The fuel of the 1980s?
It came in many forms: a healthy stock portfolio, a fit physique, a shattered glass ceiling.
And 1980s fashion was just as novelLycra clung to bodies revealing curves like never before andthe power suitwas born.
A particularly evocative editorial fromVogues October 1985issue summed up the moment perfectly.
And men looking differently at women.
The women dressing to be noticed…and gain the upper hand.
Michaela Bercu, photographed by Peter Lindbergh,Vogue,November 1988
Men can fuel fantasy.
But women set the direction…and the tone.
You get the sense that things are changing.
Renée Simonsen, photographed by Richard Avedon,Vogue,April 1983
The economy was booming and women wanted in.
Power suits didnt whisper femininity, they roared it.
And at its worst, the yuppie signified thoughtless gentrification in the name of capitalism.
Naomi Campbell, photographed by Patrick Demarchelier,Vogue, September 1989
Nonetheless (and whether fashion liked it or not), the look had a chokehold on the 1980s.
For men, a pinstriped three-piece suit, a Rolex, a Burberry trench, and a squash racquet.
Essentially, a combination of timeless closet staples.
Cindy Crawford, photographed by Richard Avedon,Vogue,August 1986
If the yuppie look lacked imagination, the preppy Ralph Lauren look was fueled by fantasyandpolo shirts.
More body-conscious than any body could be.
The look was hot-hot and Alaia wasnt the only designer capitalizing on the body-con.
Ungaro ready to wear spring/summer 1989
One of the reasonsKarl Lagerfeld, now the designer for Chanel Couture.
Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren reinvented themselvesfrom Punkto New Romantic.
Other designers pushing out the New Romantics look were Rifat Ozbek, Martin Kidman, and Stephen Jones.
Paulina Porizkova in Claude Montata
The 1980s saw the continued celebration ofIssey Miyake,Comme des GarconsRei Kawakubo, andYohji Yamamoto.
Each designer had a unique point of view but shared a methodology that flipped fashion on its head.
Concept was key, technology was employed, and convention went out the window.
Laetitia Firmin-Didot in Chanel Couture
The idea was to provoke thoughtnot sex, andVoguehad its thoughts inSeptembers 1983 issue.
This years clothes from Japan and their offspringoften dark, intentionally droopy, oversized inevitably inspire conversation.
Some of it is rabidly for, some heatedly against.
Ralph Lauren Spring 1988 campaign
But are they affecting what we’ll be wearing?…
[they] are going to ease into the mainstream, and we wont even recognize them.
Then evolveas all clothes dointo memory.
Ralph Lauren Fall 1984 campaign
A fitness craze took over in the 1980s.
Released in 1982,Jane Fondasworkout videobecame one of the best-selling VHS tapes of all time.
The look was sleek.
Frederique van der Wal in Alaïa
For these men, fashion was dictated not by Seventh Avenue but Wall Street.
Mens power suiting was typically pinstriped and double-breasted with wide lapels and ties.
They could embrace yuppie-prep in khaki pants and collegiate knitwear.
Christy Turlington
The 1980s sawthe rise of hip-hop; the genre not only burst onto the scene, it redefined it.
That same year, MTV arrived on the scene and music was consumed in a whole new way.
Madonna became a music icon anda fashion iconwith her thrifted eclecticism in the 1985 filmDesperately Seeking Susan.
Karl Lagerfeld’s second couture collection for the House of Chanel, July 12, 1983
Meanwhile, teen culture boomed with just-for-them flicks likeThe Breakfast ClubandPretty in Pink.
For front row tickets, emailparis@vogueworld.com
Christian Lacroix couture collection, spring/summer 1988
Vivienne Westwood’s “Pirates” fall 1981 ready-to-wear collection
Boy George of Culture Club performs on stage at Wembley Arena on December 17, 1984
Grace Jones, c. 1980
Grace Jones, 1982
*Linda Evangelista in Martha Sturdy (left) and Beau Bibelot (right) earrings forVogueDecember, 1987.Photographed by Irving Penn *
Photographed by Peter Lindbergh,Vogue, December 1988
Christian Lacroix at his spring/summer 1988 collection
Karl Lagerfeld on March 5, 1984
Richard Gere and designer Giorgio Armani, 1988
LL Cool J, July 3, 1987
Madonna on stage for her 1985 Virgin Tour
Princess Diana, in Munich, November 1987
