Why are the ‘90s still so relevant? What do they have in common with the years we are living through?
Did they really revolutionise the concept of fashion and were they fundamental for the birth of the modern industry?
‘90s fashion was described as dark and conceptual. Minimalism, deconstructivism, casual and grunge coexisted. Contrasting phenomena emerged: designers took on the role of celebrities, models became supermodels, but the concept of antifashion was developed too.
The internet arrival and the technological development brought enormous changes in the fashion system, but at the same time there was a return to tailoring and the birth of independent fashion houses.
In the ‘90s attention was also paid to the impact of fashion on the environment and sustainability started to make its way into producers and consumers consciousness.
To learn more about this decade, that so many connections seems to have with ours, we offer you a selection of magazines, books, DVDs, you can consult in our library, and some web resources.
https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/international-fashion-shows
https://www.bloomsburyfashioncentral.com/global-dress-and-fashion
Must read
Evans, Caroline. Fashion at the edge: spectacle, modernity and deathliness. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003
“Recent experimental fashion has a dark side, a preoccupation with representations of death, trauma, alienation, and decay. This intriguing book looks closely at this strand of fashion design in the 1990s, exploring what its disturbing themes tell us about consumer culture and contemporary anxieties, Caroline Evans analyses the work of experimental designers, the images of fashion photographers, and the spactacula fashion shows that developed in the final decade of the twentieth century to arrive at a new understanding of fashion’s dark side and what it signifies.”
Hill, Colleen and Patricia Mears and Shonagh Marshall and Valerie Steele. Reinvention & restlessness: fashion in the nineties. New York: Rizzoli Electa, 2021
Minimalism. Deconstruction. The rejuvenation of established houses. These are just a few of the concepts that have come to define 1990s fashion. Others include an increased concern with environmentalism, developing technologies and the beginning of the fashion internet, freewheeling historical references, and a predilection for lifting significant styles from other cultures (the issues raised by this 'borrowing' are reviewed through a contemporary lens). In the twenty years since the decade ended, the fashion world has experienced several nineties revivals.
Reinvention and Restlessness: Fashion in the 90s focuses specifically on designers who challenged the expected appearance or workings of high fashion, and who played an important role in laying the foundation for fashion of the twenty-first century, including: Tom Ford, John Galliano, Alexander McQueen, Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Martin Margiela, Stella McCartney, Helmut Lang, Jil Sander, Yohji Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo, and Viktor & Rolf. Additional chapters address changes to fashion editorials and campaigns (under talents like Steven Meisel, Corinne Day, Inez & Vinoodh, Mark Borthwick, and Nan Goldin), a new theatricality to runway presentations, and the emergence of fashion theory as a field.
Arnold, Rebecca. E/motion: fashion in transition. Tielt: Lannoo, c2021
“Understanding fashion is a way to understand, and articulate, both the hopeful and the uncomfortable truths of the world. E/motion looks the way fashion has served as a visual signifier of contemporary instabilities, concerns and emotions since the 1990s. Fashion is emotion, always in motion.”
See also
Lavine, Michael. Grunge. Milano: Isbn Edizioni, 2010
Eichner, Steve and Gabriel H. Sanchez and Peter Gatien. In the limelight: the visual ecstasy of NYC nightlife in the 90s. Munich, London, New York : Prestel, c2020
Tillmans, Wolfgang and Burkhard Riemschneider. Wolfgang Tillmans. Köln: Taschen, 1995
Schiffer, Claudia. Captivate!: fashion photography from the '90s. Munchen: Prestel, c2021
Reed, Paula. Fifty fashion looks that changed the 1990s. London: Conran Octopus, 2013
Quinn, Bradley. Techno fashion. Oxford: Berg, c2002
Gaensheimer, Susanne. Not in fashion: photography and fashion in the 90s. Bielefeld: Kerber, 2010
Jarrett, Marvin Scott and Liz Phair and Wayne Coyne and Dean Kuipers and Steven Heller. RAYGUN: the bible of music and style. New York: Rizzoli, 2019
Hawgood, Alex, “ All ‘90s, all the Time”. W. Vol. 1, 2022: 50-51
Tank, Volume 10, Issue 11, 2022
Archivio : future memories, The nineties Issue, n. 5, June 2020
The covers
Bloom, 2/1999 Arts and Crafts
Colors: a magazine about the rest of the world, 6/1994 Ecology Now
Dazed & Confused, 46/1998
i-D, 136/1995
L’Uomo Vogue, 210/1990
L’Uomo Vogue, 218/1991
L’Uomo Vogue, 267/1996
The face, 15/1989
The face, 22/1990
The face, 60/1993
The face, Vol. 3, n. 2, March 1997
Vogue Italia, 493/1991
Vogue Italia, 507/1992
Vogue [London], December 1991
Vogue [London], January 1990
Vogue [London], September 1992
Vogue [USA], April 1992
Vogue [USA], April 1993
Documentary
Nicklaus, Olivier. Fashion!: golden eighties, antifashion, go global [Bry-sur-Marne]: INA éditions, 2012
Movies
Altman, Robert. Pret-a-porter. USA, 1994
Tarantino, Quentin. Pulp fiction. USA, 1994
Verhoeven, Paul. Basic instinct. USA, 1992
Keeve, Douglas. Unzipped. USA, 1995
Marshall, Garry. Pretty woman. USA, 1990
Lynch, David. Twin peaks: fuoco cammina con me!. USA, FR, 1992
Music
Floyd, Chris, and Dave Brolan. The Verve: photographs. London: RAP, 2017
Björk, Klaus Biesenbach and Alex Ross and Nicola Dibben and Timothy Morton and Sjón. Björk: mid-career retrospective with new commissioned piece for MoMA. New York: Artbook, 2015
Morgen, Brett and Richard Bienstock and Hisko Hulsing and Stefan Nadelman. Cobain: Montage of Heck. London: Omnibus Press, 2015
From the internet (accessed 18 July 2022)
"90s". Dazed https://www.dazeddigital.com/tag/90s
"90s fashion". i-D. https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/topic/90s-fashion
"90s fashion: Outfits, Style, Trends & More. The best in ’90s nostalgia—fashion, outfits, style, trends, and more from fashion’s favorite decade". vogue.com, https://www.vogue.com/tag/misc/nineties
Foley, Gregk. "The trends & brands that defined '90s hip-hop fashion". Highsnobiety.com https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/90s-hip-hop-fashion/
Seth, Radhika e Freddie Braun. "18 Of The Best ’90s Fashion Movies To Binge This Weekend". Vogue.com, https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/90s-fashion-movies
Tortora, Laura. "Le supermodelle degli anni 90". Vogue.com https://www.vogue.it/moda/modelle/2017/03/17/le-supermodelle-degli-anni-90
[Lorenza Conti]