Everyday should be a go-go.”
Or, at least, that`s what Chicago designer Patty Ryan says. Her pieced-together black-and-white leather dress, with strips of clear plastic and reflector op-art decals, is a clear throwback to the go-go `60s.
”Maybe my brain just got stuck there when I was 12, but for me it`s the only way to look.” she says.
Indeed, many young Chicago designers say the `50s and `60s influences that creep into their late `80s designs are from memories of childhood.
”I remember that whole look in the late `50s when women were glamorous and always wore gloves and hats,” says Laurie Miller of the Laurie M. label. ”When I grew up, I wanted to look like that.”
Miller says her ”Princess Grace” blouse and skirt ensemble has a ”real retro look with a split shirt over a slim one-but also has an `80s feel because of the use of the sheer fabrics that are now popular in Europe.”
Contemporary European trends and the past fashions of Princess Grace also melded to influence William Thomas Walton III and Roger Price, who produce clothes under the Price-Walton label.
”When we saw that floral-print fabric,” Price says of his organza garden-party dress, ”we immediately thought of Princess Grace.”
”Princess Grace, Mata Hari and Edie Sedgwick-those are the ones we look to,” adds Walton. ”Of course, we`ve always been interested in other eras and now the `60s are really hot-especially in Europe. It`s happening all over the streets of London and Milan. But we always add `80s details, like the industrial zipper on the back of our pants suit.”
The elegance of the `50s, but this time in menswear, also struck a chord with Gerard Santos and Cynthia Cochand, who work under the label For My Twin. Their cream and midnight-blue rayon suits for men draw from ”both the `40s and `50s because it was such a classical time.”
At least one other Chicago designer also drew some of his design ideas from what was, at the time, a real `50s phenomenon-television.
Christopher Clauer says reruns of ”The Dick Van Dyke Show” helped inspire his `50s ”Laura Petrie” tropical-print pants and shorts sets.
Tropical prints and the use of big, bold colors also made a big splash on the scene in the `60s, and they come around again in B. Booker`s jacket designs. These primary-color fruit jackets top `50s-like ball-fringe-trim dresses that are just plain fun.
Fun is also the operative word for designer Dahlia, who wanted to create a ”dance dress that was fun and moved,” she says, explaining her leather flapper go-go dress that shows plenty of leg.
Letting it all hang out and showing plenty of skin are also prevalent themes in Keenan King`s designs produced under the label Naneek Divad. King combines the `60s midriff and micro-mini style with the `80s body-conscious knits and elastic for his creations, which he says are for ”people who love their bodies.”
Another reincarnation of the `60s cropping up among Chicago designers is Nehru jackets and collars, including Ryan`s three-piece Nehru skirt suit for women and Meekis` (under the label Mushale) Nehru suit for men. Meekis` suit also has some `80s touches, too, one of which is a button across the fly on the pants.
Accessories, hair styling and makeup can make all the difference in creating a retro look. Some designers go for a straight period look and will team up a `60s-inspired mini-dress with false eyelashes and authentic go-go boots. Others opt for an `80s interpretation of the past by accessorizing their minis with contemporary makeup (a more natural look) and cowboy boots.
Groovy. –
