FASHION HEADWAYS

From your favourite mini-skirt to your regular wear trousers and denims, almost everything that’s in your wardrobe right now has seen a deal of struggle during the initial days of its invention. The highly conservative Edwardian society adhered to the strict dressing norms for women, revealing as little skin as possible and forcing them to fit into the rigid beauty standards of that time. Here, our focus is centred on the female breakthrough fashion only, because something like a ‘breakthrough’ didn’t exist in the male world, thanks to male privileges and sexism prevalent globally at the beginning on the twentieth century, parts of which continue to live even today.

1910s: THE HOBBLE SKIRTS WITH NARROW HEMLINES.

The hobble skirts became immensely popular between 1908 to 1914, and was called the hobble skirt as it seemed to hobble any woman who tried to walk around by wearing one. A reason for their popularity was that they were quite economical whereas the conventional skirts required yards and yards of unnecessary fabric. They added a sleek look, which completely differed from the heavy and wide skirts common during the late 19th century. The hobble skirts started becoming unpopular as they restricted movement to a great extent and were also mockingly called as ‘speed limit skirts’. No matter how short these skirts were in vogue, they managed to change the traditional portrayal of female body popularized in the Edwardian era and continues to find its place in our wardrobes even today.

1920s: KNEE LENGTH SKIRTS.

As more women were stepping outside their homes for work and enjoyed economic independence, the hemlines rose and the skirts became shorter. It is difficult to imagine that the knee length skirts, which are so common as dresses and even school uniforms in many parts of the world, was frowned much upon by people at that time. The exposure of legs above the ankles was considered a taboo at that time. No matter how taken for granted we take these skirts today, there will never be denying the fact that the shortening of skirts was definitely a breakthrough. It paved the way for shorter skirts to stun the public at that time and opened the avenues for innovations and experimentation in the decades to come.

1930s: WOMEN WEARING PANTS

“Oh lord! Look, she is wearing a pant!” With more women entering the workforce and the gender norms with fashion started to shift a bit, women started wearing pants as their social and economic mobility started to increase. Initially, pants were seen as a symbol of masculinity and an apparel reserved only for men. Naturally the pant culture among ladies was met with judgements, frowning and disapproval. Although it was criticized then, the trend prevailed and became the norm for today. So the next time before you easily put on a pair of trousers, remember it was not that easy for women back then.

1940s : CHRISTIAN DIORS’ NEW LOOK.

The New Look is the brainchild of the ever-fabulous Christian Dior and was part of a post-war attempt to revive France’s internationally acclaimed fashion industry. After his initial 1947 collection, Dior became much more extreme in his designs as rationing and the war became a distant memory, he used fabric in excess and his styles oozed opulence. He put particular emphasis on further highlighting the waspy waist by excess layering of materials so to exaggerate the hourglass curves. He also used in-built padding around the hip and shoulder areas to create the silhouette. On the other hand, with many people struggling after world war II, the new look was considered as an insult. Fabric rationing forced clothing designs to be as simplistic and unwasteful as possible. But the new look dresses required a lot of fabric. Famous photographer Walter Carone captured an infamous photo of older women literally ripping the clothes off a woman dressed in Dior. Despite of meeting with this outrage, Dior’s’ new look managed to leave its mark on history and is imbibed in designs even today.

1950s: BULLET BRAS WORN UNDER SWEATERS.

The vivid 50s took off with a controversy ignited by the growing craze of wearing bullet bras under sweaters. Although both of them were staples at the time and not a new breakthrough, yet the clubbing of these two garments resulted in the social outburst. This outfit allegedly exposed the contours of the female body beyond the so-called agreeable limits set by the society at that time. Famous Hollywood actresses like Marilyn Monroe sported the look, sparking mixed reactions within the public. A Pittsburgh police superintendent was quoted as saying “we’re headed for a national chaos.” In regard to the trend. The outfit can be considered as the first step towards the expression of a female’s body in its free and unsuppressed look which paved way for many trends and developed styles which were unimaginable during that era.

1960s: MINISKIRTS

One of the most common choice of women across the globe, the miniskirts, were not at all welcomed by the society. The 60s was a transitional period between the conservative times and the beginning of a new modern age. This process was hastened as the cinema gained popularity among masses and the looks sported by Hollywood stars instantly became sensationally in vogue. The miniskirt was popularized by British designer Mary Quant, who named the skirt after her favourite car, mini cooper. The mini skirt was seen as a symbol of youth and rebellion at that time, therefore it was looked down upon initially and called “awful” by Coco Chanel. Nevertheless, it managed to reign and continues to be a favourite among women.

1970s: PUNK FASHION

Widely associated with rock stars and a symbol of ‘rebel’ culture, the punk fashion came around in the 70s. It gained momentum again in early 2000s through films and was still sported by celebrities as late as 2010. Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren opened their first shop in London, dressing as punk rockers in bondage, latex and provocative T-shirts. The clothes reflected a counterculture movement of the time, which rejected the outdated notions of the previous generations.

1980s: SHOULDER PADS

The 80s is considered anomaly in the world of fashion as pop colours, crazy styles, hair and makeup were as bright and shiny as possible. According to many fashion historians, the 80s saw a boom in the popularity of hues and pastels which became subdued after the onset of the 90s. While most of the regions consider 1980s as a decade of embarrassing fashion, yet Princess Diana, the fashion icon of the 80s gave us ‘shoulder pads’ which were everywhere then and are incorporated in many designs till date. The shoulder pads provided a sense of firmness and a feeling of equality to women as emphasized shoulders was a feature of masculinity.

1990s: THE “HEROIN CHIC”

Kate Moss’s Calvin Klein campaign marked the dawn of a new type of model dominating campaigns and runways in the 90s. Her look was dubbed as “Heroin Chic” by fashion editors and the media. She was a stark contrast from the over-done Amazonian supermodels from the 80s. Barely out of her teens, Kate’s slight frame and fresh faced brought in a new age of minimalism. The 1995 Kate moss’s Calvin Klein campaign caused a backlash against unhealthy and unrealistic portrayal of the female body. The troubling “underfed look” was a part of larger trend in fashion photography that glamourized thinness and drug addiction throughout the decade.

2000s: JENNIFER LOPEZ’S VERSACE DRESS

The fashion industry stepped in the 21st century with a bang. It was still emerging from the drug and thinness menace by Calvin Klein in the 90s, just then JLo made headlines, announcing the first breakthrough of the 21st century. Jennifer Lopez wore a green chiffon dress with a plunging neckline by Versace to the Grammys in 2000. The dress became sensationally popular and brands began to manufacture replicas of the original dress. It was literally everywhere and became one of the most searched on google. It inspired the tech giant Google to launch its image search feature, which is in itself a breakthrough in the world of technology.

2010s: FUR AND LEATHER

We all know that how in-vogue fur and leather are. Long fur coats, leather purses and jackets have become all time classics now. Clothing options featuring faux fur have made leather become increasingly important for millennial customers as backlash against animal cruelty hits its peak. Luxury fashion labels like Coach, Burberry and Diane Von Furstenberg vow to stop using fur and exotic animal skins. In 2019, Los Angeles became the largest city to ban the sale of new furs, and a bill to ban new fur sales state-wide has also been proposed.

- Kartik Singh