19805 and 90s fashions were all over London Fashion Week, and even the Beeb is getting in on it. Kirstin Innes thinks she smells revolution
his week's shopping pages were inspired
by Margaret Thatcher. Bear with us.
here. This is not a dubious excuse to tie the current vogue for padded shoulders back into some monstrous l‘)t<()s power-dressing aesthetic. as fashion editors always do whenever designer goes for the pussy bow"n‘pencil skirt fad. Nor are we suggesting that a return to that lady‘s politics is a feasible suggestion. We've actually been inspired by the telly. Lindsay Duncan‘s sterling turn in the BBC documentary .l'lurguret. backed up by a cabinet of lookylikey' Hurds and Lawsons and ('larkes (oh myll. left us feeling nostalgic fora time when baddies were baddies. goodies were
Ian Guy 19, Student
The jacket is Topman - it was cheap, and the shlrt's from Mr Ben’s vintage shop
I think the jeans are American Apparel - that’s my favourite place for jeans because you know what you’re getting there; _ . .- " they’re always good.
How would I describe the way I dress? Like a scarecrow, maybe? I’m not sure!
14 THE LIST 19 Mar—2 Apr 2009
I N
‘CONSUMERS VEER TOWARD BRIGHTER CLOTHES DURING AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN'
\ .1“ 1;“... I found this earring when ; S M05353“ I was out In Ibiza.
My boots are Doc Martens. I think I got them in Schuh. The bag is just my folio - I’m an art student - and the vest is from Gap.
When I'm shopping in Glasgow, as well as staples like American Apparel, I like little vintage shops. We Love To Boogie just next to the motorway on Charing Cross is really good.
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goodies. and people didn‘t feel so apathetic about politics. In fact. they wore their politics all over their clothes. l)esigner Katharine llamnett (pictured. aboyel. with the Iron Lady's sloganeering T-shirts led the way for accessible. cheap and public rebellion; Spitting Image let the people know who the enemy was. and how to protest. People were much more engaged.
At The List. we've been predicting a revival of late l‘)8()s~early l‘)‘)()s fashion ever since ‘recession’ replaced 'credit crunch‘ as the newscasters‘ bun word. First of all. consumers historically veer towards brighter. cheaper. recycled clothes during economic downturns: secondly. as this is something that is going to affect all of us. even the most apathetic couch potato is going to have to get political. We hope. We hope.
It‘s not just us. either: as well as their Thatcher biopic. episode three of the BB(”s excellent supernatural drama Being Human was comprehensively' nicked by (iilbert the mournful l‘)t<()s ghost. protest pin badges attached to his donkey jacket. Walkman blaring Smiths songs surgically attached to his ears. The very recent London l’ashion Week bore us out. too: Marc Jacobs started it. with neon graffiti-splattered bikinis: however. just daubing 'l.ouis \’uitton' all over yourself is the very opposite to what we‘re getting at. Much better was Luella Bartley"s attempt to revive the skin-tight leather. artful slashing and DIY aesthetic of late punk and early dance culture; her models wore Mohawks. dyed their fringes with cheap neon paint. and walked with attitude.
()n the opposite page. we‘ve pulled together a budget guide to the look: sloganeering tees and badges. a bit of neon. a couple of safety pins and the odd cheeky curveball (check out l.a/.y' ()af's fake fox stole). We‘ve stuck mostly to independent designers. and everything‘s under £30. too. We even negotiated a special List reader deal on this T-shirt by indie brand Money (see opposite. no.l()): the design is an angry poster famously pinned to the door of a New York bank shut down during the last recession in l987. Timely"? Well. quite.