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The 1970s

Dance-floor glamour, punk rebellion and the versatile wardrobe

Evening dress, Stephen Burrows, ca. 1973
Stephen Burrows · ca. 1973

Dance floors, counterculture and everyday routines called for different clothes. Designers and wearers crossed between expressive surfaces, confrontation and practical combinations.

Key styles

Dress, Zandra Rhodes, 1973–79

Hippie

Long, loose silhouettes · Embroidery, crochet and fringe · Layered prints and textures

Evening dress, Stephen Burrows, ca. 1973

Disco

Fluid, mobile fabrics · Draped or asymmetric necklines · Shine and expressive colour

Ensemble, Seditionaries, ca. 1977

Punk

Rips and deliberate damage · Straps, zips and metal hardware · Provocative graphic statements

Dress, Diane von Furstenberg, 1975–76

Sportswear

Adaptable separates · Easy movement and simple closures · Wrap dresses and fluid tailoring

Defining work of the 1970s

Selected examples dated to this decade.

Designers active in the 1970s

Evening dress, Halston, ca. 1972

Halston

ca. 1972

Made fluid jersey, reduced forms and easy movement a defining language of American glamour.

Evening dress, Stephen Burrows, ca. 1973

Stephen Burrows

ca. 1973

Used vivid color, asymmetry and light layers to create clothes animated by the moving body.

Ensemble, Diane von Furstenberg, 1970s

Diane von Furstenberg

1970s

Renewed the wrap dress through contemporary prints and fabrics, making adaptability central to everyday dressing.

Ensemble, Seditionaries, ca. 1977

Vivienne Westwood

ca. 1977

With Malcolm McLaren, gave British punk a confrontational vocabulary of distressed clothing, hardware and provocative graphics.

Dress, Zandra Rhodes, fall/winter 1972–73

Zandra Rhodes

fall/winter 1972–73

Let hand-drawn prints, decorative borders and flowing fabric shape a distinctive form of romantic dress.

Ensemble, Giorgio Armani, ca. 1979

Giorgio Armani

ca. 1979

Brought softer construction and understated fabrics to tailoring for women as well as men.

Dress, Kenzo, 1970s

Kenzo Takada

1970s

Introduced generous proportions, Japanese clothing references and playful layering into Paris ready-to-wear.

Ensemble, Yves Saint Laurent, spring/summer 1970

Yves Saint Laurent

spring/summer 1970

Joined imaginative historical references to a practical wardrobe of trousers, coats and ready-to-wear separates.

The world behind
the wardrobe.

Different ways of living produced different ways of dressing in the 1970s. Hippie clothing carried handmade details, historical references and expressive fabrics into the new decade. Disco encouraged clothes that moved with the body and caught attention on the dance floor. Punk turned damage, hardware and deliberate confrontation into a recognizable visual language. Alongside those music and counterculture movements, sportswear made adaptable separates, trousers and wrap dresses important to everyday wardrobes. No single hemline or silhouette ruled throughout the decade, and designers frequently crossed between these ideas as fashion became increasingly varied and informal.

Early 1970s

Hippie ideas reach designers

Craft, vintage dress and layered textiles continued to shape both everyday clothes and luxury fashion.

1970s

The disco dance floor

Nightlife gave fluid dresses, jumpsuits and expressive colour an influential social setting.

1976–1977

Punk makes a statement

British punk and the Seditionaries shop helped bring torn fabrics, straps and provocative imagery into fashion.

Browse all 112 designers

Designers active in this decade. Available garment examples may come from another period; their dates are labeled.

112 of 112 shown

READ FURTHER

FIT Fashion History Timeline: 1970–1979Museum of Fine Arts Boston: Hippie ChicV&A: Vivienne Westwood, punk, new romantic and beyondThe Met: American Ingenuity, Sportswear, 1930s–1970s
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