1 / FIELL C. and DIRIX E., 1970s fashion in pictures, Eyrolles
This won’t come as a surprise to anyone: the 1970s have made a comeback in today's fashion.
Even those who weren’t there to live it can still picture it: a period where freedom, love and revolt were running freely before the 1980s and its glorification of capitalism.
Nevertheless, the 1970s were still troubled by political and economic problems, and had a growing desire to put ecology first. We are not far from the problems which are affecting our current societies!
Is this the reason we are feeling such a strong bond to this decade?
Characteristics of the seventies fashion
It is impossible to list all the outfits of this decade but if we have to mention only a few highlights, on top of the list has to be the interest in specific patterns: the more colorful and in the most varied formats.
Another striking element is how the male wardrobe naturally translated into what women were wearing: the massive adoption of pants by women only reflected their desire to emancipate, showing how prevalent gender equality was in people’s minds. The women's suit was democratized in the early 1970s and modified to favor all occasions: in daytime, or evening with flared jackets, often belted and in Armani’s case, sometimes completely destructured!
At the same time, the jeans also imposed themselves and became "a universal fashion item, disregarding the difference between the sexes”. The wide-leg cut was by far the most popular and most characteristic of this decade. This cut will be very present in the disco movement. The origin of disco is prior to the seventies but takes its rise and its peak in 1977 with the release of the film "Saturday Night Fever". Platforms and wedges complete the silhouette.
Women put aside the little girl look of the 1960s: curly hair and make-up (false eyelashes, eye liner,...) triumph.
1/ Donal Brooks evening gown and Oscar de la Renta's multi-colored floral chiffon caftan, 1972
2/ Models wearing saturated color and provocative patterned combishorts, paired with platform boots.
3/ Yves Saint Laurent evening trouser suit (left), 1974
4 /1970's https://bellatory.com/ PINTEREST
Abundance of styles reflecting plural personalities
For some, the 1970s was, however, the decade of bad taste.
For fashion historian Marylène Delbourd-Delphis, before 1963 women systematically followed Parisian fashion and diktats. This behavior began to change in the 1960s and it was not until the 1970s that free will prevailed. That's why the styles of the seventies are sometimes associated with the anti-fashion culture.
It is also in these years that the ready-to-wear houses began to bloom ending the monopoly of haute couture, it is the case of Yves Saint Laurent that created his ready-to-wear line Yves Saint Laurent RIVE GAUCHE in 1967. Fashion was no longer about adapting to a system but about expressing individual freedom and personality.
In 1976, the fashion journalist Clara Pierre said, "Let's give the seventies the anti-fashion credit, because the freedom to wear what you want, where and when you want, has arrived", Vogue magazine declared "no rule dictates fashion anymore".
The fact that we no longer follow fashion’s dictates leads us to think that there is not a fashion of the 1970s but multiple fashions, the abundance of style and fad confused people, and their understanding of fashion.
1/ Photo by Barry Lategan for Vogue UK, 1971.
2/ Biba City Girl, 1973
The appearance of vintage in fashion
Against a backdrop of economic crisis and therefore disenchantment with the present, the 1970s was the first generation to find comfort and security in the past. "Futurism was out of fashion" and the younger generation reinterpreted past eras.
If the 1970s are often associated with abundant and psychedelic patterns, it is worth remembering that at the same time floral, polka dot and stripe prints inspired by the 1940s were also in vogue at that time. In 1971, Yves Saint Laurent restored these years with his collection "Liberation" or "Quarante"(Forty) by offering silhouettes with skirts and dresses stopping at the knees. Balmain, Mugler and Cardin were also inspired by this decade.
The 1940s were not the only decade to be reborn in the collections of the seventies.
The 1920s also made a comeback with the release of The Great Gatsby in 1974. Others went back to the Belle Époque (period from the end of the 19th century until the beginning of the First World War in 1914) with bohemian dresses, fringed shawls or Liberty patterned dresses.
1 / Model Twiggy wearing a dress made of gold fabric with metallic effects and sequins, with a corded turban and gold leather straps, 1972
2/ Set outfit worn by Annie Ferrari during the spring-summer 1971 haute couture show, January 29, 1971, museeyslparis.com
As well as past cultures, foreign cultures were extremely trendy and the influence of a lot of creativity. Ethnic elements on clothes appeared in the hippie wardrobe in the previous decade but it was in the 1970s that it became more important: caftan, kimono ...
Handicraft and handmade made their comeback as an alternative to mass production: knitting, crochet, patchwork ...
1/ Crochet dress, 1970's
2/ Lilly Pulitzer Vogue US - August 1970
3/ March 1970 - Vogue Italia
4/ Photograph by David Bailey Penelope Tree Vogue 1969
The 1970s ended as they began with a diversity of styles where the notion of free will and personal expression was imposed through clothing.
Lysis and 1970s vintage fashion pieces
Lysis highlights a selection of vintage pieces that have marked the past decades, with the desire to promote sustainable fashion, which is passed on from generation to generation. Understanding the history of fashion within a decade allows us to better appreciate the beauty, creativity and emotion that lives in each vintage piece, to better bring it to life again.
You can search the site for pieces directly by era here, and access our selection of unique 1970s fashion gems here.
From Saint Laurent, to Dior, Chanel, Hermès, Celine, Courrèges, and more prestigious brands, (re)discover how designers interpreted and lived the 1970 era.
SOURCES:
FIELL C. et DIRIX E., La mode des années 1970 en Images, Eyrolles
P.CHASSAIGNE, Fin d’un monde et origine de notre modernité, Armand Colin, 2008