The prosperity of the ’50s is fertile ground for designers. An outbreak of pocket handkerchiefs and princess dresses followed the success of Mad Men in 2007. The popularity of Happy Days and Laverne & Shirley on TV, Olivia Newton-John in Grease and Michael J Fox travelling Back To the Future in the ‘80s, saw sweater sets and varsity jackets replace the gender-blurring trends of the previous decade.
Rather than dismiss the retro-revival for reinforcing gender stereotypes, fuelled by the glamorous appearance of Florence Pugh in the controversial Don’t Worry Darling, Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley in Elvis and Margot Robbie in the upcoming Barbie, Dr Lisa Hackett from the University of New England embraces the era’s positive elements.
“The clothes of the ’70s and the heroin chic era were designed for a straight up and down figure that didn’t consider women with curves,” says Hackett, author of Size and Shape Elements of 1950s-Style Fashion. “Many women who choose to dress in ‘50s style clothes today do so because they’re more flattering and generally of a higher quality than other clothes. Their selection is also a critique of the fast fashion industry.”
When Hackett asked the women with a fondness for hyper-feminine accessories, hairstyles and skirts whether they wished to live in the 1950s, only one replied yes.
“The majority of these women like being in charge of their own lives. While some dressed to resemble Marilyn Monroe or pin-up Bettie Page, many were paying tribute to their grandmothers.”
“I even interviewed a drag queen who wore fifties clothes as an homage to their grandmother.”
Loading
Just as Newton-John as Sandy in the problematic Grease toughened her image by dropping her good girl image, Zimmermann brings some Elvis-esque masculine energy to the resort range with boxy denim, a blue boiler suit and tuxedo styles.
“We have a strong sense of femininity to a lot of what we create, but I always temper it with the more masculine, be it in tailoring or accessories or other pieces,” Zimmermann says.
“It’s about the mood of the references and how it gave us a sense of fun and optimism.”
For all the latest Life Style News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
