As Live Production: "Old To New" VT Research
As part of my ongoing work as a VT researcher I have been looking in to the new task I was assigned. Since the running order changes that were discussed in the recent production meeting my group had been assigned the "Old To New" VT to re-brand and research. We now want to look at at least one trend from each decade (70's-00's) that we can then present to our audience using models. Bellow is all the research I have undertaken in to the different trends of each decade that we can use.
This task has helped me improve my skills as a researcher. I have had to visualise each style and work out how plausible and achievable they will be to get models to demonstrate in a studio environment. In some cases, trends overlapped decades sp I used my common sense, and initiative (following the advice and skills I picked up on when researching this role), and making sure to use a variety of sources in order to fact check specifically which decade each trend was most popular in. I hope that this research will prove useful when planning the shoot of this VT.
Trends Through The Decades (George N)
70’s Trends
The Hippie-Although this trend started in the late 60’s it really came in to its own in the 70’s. The Hippie style was intended to be very different and stand out from the crowd. Sparked by influences from figures like John Lennon, the Hippie style was designed to stand out and rebel against the capitalist mainstream ideas of fashion that were present at the time.
Hippies would tend to wear brightly coloured tops and other clothing that featured unique and extragrant patterns. Jeans or trousers would tend to be loose fitting and flared at the bottom. It was not uncommon for “Hippies” to customise and “tie dye” their own clothing.
Overall the idea of the hippy was to pair bold outfits with a more casual low maintenance approach to hair and makeup.
Modern Hippie looks tend to pair the look with jackets bags and several other accessories e.g. glasses/bracelets to emphasise the uniqueness of the style.
80’s Trends
More than ever the 80’s was a time of celebrity influence. People would look up to and attempt to emulate the look of their favourite celebs. Long before Rhompers and Onezies stars like Madonna helped to make bodysuits popular. These suits were designed to be understaed yet flattering for the figure. Usually worn under other clothing they were often seen as a simple yet stylish option for recreational activity e.g. workouts, dancing etc, as they focussed on allowing freedom of movement.
Another trend popular in the 80’s was roll neck tops. Made trendy once again by american sweethearts like Brooke Shields, Roll neck tops were focussed on simplicity. Intended to give off that “girl next door” vibe they were a great “go to” option that could be seen to be very stylish. It is important to note as well that in recent years “Roll Neck”/”Turtle Neck” Tops have made a resurgence among both men and women.
When it came to the Men of the 80’s they were presented with a greater yet simpler variety of options than they had before. Jeans were back in but with more brands available than before men had more cuts, colours and styles to choose from (e.g. boot cut, slim fit etc). Boots and smart shoes were put to one side in favour of more practical and comfortable trainers (Reebok style white trainers proved to be some of the most populer). The long Hippy hair of the 70’s wasn’t completely out but was sensiblized and fashioned in to the male ponytail (which again has seen a resurgence in recent years).
Overall we can see that the 80’s had a strong focus on practicality in its styles and trends more than anything. Especially with accessories like “Fanny Packs” booming. And today we see many of these trends being adapted or revived to form things like Rohmpers.
90’s Trends
The 90’s presented a variety of style options for men and women that we still see today. First of all we can’t talk about the 90’s without mentioning denim.Although denim had been present across all the decades we have covered, it didn’t properly take off until the 90’s. Double denim was obviously huge for both men and women, but something that was also huge was overalls.
Traditionally worn for working in, denim overalls jackets and the like became incredibly fashionable. They were easy enough to wear and allowed for easy customisation e.g. using pins/badges, cutting straps, holes, rips etc. It was less about what overalls you wore (since they didn't exactly come in a variety of colours) and more about how you wore them. Often people would deliberately choose to only wear one strap, or wear a bigger size than they needed.
Crop tops also took off in a big way in the 90’s. As it became more socially acceptable for lots of skin to be on show, many women would opt for a crop top in order to show off/compliment their figure.
Fashion for men in the 90’s also took off. The 90’s saw the birth of the flannel shirt. An easy option that came in a variety of patterns and colours to express the individuals style. They could be worn solo, or paired with another top to make a more complete outfit. Flannel shorts are arguably still just as popular today.
In terms of accessories women had costume jewellery like mood rings, but men helped give birth to the bandana trend. A trend that likely originated due to influence from rap and other music stars, it was a trend that had both fashion and practical uses and is still seen today.
00’s Trends
As the world moved in to a new millenium, fashion moved with it, giving birth to a variety of new trends to suite a new generation.
Arguably the biggest impact the early 00’s had on fashion for both sexes was the tracksuit. While tracksuit tops haven’t lasted that well, tracksuit bottoms are still a popular choice for both men and women today; and in the 00’s branded tracksuits were all the rage. Representing the chill yet exciting vibe of the early 00’s tracksuits were available in a variety of colours it helped make a statement and people would coordinate their outfits to accommodate for their chosen colour scheme. They were more often than not branded and likely sparked the idea of a wearing a brand name being a style in itself.
On the other end of the spectrum you have the wild, rebellious and outlandish style of the 00’s punk rocker. As something that could be seen as an extreme evolution of 60’s style, punk rock style sought to reject social norms and push boundaries. Sporters of the style would often customise themselves with vibrant hair colours, piercings etc. The punk rock style saw the birth of ripped jeans, chains, and checkered/tartan patterned clothing. The idea with punk rock was to stand out in as many ways as possible by wearing clothes that made a clear statement, making styles that might have initially been seen as tacky (ripped jeans) or too outlandish (vibrant hair, tartan etc) fashionable.
One other trend that we saw take off in the early 00’s was camo. This trend ranged from camo shorts and vest tops. To “neon pink camo pants for girls”. There was something for everyone and despite the idea of camo originally being to make the user hidden and inconspicuous, the 00’s dod what it does best and rebelled against this by providing a variety of coloured camo clothing for both men and women.
And of course this decade came with its own set of accessories. Girls had large hooped earrings and oversized sunglasses, while guys had things like snapback hats (often worn sideways or backwards to once again stand out from the norm).
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