New Fashion for the 80s

The beginning of the 1980s witnessed the birth of the 'New Dressing', a style of fashion created by the revolutionary Japanese designers Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. The New Dressing is an original approach to clothing design which presents an alternative to the traditional forms and constructions of Western clothing. These designers perceive the body as a form on which clothing may be draped, wrapped or hung, rather than a shape around which material is tailored. The garments feature minimal applied decoration, their main adornments being created by the fabric, through the interplay of texture, tone and layering. An unusual characteristic of this style of clothing is that there is no distinction between evening and day wear.

One of the earliest costumes in this exhibition, Rei Kawakubo's jacket, singlet and skirt, of Spring/Summer 1983, features extreme asymmetrical lines and layering of textures. The jacket and skirt have been made with holes, intended to reveal the fabric or skin underneath. The garments by Issey Miyake reflect the subtle use of texture as decoration. His jacket, blouse and trousers, of Spring/Summer 1985, combine linen, cotton and rayon fabrics of different weaves and surfaces, to produce contrasting layers of texture. Yohji Yamamoto's jacket, skirt, hat and shoes, of Spring/Summer 1986, mix vibrant colour and contrasting pattern with irregular detailing. The jacket has three buttonholes and one button, to allow the garment to be fastened in varying degrees of irregularity. The skirt is tied in the manner of a sarong and also hangs unevenly.

A more traditional approach to clothing design is shown in the work of the Japanese designers Kenzo Takada and Mitsuhiro Matsuda. Texture is an important component of their designs but is offset by a classic cut and pattern. Matsuda's jumper, of Autumn/Winter 1983, has a rough textural quality, achieved by weaving a combination of wool thread and bast (a flexible fibrous bark) into a pattern of large diagonal blocks.

The Japanese designer Tokio Kumagai takes a fashion accessory — the shoe — to extremes of fanciful decoration. The Mouse shoes, of Autumn/Winter 1986, realistically represent the characteristics of these animals in a wearable form.

Robyn Healy, New Fashion for the 80s, exhibition brochure, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1987.

British designers produced some of the brightest and most imaginative designs of the 1980s.

In 1984 the British fashion industry revived London Fashion Week. This forum, which provides local designers with the opportunity to exhibit their collections and receive international press coverage, launched the eccentric style of Body Map.

David Holah and Stevie Stewart of Body Map produce a range of separates which are worn in layers. The garments reinterpret basic garment styles and feature synthetic fabrics and sombre abstract prints. The dress, of Spring/Summer 1986, celebrates the return of Halley's comet, the nylon fabric being decorated overall with astral motifs. A similar theme is explored in the jewellery of Andrew Logan: the Cosmic egg brooch, 1986, represents a fragment from another planet.

London has been famous for its street fashion since the 1960s, especially the style of the cult groups that frequent King's Road, and this has had a marked influence on the work of British designers, in particular Vivienne Westwood. This inventive designer creates extreme alternative fashions. Her Mini crini skirt, of Spring/Summer 1987, is reminiscent of the skirt worn by the cartoon character Minnie Mouse, and was derived from the crinolines of the nineteenth century. This outfit heralds the return of a more feminine, although impractical, silhouette.

The London milliner Stephen Jones uses colourful and eccentric themes for his hat collections. The Deep vibes hat, of Spring/Summer 1985, was inspired by the magic of Venice. The hat comprises a turban wrapped in multi- coloured raffia and surmounted with a cascading raffia switch.

Robyn Healy, New Fashion for the 80s, exhibition brochure, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1987.

The French designers Jean Paul Gaultier, Azzedine Alaia and Thierry Mugler represent the antithesis of the Japanese approach to design. Their styles focus around the shape of the body.

Gaultier designs clothing in unconventional forms, in the tailored mode. He mixes various styles, fabrics and patterns to create stimulating and often provocative garments. His three-piece suit, of Spring/Summer 1985, combines elements of male and female dress, a style the designer refers to as 'cross-dressing'. The trousers of this suit are tailored so that one leg hangs normally while the other leg is cut twice as wide to overlap like a skirt.

The austere garments by Alaia celebrate the female form. Intricate cutting techniques are employed to accentuate the outline of the body. The garments are made in plain fabrics, with the only decorative devices being the cut of the fabric or the clever use of fasteners such as zippers or lacing. His dress, of Spring/Summer 1986, is made of denim, which is literally sculpted to the wearer's body with a series of industrial zippers.

The manipulation of fabric in this manner is also evident in the jacket and skirt, of Spring/Summer 1987, by Mugler. The jacket, with a peplum at the back, is worn over a tight-fitting skirt and creates a soft silhouette.

In contrast to Rei Kawakubo's earlier designs, the dress and skirt, of Autumn/Winter 1986, have a distinctly solid form, and express a severe beauty. The mannered control of shape and detailing are a major departure from the layered, androgynous look of her earlier work.

The new fashions on display highlight the diversity of styles that have emerged in the last seven years. The pioneers of fashion in the 1980s could be the classicists of the 1990s; only time will tell.

Robyn Healy, New Fashion for the 80s, exhibition brochure, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1987.