearly ten years later, would never have happened if it hadn’t been for Westwood playing with the concept of underwear as outerwear some time before him” (Frankel, 2001: 143). The aggressive nature of her designs left little room for a simpering feminine portrait or even a trace of innocence, however there is a lot of fun and flirtation. Westwood introduced the possibility of women deciding for themselves how and where they choose to wear their clothing and what kind of an attitude they wish to convey. In introducing her various unconventional designs, Westwood recognized a large portion of the attraction to this mode of clothing was the inherent empowerment afforded the wearer. There is always a sense of the menacing just under the surface or the ‘bad girl’ lurking right around the corner. In her designs, Westwood was instrumental in changing the meaning of the feminine from one of submission and restriction to one of dominance and power, dominant themes in developing 80s fashion. Rather than restricting the feminine form, Westwood’s designs and those of others who have followed in her footsteps, still defines the feminine in terms of a woman’s appeal to men, but does so in a way that allows the woman to claim mastery not only of her body, but also of the world around her. Other designers that took this new definition and made it into something of their own include Jean-Paul Gaultier, who has helped to revolutionize the costumes of the pop star Madonna, Thierry Mugler, Stella McCartney, Nicolas Ghesquiere and Tom Ford. In making the transition into the later 80s, fashions began to take on much more business-like lines, continuing with big shoulder pads and heavy use of fabrics with a high-tech shimmer woven in. The tops remained bulky while the bottoms became lean with popular styles including legging pants or tapered ankles and high waists. To keep in style with these opulent fabrics, which became more focused on the natural as the decade wore on, the styles in accessories also became more glamorous. “Big, almost huge gilt fashion earrings several centimeters across drew attention to faces drowning in shoulder pads. Stones could be fake or real. Diamante, pearls and gold chains were intended to tell the rest of the world you had arrived” (Thomas, 2009). The bold, bright colors of the clothing competed with the flashy brilliance of the large gems that were worn at wrist, neck and in the increasingly popular several holes in the ears and would have overpowered the face itself if not for the upswept hair and the equally vibrant makeup. The glamour of the period was largely influenced by the television programs that were popular at the time, but also functioned to add life and energy to the fashions and provide opportunities for new forms of self-expression. However, these were not restricted to a singular look or formulaic combinations of clothing. Moving into the 90s, fashion began to cool down into a more relaxed fit. Shoulder pads were reduced and eventually phased out as clothing became loose, laid-back and downright sloppy in what became known as the ‘grunge’ look. The most popular outlet for the latest clothing styles was the local thrift shop as everyone, male and female, attempted to dress in a way that erased most traces of gender identification. However, many fashions retained some elements of the 80s looks. For example, “The Olsen twins are consistently seen sporting grungy oversized plaid shirts tucked into destroyed denim jeans cuffed at the bottom” (Nicoll, 2009). While 80s fashions were all about power and business, 90s fashions were more about rejecting these relatively empty ideals for something deeper and more esoteric. As the decade wore on, these ideas only became more firmly entrenched as the world became convinced that the collapse of the computers would instantly plunge the world into a post-apocalyptic-like wasteland in which fashion would be among the least of our concerns. While the decade continued to experiment with a number of fashion styles from the past, such as the pointed toed boots of the 1930s, this itself reflects the lack of direction and sense of confusion that characterized the decade. The confusion of the 90s has carried over to a large degree into the new century as designers and trend-setters cycle quickly through the more popular styles and trends of the past 100 years. As the new century has progressed and the world hasn’t come to a screeching halt, society has slowly settled back down to the serious business of making things work again. In every area and every country, it seems there is a new focus on getting back to business and the world is again turning its attention to the more business-oriented styles of the 80s. Clean lines, sharp silhouettes and new age fabrics are again seen on the runways as the new century finally begins to forge a new identity of its own. Works Cited Frankel, Susannah. Visionaries: Interviews with Fashion Designers. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001. Nicoll, Lyda. “Seattle’s Best: Grunge Fashion Successes.” Life123. (2009). September 12, 2009 < http://www.life123.com/beauty/fashion/grunge/seattles-best-grunge-fashion-successes.shtml#STS=fzjomz2t.wr5> Savage, Jon. England's Dreaming: Anarchy, Sex Pistols, Punk Rock, and Beyond. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2001. Thomas, Pauline Weston. “Power Dressing: 1980s Fashion History.” Fashion Era. (2009). September 12, 2009 < http://www.fashion-era.com/power_dressing.htm> “Vivienne Westwood.” Changing Styles. Victoria and Albert Museum. (2004). September 12, 2009 Read More