Power Dressing & New Romantics

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ABSTRACT

This article communicates the understanding on how the 1979-1987 Power Dressing and New romantics era was the most influential. This article considers questions raised by the fashion, music and film influence of the movement within this time, exploring the influences on personal and cultural identity. This study involves analysis of the heavy movement in 80s fashion, dissecting the garments using semiotics and understanding body language. Understanding the economic, social and cultural effect on how it is portrayed within wider contemporary culture and society.

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The 1980s was a blend of hyper-femininity, power, bold style, colours and silhouettes which included trends from ripped jeans to smart oversized blazers, which combines couture with casual, worn by celebrities from Joan Jett to Joan Collins. Power dressing was a trend which allowed women to establish authority in a professional manner, which combines couture with casual.

From 1972 to 1985 women’s share of professional jobs increased from 44 to 49 per cent and their share of “management” jobs nearly doubled growing from 20 to 36 per cent (Guilder, 1986). The labour force participation rate of 16- to 24-year-old women reached a high point of 64.6 per cent in 1987. It has declined considerably since 2000 (Toossi, 2017).

Also, Class divisions as growing numbers of unemployed small businesses put their shoulders to the black economy, private vendettas are splitting once-solid housing estates, the result of DHSS snoops encouraging people to denounce their fiddling neighbours (The Face Magazine, P12, 1983).

In the early 1980s, the American economy was suffering through a deep recession (Thought Co, July). The decline in economic was real as Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, the interest rates were raised due to loss of businesses’ and consumer confidence. The recession triggered the Power Dressing and the New Romantic movement, and the introduction of the ‘working woman’.

The increase of women in the workforce resulted in a feminine drive of power. Released in 1980, 9 to 5 kicked off a run of office comedies about white, white-collar women workers that would continue throughout the decade. These comedies were a direct response to the women’s liberation movement of the 1970s (Hans, 2017). The movie reflects sexism, feminism as Mr Hart spends his days harassing Doralee by telling her she’s much more to him than “just a dumb secretary” (Murtha, 2015). Also, in telling her colleagues, Tess speaks “I’m not going to spend the rest of my life working my ass off and getting nowhere just because I followed rules, I had nothing to do with setting up” (Yee, n.d.). These statements by two different characters within the film create a sense of power and signal that their career and ambition is equal to men as it is women.

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Becoming the first woman prime minister in 1979, Margaret Thatcher led the conservative party for a total of 15 years, holding a powerful and political position (Stylist , n.d.). Daughter of a grocer and local municipal high-ranking official, she was well educated and soon influenced by her father to further pursue a political career as a conservative member (Daily History , n.d.). Thatcher was nicknamed the ‘Iron Lady’ due to her uncompromising politics and leadership style. Her Anglo-American special relationship with Ronald Reagan was particularly strong during the 80s. According to The Face Magazine, women “Women hold up half of the sky and hold down three and a half percent of the seats in the House of Commons. Among countries with a higher proportion of female representatives are such cradles of feminism as Ireland, India, Switzerland (where women only got the vote in 1971) and Egypt (The Face Magazine, P2, 1983).

Dressing for success, Thatcher was often wearing blue, with exaggerated powerful shoulders in a power suit. The colour blue represents freedom, intuition, trust and loyalty which Thatcher portrayed through her role as this colour also was favourited by Conservatives. "Thatcher used clothing to help create a variety of personas from housewife to the Iron Lady, and to build relationships overseas and send political messages", says Thatcher's assistant, dresser and close confidante (Phelan, 2013). Set aside the power suit, Thatcher’s hair was big, combed, teased and sprayed into place, which became her signature look. Since her wedding in 1951, Thatcher wore her matching pearl earrings and necklace and wasn’t seen without them from then. Her two-rowed pearl necklace became her trademark, adding grace, charm and femininity, however still maintaining her political etiquette.

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Nipped in waists, bold emphasising shoulders, bright colours and power suits were some of the bold statements of the iconic trend. Marlene Dietrich sported the Power Dressing look as she loves to wear men’s clothes. “I am at heart a gentleman”, “she has sex but no positive gender, her masculinity appeals to women and her sexuality to men” (Thorpe, 2017). Dietrich wearing men’s clothes suggests that she has authority and is empowered and invincible. Georgio Armani is one of the few couture designers whose work has impacted American ready-towear. He was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 1982 for his revolutionary men’s suits that broke away from the traditional mould. Newsweek described them as ‘classically but not stodgy; innovative but never theatrical.’ Armani’s longer, unstructured jackets were comfortable and suited the more casual approach to business wear in the 1980s.

The New Romantic and Power Dressing evolved heavily from the androgyny of David Bowie. Bowie began wearing sharp-edged suits in the late 1970s, along with other flamboyant and eccentric clothing. His theatrical costumes communicated sexual and artistic experimentation messages as his gender fluidity was expressed, encouraging others to wear bold eyeliner and lipstick to create a “gender bender” look (Armstrong, 2016). Bowie managed to ignite a mania within his artistic attention-grabbing styles and glamorous looks, which then led onto the trend of the New Romantics.

With their floppy fringes, heavy eyeliner, and flamboyant clothes, Spandau Ballet pioneered the New Romantic movement (Thorogood, 2014). Performing at the live aid performance in 1985, the costumes which are worn include oversized mid-length leather jackets, a teal suit, blue and black tartan oversized pants and a purple oversized blazer with an oversized yellow shirt underneath, which all represent the New Romanticism trend.

Contrasting from the Punk outbreak, the music instruments used where mainly guitars and drums. The Clash-I Found the Law R video shows us guitars, drum kits, whereas, in the music video of The Human League- Love Action, we are introduced into a sparse, spacious stage with no big drum kits. The increase of electronic equipment and technology is shown through the moving video, as the microphone and microphone stand are very slim. The only instrument which is being used is an electronic keyboard, however in the previous music video from The Clash, the stage was littered with massive drum kits and multiple guitars.

There is a large speaker at the back of the stage, which sits in front of a white light-up backdrop.

Phillip Oakey however, wore then began to however, they lenged within

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was the lead singer of The Human League, who was a straight man, thick makeup and sported an asymmetrical black haircut. Oakey set a trend for everyday people, as they wanted to copy his look, suffered consequences for it. Although gender fluidity was chalthe 80s, some people were still very homophobic (Walsh, 2019).

In addition to this, Bronski Beat-Small Town Boy which was a song sang

by James William Somerville released in the 1980s. The song is about a young boy gay boy who is leaving a provincial town to start a new life in a more accepting city. The release of this song allowed Somerville to speak out to millions of viewers, as the powerful lyrics and keyboard variations deliver an emotional performance. In an interview, Somerville speaks “it was kind of hard, life just sucked, I was 5ft 4, I had red hair, I looked like a girl and I was homosexual”. He then talked about how the song was more universal rather than just about himself, as he says “I think also people feel that they don’t want to be trapped in the communities that they’ve grown up in, they want to move away from that” (Youtube , 2018).

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London Blitz nightclub was a popular underground club called the Blitz, in Covent Garden, where the movement traces its roots into the nightclub scene where drugs and dressing up were hugely explored (Nostalgia Central , n.d.). The music was as almost as exclusive as the dress code, where many spent their time here developing and adopting their style and also looking for their cultural identity. “We'd spend the whole week preparing our outfits for the club. We'd go and buy fabrics, customise our leather jackets, make cummerbunds, find old military things and throw them together in a mix of glam, military and strangeness. It was all DIY because we didn't have any money to properly eat. We lived off coffee and cigarettes” (Elan, 2010).

Videos of the nightclub scene allow us to see a clear understanding of the body language, the dancing and the makeup and costumes. Richard Madeley, from Yorkshire Television, 1981 speaks “But take one look at the costume they’re wearing and I think you might agree that that’s the understatement of the year”. Another speaks up in the video, saying “I think the whole thing is just about people being individuals and just having a good time and dressing up and enjoying themselves” (Youtube , 2011).

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The visible expression of self-identifying was communicated clearly within the era of 80s fashion, as clothing and fashion is a field where garments are used to create and reveal a cultural and social identity.

The way of dressing is an important way to communicate values, as clothing usually features certain characteristics of the wearer, which can portray how a person wants to appear in society. The style of dress that is temporarily adopted by a discernible proportion of members of a social group because the chosen style is perceived to be socially appropriate for the time and situation (McIntyre, 1992). Life status, socioeconomic status, dominant values and social attitudes play a huge part in dictating style, as these aspects allow individuals to sculpt and express their identities.

Furthermore, performance artist, fashion designer, club promoter, and queer activist, Leigh Bowery played a huge part in the 80s London club, art and dance scene. Born in Melbourne, Australia, but then moving to London in the 1980s, he found himself to be part of the New Romantics scene. Bowery expressed himself through the visual articulation of his costumes, as he would wear anything that suited the purpose of an exclusive look. Bowery spent days painstakingly positioning thousands of golden hairgrips on to his jacket in row upon row of fringing that jangled as it moved. He also lined it with turquoise satin on to which he applied sequins the size of 50p pieces (Webb, 2015).

In 1994, at the age of 33 years old, Bowery died from AIDS (Cochrane, 2018). In the 1980s, the virus was little understood. Scientists were yet to pin-point why swathes of otherwise healthy people were dying from rare conditions. Misinformation and homophobia were rife. AIDs was labelled the “gay-plague” (Independant , 2017). AIDs was a global issue that was affecting different groups in different countries as it was the height of the AIDS epidemic. Peel said he would sometimes attend two or three funerals for friends in a week. People were getting sick, deathly sick, long before the disease even had a name (Edition, 2016).

Bowery demonstrated his androgynous style through his costumes, makeup and performance. Dripping in colour, Bowery’s extreme style set him apart from the rest as he would change up his attire every week, flaunting his over the top hand-made costumes. Bowery’s makeup was cartoon-like, with a white face blank canvas face, with over-the-top intense eyeshadow and bright red lips teamed with outrageous accessories.

Bowery has influenced many designers and artists. His influence reached through the fashion, club and art worlds to impact amongst others such as Meadham Kirchhoff, Lucian Freud, Vivienne Westwood, Boy George, Antony and the Johnsons, John Galliano and the Scissor Sisters. Some of Alexander MQueen’s work is heavily influenced by Bowery, as one of the references for the makeup in the show was club culture from the late 80s. Clubs like Taboo, and various other nights that were going in London 25, 30 years ago that Lee was influenced by (Lewis, 2015).

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“Partly through design, and partly because the press loves to see sensationalism in pop imagery, Annie Lennox is probably better known for looking bizarre than she is for her voice”. “Annie Lennox was born in Aberdeen, the only child of a working-class family who didn’t want their daughter to end up gutting the cod in the local dockyard (Bell, 1983).”

Lennox was the lead singer of the band Eurythmics and was an ultimate fashion icon of the 80s. Lennox’ hair was a trademark red cropped short and sharp haircut, which was edgy and distinctive, looking at a lost gender. In the music video ‘Sweet Dreams”, the combination of the black suit, black leather gloves and black heavy eyeliner delivers a masculine approach. In an interview with The Face Magazine, Lennox says “There’s nothing new or shocking about the androgyny, there are obvious people like Bowie and Boy George”. “I don’t use clothes as escapism. I’ve never wanted to represent myself as one thing; more of a bit of this and that” (Bell, The Face Magazine , 1983).

Grace Jones, a supermodel and a powerful style icon who was born in Jamaica but raised in New York. Her cultivating her image as an up-andcoming Wilhelmina model when she radically shaved off her hair in the late 60s, “it made me look more abstract” (Valenti, 2019). Jones had a muscular figure, chiselled cheekbones and the ultimate power pose. Jones most famous photograph was blue, black on brown in New York by John Paul Goude which was the cover of 1981’s Nightclubbing. Jones is wearing an Armani tuxedo jacket, sporting an extreme flat top haircut, with an unlit cigarette dangling from her mouth. The cigarette was all about the colour and composition (Sawa, 2018). Jones’ accentuated shoulders reflect masculinity and the power of the image, delivering an abstract photograph.

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Studying the 1988 film, Heathers (Lehmann, 1988), the black comedy which was the cool kid cult hit of the 1980s. The razor-sharp teen film is a dark comedy written by Daniel Waters and directed by Michael Lenmann.

The film portrays a clique of four teenage girls in a high school in Ohio.

During the opening scene of the film, the soundtrack sang by Syd Straw (Imdb, 1988), Que Sera Sera, which is a song which was a huge hit which was released in 1956 (Song Facts , n.d.). The song is about “Que Sera Sera”, which means what will be will be. This is something you would say when you’re stuck in a hopeless situation, therefore you have to embrace the unchangeability and have to accept it. The soundtrack playing at the beginning of the film lulls viewers into a false sense of security, as the song is about being a little girl and wondering what life will be like when you’re grown up. “Will I be rich, will I be pretty” is a lyric extracted from the soundtrack, which encourages you to think that the film will be about a typical teen film, with bullies and rebels. However, the film is about a character named Veronica, who is an outsider yet involved within a clique she strongly dislikes, and then accidentally falls in love with the murderous new kid.

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Studying semiotics, colours and costumes of the film, at the start of the film there are vivid colours in abundance, however as the film continues on the hues on the screen appear darker, as well as the plot.

Also, red is a key colour within the film as it portrayed within many scenes, communicating messages to us throughout the movie.

When we are first introduced to the characters, all four girls are wearing skirt suits, which reflects the youth culture and identity of the power dressing of the 80s, as this outfit gives them status. Also, in the scene where Chandler is in her bed, she’s wearing a double-breasted asymmetric patterned satin night robe. As she’s sat up in her bed, Chandler is surrounded by similar silks on her bed, and most importantly she is sleeping in her red scrunchie, almost as if she is protective over her power.

The colour red reflects themes of blood, war and lust, however above all red is a symbol of power. By always wearing red in her clothes, Heather Chandler reinforces her power, as we are shown in the opening scene.

Heather putting a red scrunchie in her hair, which shows us she is taking the lead, almost like a queen putting on her crown. Within the opening scene, all three Heathers walk on fresh red flowers, showing Chandlers neat clean shoes. However, Heather Duke signature colour is green, as she wears this colour to show her envy of Chandler.

In many other scenes within the film the colour red is littered everywhere, in Chandler’s kitchen the majority of the objects and accessories are red, the principal of the school always wears a red tie, the straws in the canteen are red, the jocks jackets are red, the majority of the flowers shown throughout the film and the inserts of the cheerleaders skirts are all red. The repetition of this colour throughout the film shows Chandler’s power over the school and as a whole.

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LIST OF REFERENCES

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(2011, may 6). Retrieved from Youtube : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jutvo43YdRk (2016, Januray]]]]).

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Thorogood, T. (2014, September 2014). Retrieved from The Sun: https://www.thesun.co.uk/ archives/news/281805/spandau-ballet-on-stardom-feuds-and-mad-clothes/ Thorpe, V. (2017, November 26). Retrieved from The Guardian : https://www.theguardian. com/film/2017/nov/26/marlene-dietrich-androgyny-sexuality-exhibitions Toossi, M. (2017, July ). Retrieved from BLS: https://www.bls.gov/spotlight/2017/womenin-the-workforce-before-during-and-after-the-great-recession/pdf/women-in-the-workforcebefore-during-and-after-the-great-recession.pdf Valenti, L. (2019, May 19). Retrieved from Vogue : https://www.vogue.com/article/gracejones-best-iconic-beauty-looks-shaved-head-flattop-80s-makeup-slave-to-the-rhythm?verso=true Walsh, S. (2019, November 25). Personal Communication. (L. Barnes , Interviewer) Webb, I. R. (2015, November 1). Retrieved from The Guardian: https://www.theguardian. com/lifeandstyle/2015/nov/01/the-night-i-put-leigh-bowery-on-the-catwalk-iain-r-webb Yee, H.-R. (n.d.). Retrieved from Stylist : https://www.stylist.co.uk/visible-women/ firsts-for-women-in-politics-female-mps-uk-history-constance-markievicz-nancy-astor-diane-abbott/238356

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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

FIGURE 1: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/aug/01/jean-paulgoude-best-photograph-grace-jones-nightclubbing FIGURE 2: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/06/01/the-blitz-club-musicfashion-revolution-in-the-80ties/ FIGURE 3: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080319/mediaindex FIGURE 4: https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/celebrity-style/articles/ g12627/margaret-thatcher-s-style/?slide=6 FIGURE 5: https://twitter.com/TheTonyHadley/status/1151504462806233088/ photo/1 FIGURE 6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2FUi7bPKSk FIGURE 7: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/06/01/the-blitz-club-musicfashion-revolution-in-the-80ties/ FIGURE 8: https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/aug/13/sex-sinand-sausages-the-debauched-brilliance-of-leigh-bowery FIGURE 9: THE FACE MAGAZINE, OCTOBER ISSUE, 1983.

FIGURE 10, 11, 12: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097493/mediaindex

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LAUREN BARNES 1819758 AD5603