Jess Wood takes a look at four different decades that changed fashion forever

1950s

Femininity landed with a bang in the 1950s, with post-war euphoria setting the fashion world on fire again after the austere war years. There was a dramatic shift from the boxy, masculine tailoring that women had worn to battle through the 1940s to a new, sensuously curvy silhouette. Hollywood glamour prevailed, and screen goddesses like Grace Kelly and Marilyn Monroe set the tone with their pearls, sleek curls, and arched eyebrows.

The foundations for 1950’s glamorous fashions were laid in 1947, when Christian Dior exploded onto the scene with his debut collection, dubbed the ‘New Look’.  His designs were a sumptuous re-invention of the romance of the Belle Époque, with soft shoulders, tiny nipped-in waists and – most controversially of all – huge, full skirts, made from yards and yards of fabric.

This extravagance was considered shockingly wasteful, given that rationing was still very much in force, but despite the howls of protest from politicians and social commentators, women fell head-over-heels for the look. All this figure-hugging fashion required some serious underpinning, and lingerie sales boomed, with the seamed bra and panty corset becoming wardrobe essentials.

Women also developed a serious accessory fixation – no outfit was complete without ladylike gloves and a little pillbox hat. Grace Kelly was so stylish that Hermès named a bag after her in 1956, while Elizabeth Taylor pioneered the pearl necklace as a modern must-have.

1960s

The ‘Swinging Sixties’ was one big cultural shake-up – where fashion had previously been led by couture, designers now started looking to the street, and references to cool youth culture began storming the catwalks.

The decade started innocently enough. The world fell in love with Audrey Hepburn and her über-chic Givenchy wardrobe in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. At the same time, women everywhere were slavishly copying Jackie Kennedy’s neat little skirt suits and simple shift dresses. But as the 60s unfolded, changes rumbled and the Youth Quake saw a new generation rebel against the conservative values of their parents.

In this heady atmosphere, radical new looks began popping up. First of all came Mary Quant and her miniskirt, teamed with daring PVC dresses, go-go boots and false eyelashes. Meanwhile, other designers started

experimenting with colour blocking, psychedelic designs and ‘fash-clash’ patterns. In New York, Andy Warhol was making waves with his experimental art and his ‘Factory’ crowd of stylishly dressed hangers-on. One of his favourites was Edie Sedgwick, who became a style pin-up, working chandelier earrings, a chic cropped bob, and killer black eyeliner.

By the end of the 1960s, it was ‘all change’ again. Inhibitions were checked in at the door as the younger generation chilled out, embracing free love and hippie fashion. Janis Joplin rocked out in her flares and maxi-dresses, and the headscarf re-appeared with a groovy new look – trailing long and loose round the neck, rather than earlier in the decade when it had been tied primly under the chin.

1970s

The 1970s saw the psychedelic vibe gradually give way to über-glam fashion that was fit for shimmying on the dancefloor. In the early years, the floaty look was still alive and well. Yves Saint Laurent, fashion’s new darling, took inspiration from his many trips to the hippy mecca of Marrakech, putting peasant blouses and gypsy skirts on the couture catwalks and sending shock waves through the Paris fashion establishment.

On the street, the young and cool were working high-waisted denim flares, worn with tight blouses and platforms. The pièce de résistance? A pair of giant sunglasses, set off by big, bouncy hair – as championed by the ultimate Charlie’s Angel, Farrah Fawcett.

As the decade progressed, dance culture increased its grip on fashion. First stop was Glam Rock, as David Bowie hit the scene in his outrageous, androgynous outfits. Kaftans were swiftly dropped in favour of tight Lurex tops, rhinestone boots and feather boas. Women’s clothes also went Disco-tastic – it was all about wrap-round rayon dresses in an eye-popping array of colours, or Spandex trousers teamed with tummy-baring tube tops.

The same year saw New York’s Studio 54 nightclub explode onto the scene, which quickly became a magnet for the fashionable and fabulous. Angelica Huston, Liza Minnelli and Debbie Harry all hung out there, shimmying about in slinky jersey creations by the hot, young designer Roy Halston, making him a star in the process. The club finally closed its doors in 1986, but its owners Steve Rubell, Ian Schrager, Tim Savage and Jack Dushey left behind them a trail of the most hedonistic (and stylish) parties in history.

1980s

The hair was big and the shoulders were bigger. Yes, more was definitely more in the era of Dynasty. As the economy boomed, power dressing took hold as the ultimate display of wealth and success. Yuppies wore serious shoulder-padded suits to show they meant business, and splurged on cashmere scarves and Sloane-style velvet headbands for the weekend. The new tycoons had money to burn and they wanted status symbols to spend it on. Enter the statement purchase – you were nothing without your Nike trainers, Hi-Fi and designer watch.

Fashion quickly got wise to the power of branding. Designers like Ralph Lauren and Emporio Armani turned their businesses into fashion empires, covering everything from denim to underwear with their much-coveted logos. Meanwhile, thanks to Don Johnson in Miami Vice, men’s fashion went laid-back and sporty – think T-shirts with pastel blazers and (shudder) stone-washed jeans.

The dance films Flashdance and Footloose introduced the delights of wearing leggings and sawn-off grey marl sweatshirts, and everyone obsessed over Hollywood’s young Brat Pack – including stars Emilio Estevez and Molly Ringwald, who appeared in teen films like Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club.

Underground music sub-cultures were also exploding. The punks and New Romantics – personified by Boy George and Adam and the Ants – pioneered pirate styles like spiky hair and ruffled shirts. At the same time, the States was witnessing the rise of a style queen who would change the face of fashion forever: Madonna.

Back then she was a little known club kid, but pretty soon she was hitting the headlines in her fishnets, lace gloves and controversial crucifixes. Queen Madge was brash, bold, and built her career from sheer bullish ambition – what better icon could there be for the Era of Excess?

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