WHY IS EVERYONE SO OBSESSED WITH DRESSING LIKE 90S MOVIE CHARACTERS?
Logomania and colourful suits aside, one of the other major trends to emerge from the autumn/winter ’18 runways is major nineties nostalgia.
From Clueless-worthy plaid suits to Matrix-inspired vinyl trenches (complete with super skinny glasses), the fashion set are clearly obsessed with style icons from the final decade of last millennium.
But the runway isn’t where the fascination stops, with celebrity street style mirroring the same sentiment. In fact, we’ve lost count of how many celebrities paid sartorial homage to Cher Horowitz or channelled Trinity’ distinctly futuristic aesthetic this season.
And, while we adore well-executed throwbacks as much as the next fashion enthusiast, it’s worth asking: why is this retrospective renaissance reaching fever pitch right now? What is it about 2018 that’s triggered an all-out love affair with the nineties and, more specifically, its iconic movie characters?
Here to help decode the modern phenomenon is Dawnn Karen, a former model and psychologist spearheading the “fashion psychology” movement, who says this nineties mania is more than just a ‘trend’, “there’s meaning and psychology behind it.”
“I think designers and editors know that the nineties was when we were at our peak. In the nineties everyone just seemed carefree, even in their style. Their attitude was very much ‘in-your-face but I don’t care’ type of vibe,” Karen explains.
It’s this lasse-fair outlook that Karen says we’re finding particularly enticing in 2018.
“With all these things that are happening in the world politically (with Trump and Kim Jong-un) and industrially (think: Hollywood’s #MeToo movement), I think we kind of just want to adapt these nineties attitudes to deal with what’s happening in society.”
In a way, fashion is then both a form of escapism and a coping mechanism for living in the increasingly hostile world. But this escapism goes one step further, Karen argues. Rather than simply tapping into a certain characters’ style, by wearing pieces associated with our favourite characters, we’re also summoning their mindset.
“We’re talking about using accessories to channelling certain personality types… which is like wearing a cape to give you a brave new outlook.”
Remember Cher’s famous speech about Haitian immigrants where she compares it to her father’s birthday party, saying “the more the merrier”, before concluding with “it does not say RSVP on the Statue of Liberty”? Well, maybe there’s something about this simple, laid-back approach that we inherently admire.
So by wearing a pleated tartan skirt, or stepping out in a pair of super skinny shades, we’re effectively donning the uniforms of familiar cultural icons, arming ourselves with tried and tested cultural scripts to navigate the unfamiliar obstacles we’re now facing.
Admittedly, while we love this concept of fashion as modern amour, one can’t help wondering if there’s also an element of imitation at work here. It’s no secret that fashion is an iterative process, and that inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes, but by simply refashioning historically successful outfits, are designers taking a creative free pass?
“There’s not that much creativity involved in looking at something and saying ‘I’m going to duplicate that’,” Karen says, adding “But I don’t think it’s negative, I think it’s healthy.”
By riffing off what’s been done before, it’s possible designers are giving us exactly what we need right now, a light to guide us through the storm that is 2018.
Courtesy ; harpersbazaar.com.au
Photo : CewekBanget.ID – Grid.ID
[social_warfare buttons=”Facebook,Pinterest,LinkedIn,Twitter,Total”]
