"Vogue" – The '80s Celebration issue

VOGUE

The ‘80s Celebration Issue

Vogue’s pick of the ‘80s trends

Madonna VS. Lady GaGa

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Anti-Trend: The Camel Coat

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his season catwalks and highstreets have become inundated by the once must-have look of the ‘80s, this trend has come full circle to become this season’s hottest buy.

I’m talking of course about the camel coat. This staple item of the ‘80s was epitomised by the “Yuppie” -think today’s metromales- young men who believed they were in a class of their own, they had the first mobile phones, high flying city jobs, Madonna look alike girlfriends, and of course designer labels. The “Yuppies” were the original Material Boys. Now like any social group, the “Yuppies” could be identified at a glance by

“the line “this time next year I’ll be a millionaire” has been woven into our culture like the camel hairs into his wool mix coat” one item: their coats, just as power women were identified by their shoulder pads, the Spiv’s by their hats, and the hippies by their tie dye t-shirts.

The “Yuppies” loved camel coats because they were expensive and exotic. The coats are made abroad in desert climates by gathering hair from moulting camels, the production of the coat is laborious because the tough and

matted animal hair requires washing, treating and dying before it is ready to be woven into fabric. Camel and wool mix coats were very popular because they were softer as well as cheaper, for the people who wanted the look of the real thing. “Yuppies” were the fashion victims of the ‘80s and had to have the genuine article, if it was itchy and expensive, so be it.

Through the production of camel coats the fur is dyed, although the natural golden colour has always been most popular, because it can make a fake look genuine. “Yuppies” who wanted to look the business (but couldn’t yet afford a coat selection) needed a coat that could last a life time, not just a season, and gold coats which went with every outfit were just what they needed.

Only Fools and Horses’ Del Boy had dreams of grandeur, the line “this time next year I’ll be a millionaire” has been woven into our culture like the camel hairs into his wool mix coat. Del Boy liked to think of himself as a “Yuppie”, drinking only exotic cocktails: “I’ll have one of those Pino Colada

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The ultimate in minimalist chic or just a bit Del Boy? Holly Pike critiques this season’s “must-have” coat...

thingy majigy’s” and wearing only the finest (knocked-off) camel coat: “180 quid up Bond Street!”. The style of the coat became synonymous with Del Boy and nowadays the camel hair coat brings to mind second hand car sales men with a cheeky look in their eye, and a cheque waiting to be signed in their hand.

Can a style of coat that has personified the “yuppie” and wheeler and dealers alike for decades really come back to forefront of women’s fashion?

Minimalist designers are advertising it as “the classic coat you’ll wear forever”, and we have to wonder if this is a declaration of war against the trench coat, which has always been assumed to fit the quota for “foreverness”. Designers 3.1 Philip Lim, Chloe and Erderm are just a few of this season’s camel hair champions. Their coat designs are classic yet modern and the shapes are flattering yet ungirly, clearly the designers know the camel coat isn’t going to be a hit with the fairy-princess type.

Wearing the look is a bold statement that oozes confidence.

Wearing a camel coat you can’t help but feel a little cockney and walk with a swagger- we’re not talking Lil’ Wayne gangster swagger, we’re talking Jason Statham in a Guy Richie film. Statham’s got that attitude of being able to take on the world with a smirk on his face. Whenever I slip my camel on however, I come over all Del Boy. I can’t help flexing the shoulders and playing with the lapels and come over with a sudden craving for a Malibu. Surely I can’t be the only person with the shoulder waggling Del Boy disorder?

But Hurrah! Designers have invented a cure, 2011 brings about the latest chic camel incarnation: the camel cape which can fall off the shoulders with the slight-

est twitch. Now unless I want to look like a very eager stripper, I’ve got to train my shoulders to stay stationary- note to shoulders: I am not Del Boy. The fashion world will never stop recycling and re-inventing old trends, and the camel coat is not one of the most outrageous of come backs. But you have to think, 30 years ago your Dad would never have imagined his little girl lusting after the same coat he used to wear to the Sunday market.

Whether you love or hate the camel coat it looks like it could be here to stay for a while, unless you’ve bought a Primark copy cat, then don’t be surprised when you’ll be back to your trench coat next season. As an anti-trend it’s fair to say that the camel coat is not for everyone, but come on, you gotta admit- it does look a bit lovely jubbly don’t it?

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Baby, were they born this way?

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ogue examines the similarities and differences between the legendary icons, as we finally pose the inevitable question...

Could Lady Gaga really be the new Madonna?

viewpoint Friday 11th Feb saw the exclusive release of Lady GaGa’s new single “Born This Way”, the highly anticipated record was played on Radio One at 10.05am, by 10.10am the texts started rolling-in in their thousands. Most were sent in by GaGa’s ecstatic “little monsters”, attempting to transcribe their beyond euphoric squeals of delight. Other texts were sent by Radio One listeners who are simply being driven Radio GaGa. Despite the texts saying that they either loved or hated the new song, there was a recurring theme to them, that the new song sounded just like the 1989 hit “Express Yourself” by Madonna. This is not the first time that the two pop icons have been compared, and recently American show Saturday Night Live aired a sketch about the two songstresses having a cat-fight during an imagined duet.

With Madonna off the scene directing her second film, and GaGa fever sweeping the world; could Lady GaGa really be the new Madonna?

Our beloved Material Girl burst onto the music scene in the early ‘80s, way before Miss Stefani Germanotta realised her potential to become Lady Gaga, and Madonna hasn’t left the public eye since. Her ever changing look and sound are what has made Madonna always so popular and timely. Throughout her high-profile career every one of her image over hauls has caused mayhem in the shops as fashion chains are sent into a frenzy trying to be the first to re-create her outfits. Despite changing her look faster than a Botox addict, it isn’t hard to pick which of Madonna’s many incarnations is her most memorable...

The man’s tuxedo Madonna wore in “Express Yourself” caused a stir because of her blatant sexual dance moves, including a Michael Jackson

style crotch-grope; she was dancing as an empowered woman in a man’s world, wanting the liberty to be free in her sexuality. Her lyrics were about having self-respect and demanding to be loved. Madonna’s image and message to her millions of fans was that whether you are a man or woman, straight or gay, you should champion sexuality, in every sense.

Super model Sophie Dahl recently spoke of how as a slightly tubby 14 year old she walk around Greece in skin tight short shorts and tiny vest top and platforms, claiming “I was like Madonna and had a right to express myself through what I wore without being subjected to the tyrannies of men”.

Madonna inspired millions and

made a real impact on the lives of previously closeted gay men. She was (and still is) a major part of the gay community, and believes “I wouldn’t be where I am without them”. Madonna wasn’t just wearing a man’s suit to represent her power and androgyny; it was to celebrate homosexuality as something perfectly normal. Talking to Ellen DeGenereson her recent chat show about bullying, Madonna described how she was treated at school and as a teenager “I felt really lonely, there was no group that I felt a part of... I felt like a weirdo”. She goes onto tell how her ballet teacher, who taught her that being different was ok, took her to her first gay club. Women and gay men alike in the ‘80s looked up to Madonna because of her taboo

breaking attitudes to sexuality, and Express Yourself became the song to define a generation of sexual libertarians.

Lady GaGa is the first true challenger to Madonna’s Queen of Pop crown, she has all of the credentials: killer voice, uber-style and she’s nothing but controversial. GaGa, as Madonna before her, is a huge inspiration to the gay community, she campaigns tirelessly for gay rights in America, last summer she gave numerous political speechesdemanding to be taken seriously.

This modern day icon is the person homophobes should fear the most; GaGa has the world in awe, and to her little monsters, what she says goes. Power in numbers is something GaGa most definitely has on her side, she has 8,908,435 followers on twitter and was the first person to get 1Billion hits on YouTube.

Support of free sexuality is not a minority figure nowadays.

Lady GaGa’s costumes (or regular outfits, as she would say,) aren’t exactly taboo breaking like Madonna’s were, although it is plain to see this is not for a lack of trying. Censorship isn’t as rife as it was in the ‘80s, people are less easily shocked, and it’s harder to break taboos because there aren’t many, in western society, left. In an age where Eastenders air sex scenes at 8pm and Rhianna sings about how she loves S&M, Lady GaGa wearing her negligee doesn’t cause many people to even bat an eyelid. Indeed in an era with a de-sensitised audience GaGa’s attempt at sexy has been disregarded and instead her sexual orientation has been scrutinized by the critics, who believe there is an under lying meaning or message her. The enigma

of her sexuality resulted in GaGa being branded a-sexual and possibly trans-gender by the broadsheets, and a “gender bender” by the red-tops.

Tabloid journalists hunted YouTube to find any clip that could prove she was really male, and so came the infamous video of GaGa apparently pulling down her dress to cover a penis. This speculation has only strengthened GaGa’s image, as in her video for Telephone (featuring Beyonce) she is taken to a prison cell and is stripped down to her G-String by the prison guards, as they walk away one guard comments “I told you she didn’t have a dick”, and the other replies “too bad”. This reflects GaGa’s view on the scandal, the guards represent the media who wished she really was a man to fuel there profits that they make off of the back of such huge stars as GaGa. Born This Way’s music video was released well after the record to increase the audiences want and the media’s anticipation which was clear to see as it had barely been out five minutes before the press started

the rumour mill churning. The press this time claimed she had outright ripped off Madonna, because of the similar imagery inspired by the video to Express Yourself, including GaGa wearing a tuxedo and dancing evocatively just like Madonna. The enigmatic star appeared on one of America’s most watched chat shows, The Jay Leno show, to confront rumours and set the record straight.

Leno called the situation “the Madonna controversy”, and GaGa replied with awe in her voice: “there really is no one that is a more adoring and loving Madonna fan than me... I got an email from her people and her, sending me their love and complete support on behalf of the single.” The likenesses in Born this way to Express Yourself are deliberate and a dedication to her idol Madonna.

In true GaGa style the video for Born This Way, is no ordinary music video, it is really a short film. The video documents the birth of a new race, a race with no prejudice, a race of pure good. But of course, good can’t exist with evil… and so begins the music.

Born This Way is a song about the battle of good against evil, prejudice and discrimination- as GaGa’s life is, as an idol.

Madonna and GaGa are ultimately similar and different for all good reasons, and the important thing to

“The two women are campaigners for anti-bullying, anti-homophobia, and good ol’ fashioned girl power”

remember is that they admire each other, catfights and rivalry are not rife between them, so don’t believe the media hype. The two women were once regular girls who felt out of place and un-wanted. The two women are campaigners for antibullying, anti-homophobia, and good ol’ fashioned girl power. Their music might be similar in style, and they are both icons to the same audience, but they are unique and defined by their times. Madonna will forever be associated with the ‘80s and early ‘90s, and through she may release records forever more, and continue to adapt, it may be time to pass down her crown. Lady GaGa has been such a phenomenon because of this age of growing social media. Without YouTube GaGa would never have become the icon that she is, though she is thoroughly talented as a singer and a pianist, the Fame Monster is mainly so because of her image and imagery in her videos. Therefore GaGa is tied to the times of the Internet, and would not survive otherwise, but can she keep up with its ever-evolving nature?

Both Madonna and Lady GaGa are true icons and through their careers and their lives they inspire millions to realise that they are not alone, that they were born this way, and they should express themselves in all ways.

Forever.

Agony or Ecstasy

As the world tightens its purse strings once again after a repeat of the 1980s recession, Holly Pike discovers that the Ballet world is pushing itself, financially, to stay relevant.

Since the retirement of legendary British dancer Darcey Bussell, who was made the countries youngest ever Principal in 1989, the Ballet world had near-on vanished from the British public view, overshadowed by cheap celebrity thrills.

The expense and haute-nature of the Ballet has caused a decreasing

of demand from its niche audience since the country’s second recession since the ‘80s. The country is looking for cheaper varieties of entertainment, and an obsession with throw-away fast fun, has seemed to have made timeless classics, like the Ballet, actually timely.

Looking back at post-recession

Britain, in the ‘80s, saw an increase rise in theatre goers demanding Ballets and plays, the live aspect of theatre made the performances seem like value for money. Though Britain is again, technically, post recession, the Tory/Lib-Dem Coalition is cutting budgets to all sectors of British spending. So although the

public may have earned back the money lost in the recession, they are being careful about spending it, knowing that cuts are coming. The public can’t justify spending money on “luxuries” like the Ballet, when they’re counting every penny at the check-out.

Budget cuts for the arts have been severe, but apparently, necessary for Britain to get back in the black. But without higher forms of entertainment where will escapism come from? Television might have done the job back in the day, but now TV is so accessible to everyone it is no longer a luxury, and therefore not an escape. The theatre educates our children about true acting, classical dance and Shakespearian English. Without it, can kids really learn much more than they already know from cinema, DubStep and Tiny Tempa?

The British education system has got to keep up to date with our kid’s interests and past times; but showing them other forms would widen their horizons to higher things. This can be seen in the new TV programme and educational experiment Dream School created by Jamie Oliver. Dream School mixes typical English School kids who’ve got limited or no GCSE’s, with “star” teachers to give the kids an idea of what they can achieve.

Simon Callow, the classically trained Shakespearian actor, is teaching them the joys of English and the Theatre.

The new decade has brought Ballet back to the forefront of British conciseness. The release of Hollywood Blockbuster: Black Swan, which won Natalie Portman the Best Actress award at the Oscars, has raised the profile of Ballet in England. Portman reportedly trained for 10 months to become a credible ballet dancer to portray Principal dancer Nina accurately.

This level of passion is something rarely seen by actors in films or TV, but Ballet dancers will bleed until they reach perfection in their

performances.

Following the release of Black Swan came The Russian Imperial Ice Star’s tour of Swan Lake On Ice around the UK. It is a figure skating performance which takes the traditional Ballet story onto ice.

There is a loving ode to the ballet, when the lead character Odette performs a short dance on ice in pointe ballet slippers. March has seen the release of the BBC’s highly anticipated documentary series Agony and Ecstasy: A Year with the English National Ballet. The series follows the ENB around the country as they perform their classic Ballets, whilst facing 7% budget cuts

to their company. The dedication of the dancers is unrivalled, as in the face of redundancies and pay freezes, they dance until their toes are bruised.

Britain’s ballet fans are now crying out for country wide performances, as their passion for the art has been reawaken, but how can Ballet companies quench the thirst of thousands without sacrificing quality? If only Darcey Bussell would become an MP...

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BDSM This trend most certainly falls in the more risky section, and it can be made to work with either of the two trends above. The key to the trend is not to look overtly sexy, but to look more hard edged and mean. To make the BDSM style work with the Colour trend, wear a leather corset under a crimson red blazer with a high waisted matching pencil skirt, ideally this look would be completed with a riding crop... but better save that for another time. This look screams power and domineering sexuality. To make the look work with the Androgyny trend, wear tight leather low slung trousers with stilettos, but keep the torso loose, wear a lacy red or black bra with a cut up ‘80s rock band t-shirt, cut the arm holes low so that some of the bra is visible from the side, but keep the cleavage 100% covered to keep androgynous, also have hair loose and messy with nothing more than foundation and a slick of black eyeliner. For more inspiration on this look go back to Westwood’s ‘80s pieces as well as her new collection for Vivienne Westwood Gold, other designers rocking the BDSM look are Givenchy (of course) and Viktor and Rolf.

Home Made

Trends

Top Five ‘80s inspired looks to wear this autumn/winter Androgyny The hottest trend to be aware of is Androgyny. This is not a trend for the faint hearted, and it might not work for everyone. Facilely anyone can look like a boy, just check out the new LOVE mag with Kate Moss made up like a male punk, who would have thought it? But clothing-wise, this trend isn’t too challenging or too expensive. As long as you have the right frame, you’re good to go. The trend looks best if you’re tall with a straight up and down figure. Take inspiration from the ‘80s and Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren’s shop Sex, where they created and sold the “bondage trousers”: trousers which were almost impossible to walk in, tied up tightly around both legs, with a flap at the back exposing the... well bum. If the bum-dage trousers are too much of as statement, we’ll forgive you. But taking ideas like this and adapting your wardrobe is what androgyny is all about. Perhaps wear low slung skin tight skinny jeans, with your boyfriends Calvin Klein’s showing, this gives a nod to the trend, and can look sexy.

Since Britain’s most recent recession designers have encouraged investment buying, rather than throw away fashion, and some like Westwood have even told fashion fans to get back to making their own clothes. This autumn/winter designers like Henry Holland and Christopher Kane seem to be giving their clients examples of what they can make themselves. Holland’s collection was full of hand knitted and crocheted dresses which had a very lovingly-made feel about it. This has made us at Vogue quite nostalgic about when we were growing up in the ‘80s and our nanas’ made everyone’s clothes by hand; even my Barbie’s had hand knitted outfits! Look for Holly Pike’s Day in with my Sewing Machine piece later in this issue.

Colour

Lots of Dots

Naturally the Fall season breeds autumnal colours, as spring does florals, on the catwalks. The shows demonstrated fashion’s continued love of colour blocking from summer into autumn. The hero designers for this trend are Alberta Ferretti and Burberry who both lead the way for dusky oranges and crimsons for the new season’s hottest colours. The most fashionable way to wear this trend is the suit, the designers looked to the ‘80s for inspiration and the power woman with her shoulder padded tuxedos and perfectly tailored trousers gave way to this year’s biggest ‘80s come back. Team a magenta tuxedo jacket with a midnight purple silk blouse and clinch the two at the waist with a killer belt and your fame will seem instantly more proportioned and the combination is bang on trend.

A few designers dabbled with the idea, but Stella McCartney flew her models onto the catwalk in a flurry of dots and spots. This trend can be interpreted in two ways, think of it simply as Grease: do you want to look like Sandy? Cutsie polka-dot skirt, and neat hair. Or lipstickred black polka-dot dress, looking rough and ready like Rizo? Because dotty outfits have the power to be adorable or sexy, it all depends on the colour you wear them with. The achieve a girly, but more sophisticated look, wear your dots and spots with neutral colours and dark tailored trousers. If you want to be more playful and Betty (Rizo’s name) Boop, then always teams your polkas with red or black: works every time to achieve the cheeky minx look.