Fashion Nerds
1970s
Full path
  1. The timeline
  2. 1970s
  3. Disco

Disco

Light and movement helped complete a disco outfit. Designer dresses belonged to a wider dance-floor wardrobe shaped by the people and communities who made club culture.

Fluid, mobile fabricsDraped or asymmetric necklinesShine and expressive colour

About Disco

Disco clothes came alive through dancing: fluid jersey, draped necklines, asymmetric hems, strong color and reflective surfaces responded to movement and club lighting. Halston and Stephen Burrows offered influential designer versions, alongside the jumpsuits, trousers and individual combinations worn on dance floors. The music and its spaces were nurtured by Black, Latino and gay communities; clubs such as New York’s Paradise Garage made collective dancing central to the experience. Designer eveningwear illustrates one part of that wider social wardrobe.

Explore the designers

READ FURTHER

FIT Fashion History Timeline: 1970–1979The Museum at FIT: Yves Saint Laurent + Halston, Fashioning the 70sSmithsonian American Art Museum: Larry Levan (snake)
Back to 1970s