First came 1989s Black Friday stock market crash, then came the recession of 1990.
In fashion, it resulted in an abrupt halt of that more-is-more, greed-is-good80s opulence.
The decade started off with leggy, Versace-cladsupermodels(Linda!
ruling the scene with their heady allure.
The look was sexy, 24/7.
The epitome of this new muse?Kate Moss.
Clockwise from top: Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, Karen Mulder, Elaine Irwin, Niki Taylor, Yasmeen Ghauri, Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, and, center, Tatjana Patitz
One was fiercely fantasticalfashion that escaped the present and mish-mashed elements from far-flung cultures and previous eras together.
This look was championed by Jean Paul Gaultier with his the-future-is-now creations.
A look back at the trends that defined 90s fashion, below.
Claudia Schiffer
They were the supermodels.
The big four?Linda Evangelista,Cindy Crawford,Naomi Campbell, andChristy Turlington.
Why are these girls so famous?
Shalom Harlow and Amber Valletta
Why are they personalities in their own right?
Why are they known from one side of the globe to the other?
How come a Japanese news crew flies to Paris to ask Linda Evangelistain English what her hobbies are?
Photographed by Patrick Demarchelier,Vogue, January 1991
(Playing the accordion.)
How come these girls are paid so much?
Where has the extraordinary phenomenon of the supermodel come from?
Photographed by Peter Lindbergh,Vogue, September 1991
asked Vicki Woods in a jaunty article inVoguesJuly 1991 issue.
They had famous boyfriends; Crawford, at the time, was married to Richard Gere.
They embodied the woman of the 1990sliberated, powerful in their own skin.
From left to right: Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, Lauren Hutton, Iman, Naomi Campbell, Stephanie Seymour, Amber Valletta, Christy Turlington, Claudia Schiffer, Lisa Taylor, Paulina Porizkova, Carolyn Murphy, Patti Hansen
Never before in history had fashion models yielded such influence.
They were household names and fashion brands clamored to work with them.
The rise of the supermodel coincided with the rise of individuality in fashion; mute mannequins were out.
Kate Moss
Models with passions, personalities, and pizazz were in.
By the mid-decade, a new crop of models emerged.
Like younger sisters to their grown-up predecessors, these new models were less bodacious glamazons and more waifish willows.
Amber Valletta wears Helmut Lang
Kate Moss, Shalom Harlow, Kirsty Hume, Stella Tennant, and Amber Valletta.
They are very young, very much like childrenwhats referred to like an elf.
There is a kind of vulnerability about them.
Perry Ellis Spring 1993 ready-to-wear collection
They need protection…But notStella Tennant, eh?
Because she is a tough number.
Seattle gave the world a whole new sound in the 1990s and the world listened.
Naomi Campbell and Kristen McMenamy
Fashion as secondary was the intent; musings on the human condition and introspection were paramount to grunge.
Famously,Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis spring/summer 1993collection was inspired by the laid-back look.
was shown in September of 1992.
Shalom Harlow and Matt LeBlanc
That December, Steven Meisel photographed Naomi Campbell and Kristen McMenamy in a memorable spread Grunge & Glory.
The text that accompanied the spread, by Jonathan Poneman, was as follows.
Throw out your detergent!
Shalom Harlow
This is not a call to arms; its an invitation to dress down and party up!
As the fin de siecle draws near, greed has gone to seed.
There are lots of beanies, layering, and band tees.
Stephanie Seymour
I dont like labels.
Its how you wear clothes today.
Its how the girls look when they come in here, he said.
Christina Kruse, Shalom Harlow, Ling Tan, and Debra Shaw in Christian Dior Haute Couture by John Galliano
How grunge is that?
Never before had fashion been so un-fussy.
For those minimalists in the 1990s, fashion in its purest form was prized.
Karen Mulder, Deon Bray at Brasserie Lipp
Rarely a pattern; never an embellishment.
The look was almost virginal, as though untouched by fashion.
As the decade inched closer to Y2K, 90s fashion got nostalgic.
Thierry Mugler fall/winter 1995 ready-to-wear collection
On top of this medley of eras, various sartorial inspirations from throughout the globe were sprinkled in.
Native dress and folkloric fashions from everywhere and anywhere were pulled from.
A champion of this look was John Galliano, who launched his own label in 1986.
Helena Christensen at Rifat Ozbek spring/summer 1995 ready to wear collection
Rifat Ozbek, whose much-lauded all-white collection in 1990 references Western headdresses, epitomized the fantasy look.
The arrival of the internet and digital photography influenced fashion in a playful way.
Rifat Ozbek sent out a calculator necklace that was suspended in tribal-looking beads in the ultimate post-apocalyptic chic accessory.
TLC at the 10th Annual Soul Train Music Awards, 1996
Hussein Chalayan sent out several collections that championed this brand-new aesthetic.
And Jil Sander designed dresses fashion after space age 2.0-looking aluminum foil sheaths.
In 1991, TLC came onto the scene and delivered a fresh new look.
Destiny’s Child in London, 1999
Given that they were riffing off male rappers fashion, the look was tomboyish.
By 1998, Destinys Child was formed and would soon set trends.
Elsewhere, the hip-hop and grunge music scenes were a couple of fashion tribes men could join.
Calvin Klein advertising CK ad on the side of a NYC bus, 1995
In the former, baggy jeans with baggy, layered tees ruled.
In the latter, thrifted band tees paired beneath unbuttoned button-ups and ripped jeans were favored.
Men could also partake in the cyber-fashion trend with spiked frosted blond tips and metallic goggle-like sunglasses.
Models Carla Bruni and Naomi Campbell pose with designer Gianni Versace at The Rhythm of Life Fashion Ball, 1992
Men were inspired by The Fresh Prince of Bel-Airsand the zany fashions worn by Will Smith.
On the bigger screen,Cluelessbecamean instant fashion classic, introducing a whole new generation to the importance ofAlaia.
Boy and girl bands ruledNSync, The Backstreet Boys, The Spice Girls, Destinys Child.
John F. Kennedy, Jr. in 1998
Technology became an integral part of life; the first-ever flip phone from Motorola was released in 1996.
Google was founded in September of 1998.
Bill Clinton became president of the United States in 1993 and in 1998 he was impeached.
Kurt Cobain at the MTV Awards, 1992
In 1995,O.J.
Simpsonwas found not guilty of murdering Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
In 1997,Princess Dianatragically passed away in a car accident in Paris.
Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, 1994
For front row tickets, emailparis@vogueworld.com
The Spice Girls in Paris, September 1996
