Miami Vice had a major influence on fashion throughout the 80s, to the present day. First of all they heavily popularized, if not introduced the slick yet cool fashion of a “t-shirt under Armani jacket”, which was often designed like an unconstructed blazer in shiny fabric. Don Johnson is said to be the epitome of style that then became a trademark for the series and the trend. Miami Vice also influenced Italian men’s fashion in the US. The standard typical Italian attire consisted of a sport coat, Armani t-shirt, pastel linen trousers with casual, yet stylish loafers to complete the European holiday look. On average per episode characters Crockett and Tubbs, wore five to eight outfits each. Miami Vice had certain colours which were said to be “approved” for wear on the show; shades of pink, blue, green and fuchsia were often favourites along with the standard monochrome combo. Pastel colours were worn the majority of the time, keeping in line with the location, and overall aesthetics of the show. At the time Miami still remained a playground of Art-deco architecture, and the colours used were used to reflect this. Keeping in line with high fashion, designers such as Armani, Gianni Versace, Hugo Boss and Vittorio Ricci were consulted on the designs and fashions produced, bought and worn. Bambi Breakstone was the costume designer and buyer of clothing for the show. She once stated that, “The concept of the show is to be on top of all the latest fashion trends in Europe”. Designers soon adapted their work to match the demand of fashions from the TV show. Six Formal Wear created a line of Miami Vice ‘dinner jackets’, aesthetically matching the designs seen on screen. Kenneth Cole released a line of shoes, entitled ‘Crockett and Tubbs’, whilst the department store opened a Miami Vice section in the men’s and youth departments of the store. Ray-Ban’s made a massive comeback in the 80s after a decline in the 60s and 70s. The popularity of the Wayfarer peaked with sales of 720,000 in ’84 however, thanks to Crockett’s loyalty to the sunglasses throughout the series. Miami Vice set the standard cliché image of 80s fashion.
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