This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
The 1970s and 1980s were a decade of extremes in fashion. As people pushed the boundaries of freedom of speech in other creative sectors, styles altered regularly.
Going to Extremes
Anti-war demonstrators in the 1970s insulted the military by donning surplus army uniforms. At the same time, organisations like The Village People questioned masculinity stereotypes by dressing up as police officers and construction workers in macho outfits. Others retreated into illusory splendour or nostalgia in response to mounting unemployment and social inequity. Glam rockers like Marc Bolan set some absurd trends: hair became more extended, platform boots rose, and flared trousers became even more comprehensive.
Textile production technology advancements
Lycra is a brand of synthetic elastic fibre created by the Du Pont Corporation in 1958. To increase its stretch, strength, and how it feels and hangs. Lycra is always blended with a different fibre. Some options include covering it with other fibre, twisting it with other fibre as it is spun, driving it through an air jet with the other fibre, or coating it with a lacework of strands.
Punks and Disco Babes
In the 1970s, synthetic textiles like elastic lycra emerged when the fitness craze took hold and shame set in. The anti-fashion brigade, the punks, with their shredded clothing and safety pin jewellery, were on the other end of the spectrum.
When the East meets the West
In contrast to the muscular, passed-shouldered power suits worn by yuppie businesswomen, the frilly shirts of the new romantics indicated a shift towards the nostalgia of retro trends in the early 1980s. Meanwhile, Japanese designers like Issey Miyake, Rei Kawakubo, and Yohji Yamamoto were redefining fitted clothing by layering and draping textiles to create sculptural works of art.
Sources
Gaff, J., & Tyrrell, J. (1999). The high-tech age: 70s and 80s. David West Children’s Books.
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