The Brilliant 1980's

Fashion of the 1980s is often called the last stylistically integral one, and to a large extent this is true. For clothes of the 1980s, a recognisable and memorable silhouette is typical...

...as well as bright make-up and glittering bijouterie. The motto of the decade is "More is more".

At this time, a new image of a woman loomed - a woman leader, a female winner. In the afternoon she is a business woman, in the evening she is a seductive and dangerous predator in sparkling clothes.

In English, a word that accurately characterised a new type of powerful and sexy women soon appeared: - glamazon, from the words glamor and amazon.

In the 1980s hats came back into fashion, influenced by the image of Princess Diana. They wore hats in the royal court, so Diana had a lot of them.

Outside of the ceremonial dress code, hats helped create an individual and extravagant style.

The typical 1980s passion for sports (aerobics, bodybuilding, running) and the desire to improve body shape influenced fashion.

Lots of people wanted to show their “achievements”, so they chose very fitting clothes: tights and leggings and elastic jeans.

Brilliant metallic, electric neons, evening dresses with patch shoulders and sparkles, aggressive colours animal prints, leather and latex, bleached denim.

All this rampant chic could be seen in almost all major European and American designers.

In the 1980s, Yves Saint-Laurent created vivid thematic collections inspired by literature and art - Shakespeare, Aragon, Cocteau, Apollinaire, Matisse and the Cubists.

He has also included classical models, such as tuxedo for women, safari jackets, blazers, and dress shirts into his collections.

Jean Paul Gaulthier is often called the “terrible child” - enfant terible - of French fashion. He ironically played up gender stereotypes, dressing men in skirts, and women in grotesque conical corsets.

One of the most famous collection of Jean-Paul Gaultier in the fall-winter of 1986 was devoted to Russian constructivism.

Fashion designer Arnold Scaasi created outfits for the stars: Joan Crawford, Ivana Trump, Lauren Bekol, Elizabeth Taylor, Catherine Deneuve, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan...

...and for the First Ladies of the USA - for Mamie Eisenhower, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush.

Riga Fashion House was officially found in 1948, but actually began to work in 1949.

Its goal was to develop new models for large garment factories, guidelines, and to create a high-quality, interesting models for international exhibitions and shows outside the USSR.

In the 1980s, very professional designers worked in the Riga Fashion House.

But the economic and production system, alas, did not allow them to fully express their creative potential, unlike Western designers. Even because of not easy economic situation these designers made a huge creative impact on fashion and culture of the whole world's clothing.