That 70's Show (2015 trend)

The 70s- a time where society was indulged in bold colours and patterns, women were rocking platform heels and wedges, hippies were embracing bohemian trends through fringe and lace, and of course, a phase we can't forget, the creation of bell-bottom trousers, aka flares. The flares phase was one which can either be categorized as disastrous or to have completely changed the way we look at the structure and lining of trousers today.
 If there's one thing for sure, the 70's is a decade of fashion that brands love to regurgitate onto the runway, in order to merge past trends into a modern day style.

 The 70's saw style icons such as Jane Birkin influence bold statement pieces. For instance, the craze of denim jeans and hot pants burst onto the fashion scene, making the material cool through celebrity encouragement and press coverage. Also, Jimi Hendrix's continuous promotion of the 'Flower Child' saw the star flaunt tie dye designs and floral print jackets during his concerts and around popular celebrity events, primarily experimenting with colour to embrace the new face of rock and roll. In his book 'Fashion a Philosophy', Lars Svendsen's even makes comment in his chapter 'Fashion and Language' stating that "in earlier societies, dress codes were relatively stable". However, the 70's saw a boom of painterly fashion following on from the expressive and liberal movement of the 60's, in awe of post-modernism and allowing real subcultures to move forward, especially in regards to women's culture and fashion.

Examples of 70's fashion:

Therefore, as I looked further into the trend, I was then set the task on my university course to develop a Pinterest board based on 'trend awareness', which would be completely devoted to the 1970's era. The 1970's decade was the narrative, filled with different motifs and fashion garments such as the ones I have included at the beginning of my post. I also wanted to demonstrate how this trend has influenced today's market in terms of designer labels and High Street brands. Fortunately, this is currently proving to be quite a hit amongst Spring/Summer 2016 fashion, which has been frequently photographed and promoted during the recent Ready to Wear collection at 2015's Fashion Weeks in London, Paris, Milan and New York.

Here is few examples of my findings, which were taken from Pinterest, various blogs and online social mediums for certain brands which have been influenced by the 70's fashion vibe in the past year.

Starting with 1970's inspired fashions for 2015:
In 2015 designers took a step back in time, to a one filled with burgundy's, caramels, deep blues and oranges. Designers such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, Chloe and Yves Saint Laurent took on the 70's inspired look for their catwalk shows.

Harper's Bazaar magazine categorized these looks as the 'Nixon Era'.

Chloe Spring 2015 Runway

Prada Spring 15 Runway

Louis Vuitton Spring 2015 Runway

Saint Lauren Spring 2015 Runway

As we move into 2016 in a few months, although it is far from avant-garde, designers have maintained the same sort of theme within their collections.
Is this too much repetition of fashion or is the industry just nostalgic over past trends and wanting to develop the iconic look even further? Lars Svendsen (Fashion a Philosophy) goes on to sum up this question by stating that 'Like art, fashion has become ever more self-referential. It is created by previous fashions that can be affirmed or made fun of" therefore, risks and experiments are taken but industry still continues to recirculates.

Jil Sander SS 16 Campaign

Prada Resort SS 16 Runway

MSGM SS 16 Campaign

Gucci SS 16 Runway

Although high end fashions and premium brands seem to be portraying this style extremely well, it cannot go unnoticed that this trend is also featuring in and amongst high street labels, especially Topshop and Zara

Topshop Unique AW15 editorial 

Topshop Unique AW15 runway

Zara's Current AW Collection

Zara's Current AW collection

                              
                                                   Zara's Current A/W Collection

It can be seen that this trend has been recycled on the runway from SS 2015, right through to the upcoming SS 2016 range, for both high street and high end fashion. Predictably, this style is not planning on going out of season any time soon. Therefore, this is the perfect opportunity to hunt out them old stripy turtle-necks and denim dungarees to complete your look this fall.

A little something extra:
Here are a few editorials based on 70s chic fashion that I came across while reading the Volume 2 Autumn/Winter 2015 edition AnOther Magazine. Take a look and get inspired even more!

Article- Shine Bright like a Diamond (Shine Bright)
Photographer: Benjamin Alexander Huseby
Styling: Katie Shillingford