Just a few snippets of fashion design history following this week's Project Runway episode: another embarrassing vintage-inspired debacle, though thankfully devoid of the absurd hippie costumes from the previous week. Still, I was embarrassed to see that some designers the same age as me know next to nothing about the era. Yes, we were born in the '80s, but people didn't go around naked before that! Not to mention, the decade has been flooding the runways for over a year now. Get your shit together, people!
Halston
American designer, born Roy Halston Frowick in Des Moines, Iowa. Got his start as a milliner in the '60s, and actually made the pillbox hat worn by Jackie O. for Kennedy's inauguration.
- Draped free-moving designs perfect for dancing
- Halter and one-shoulder dresses
- First designer to pair with a department store to reach women of all income levels (a controversial move that alienated many couture clients)
Missoni
Married Italian couple Ottavio and Rosita Missoni. Got their start with a small knitwear shop near Rosita's village, soon showed in Milan, and rose to fame with the support of fashion figures such as Anna Piaggi and Diana Vreeland.
- Knitwear in variety of patterns including stripes, geometric shapes, and abstract flowers, but most famously the zig-zag
- Lots and lots of bright colors
- Ad above features Angelica Huston, one of my personal favorite fashion icons of the decade
Diane von Furstenberg
German designer. Child of a Holocaust survivor, married a German prince, though she is no longer a princess since their divorce and her remarriage. She claims that the moment she realized she was becoming royalty, she decided to start her fashion line because she wanted a career that she could call her own.
- Jersey knit wrap dresses, a design so influential it is included in the Costume Institute's collection at the Met
- No-nonsense, practical clothing
- Aimed at career-minded women who still wanted to look good
Thea Porter
French-English globe-trotting designer born in Jerusalem and raised in Syria. World travels influenced multicultural approach.
- Popularized caftans, maxi dresses, and other Middle Eastern inspired looks
- Exotic and ethnic textiles
- Captured the bohemian chic aspect of the decade
Bill Gibb
Scottish designer and one of the lesser known, but very influential, fashion figures of the era. Close friend of Kaffe Fassett, American textile artist, who inspired Gibb to use prints in wild and unexpected ways.
- Mixture of ethnic, medieval, and romantic elements
- Very feminine, historically influenced dresses, including from the Middle Ages and the Victorian era
- Popular among fashion icons of the time, including Bianca Jagger
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