Fashion: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow$30,000 per dress – seemed to signify a decadent society wholely abandoned
to the cult of conspicuous consumption. The reality, however, was much more
complex. Class distinctions were important in the 1980s, as they are today,
but now the desire for status increasingly coexists with the desire to look
young and “cool”, however this is defined by one’s style tribe.
Even venerable couture houses have required injections of youthful style.
Thus, in 1982 Karl Lagerfeld was invited to design for Chanel. Journalist
Javier Arroyello credits Lagerfeld with being:
the man who broke the spell of the Chanel mummy. He likes to picture himself as
an emergency doctor who... rejuvenated the famous Chanel suit, the exhausted
uniform of the grandes bourgeoises, through repeated shock treatments (he brought
leather and even denim to the kingdom of gold-trimmed tweed) and intensive
corrective surgery (wider shoulders, roomier jackets, a sharper silhouette that
included even pants).There were occasional complaints that Lagerfeld had “vulgarized” the
Chanel look. But sales increased dramatically, and the average age of the
Chanel customer dropped from the mid-fifties to the late thirties. “All the
stuff before pre-Karl was so-o-o square,” said Caroline Kellett, a young
English fashion editor. Innovative and iconoclastic, Lagerfeld wore the Chanel
mantle lightly. He admitted that “Chanel has to stay Chanel in a way,” but
he also stressed that there was room to expand beyond “those knit suits”.
Drawing on influences from the street, Lagerfeld put his Chanel models in
rappers’ chunky gold chains, big gold earrings, and the kind of skin-tight
shorts worn by New York City bicycle messengers. The influence moved
both ways, however. Some rappers have mixed baggy shorts and baseball
caps by Home Boyz with combat boots by Chanel. “We have the Chanel
combat boots now, which are more upscale,” explained one performer.
“They’re also really easy to dance in.”
Together with popular music, sports are one of the most important
influences on contemporary fashion. This trend has long been evident
throughout society, and can even be observed in, for example, the Mattel
toy catalogue in 1984, the year when “Great Shape Barbie” was launched.
As the advertising copy put it: “Hot new trend in fashion – aerobics,” adding
that the Barbie doll looked “trim ‘n terrific” in her “trendy looking” athletic
clothes. The 1980s were indeed characterized by a pronounced emphasis on
physical fitness – especially aerobics, jogging, and body-building – which
had a significant impact on the culture of fashion.
The trend towards more body-conscious clothing was as radical a develop-
ment as the rise of the miniskirt in the 1960s. Whereas Dior’s New Look