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The 1980s

Power dressing, hip-hop

Suit, Mugler, 1986
Thierry Mugler · 1986

Self-presentation became emphatic in offices, clubs and on the runway. Assertive tailoring, community-made styles and experiments in construction offered many ways to claim attention.

Key styles

Suit, Mugler, 1986

Power dressing

Emphatic shoulders · Confident, coordinated tailoring · Professional presence

Pirate, Vivienne Westwood, 1981

New Romantic

Billowing shirts and sleeves · Historical costume references · Theatrical proportions

Dress, Norma Kamali, ca. 1980

Sportswear

Athletic fabrics and familiar shapes · Freedom of movement · Adaptable casual clothing

Double-breasted bomber jacket, Dapper Dan of Harlem, 1987

Hip-hop

Athletic and casual foundations · Distinctive logos and customization · Expressive styling and accessories

Dress, Miyake Design Studio, 1989

Japanese avant-garde

Unconventional volume · Asymmetry and altered structure · Experimental relationships between cloth and body

Skeleton-print skirt suit, Sarah Whitworth for New Masters, 1983

Goth

Dark, theatrical styling · Lace, velvet and fishnet · Macabre and historical imagery

Warrior Queen jacket, Pam Hogg, Autumn/winter 1988

Fetish fashion

Leather, rubber and corsetry · Straps, studs and chains · Erotic codes in outerwear

Plaid wool suit, Perry Ellis Sportswear Inc., Fall/winter 1981–82

Preppy

Blazers and button-down shirts · Polo shirts and knit sweaters · Plaid collegiate separates

Defining work of the 1980s

Selected examples dated to this decade.

Designers active in the 1980s

Ensemble, Giorgio Armani, ca. 1980

Giorgio Armani

ca. 1980

Made softly constructed suits and restrained fabrics influential choices for professional dressing.

Ensemble, Donna Karan New York, fall/winter 1986–87

Donna Karan

fall/winter 1986–87

Built an adaptable working wardrobe around coordinated separates and the bodysuit with her 1985 Essentials concept.

Ensemble, Mugler, fall/winter 1980–81

Thierry Mugler

fall/winter 1980–81

Amplified shoulders, waists and hips through sharply tailored or molded silhouettes.

Shirt, Vivienne Westwood, ca. 1980

Vivienne Westwood

ca. 1980

Reworked historical dress in the 1981 Pirate collection, helping shape the New Romantic fashion vocabulary.

Pocketable Raincoat, Miyake Design Studio, 1984

Issey Miyake

1984

Explored folds, volume and textile technology to give the moving body new possibilities.

Double-breasted bomber jacket, Dapper Dan of Harlem, 1987

Dapper Dan

1987

Recast luxury monograms in custom Harlem streetwear, shaping the emerging visual language of hip-hop.

Dress, Patrick Kelly, 1989

Patrick Kelly

1989

Combined fitted dresses, bold color and playful embellishment with references to his Black Southern upbringing.

Dress, Williwear, 1980s

Willi Smith

1980s

Made adaptable sportswear a vehicle for street style and collaboration with artists, filmmakers and performers.

The world behind
the wardrobe.

The 1980s made clothing an emphatic form of self-presentation. Power dressing used assertive tailoring to communicate authority, while New Romantic club style turned historical references into theatrical outfits. Exercise culture brought sportswear into daily life. Hip-hop artists and fans developed influential ways to combine casual clothes, athletic footwear and luxury references. On the Paris runway, Japanese designers challenged established ideas about proportion, finish and the space between cloth and body.

1981

New Romantic style

Westwood and McLaren’s Pirate collection helped carry historical silhouettes from club culture into mainstream fashion.

1980s

Dressing for authority

Power dressing connected women’s professional visibility with assertive tailoring and expanded shoulders.

1980s

Hip-hop shapes fashion

Artists, dancers and fans made sneakers, sportswear and customized luxury references an influential style vocabulary.

Browse all 153 designers

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

153 of 153 shown

READ FURTHER

FIT Fashion History Timeline: 1980–1989V&A: Vivienne Westwood, punk, new romantic and beyondThe Museum at FIT: Fresh, Fly, and FabulousThe Museum at FIT: Japan Fashion NowNorma Kamali: About
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