Groundhog day: is 1970’s colour really back in fashion?

Julie King

Research output: Contribution to Book/ReportChapter

Abstract

Fashion trends have always been transient, it is the intrinsic nature of the industry to constantly evolve and introduce new ideas. The very meaning of the word trend is an ancient one and can be traced back to Middle English and High German where its meaning was to turn, spin or revolve (Raymond, 2010), with many fashion movements revolving in and out of favour. The trends for Autumn/Winter 2014/15 demonstrate the cyclical nature of fashion; the key reference points are the 1970’s in colour, garment silhouette, fabrication and accessories. But how often can a fashion style, movement or decade be reinterpreted or revived for contemporary consumers? Is it a true representation of the era? The paper examines the origins of the current Seventies revival in terms of categorisation of colour and pattern, mapping the cultural drivers supporting it, using visual and verbal evidence to construct the timeline for the revival and the frequency of iterations of 1970’s trends in the last five decades. Examination of garments from the period will determine how accurate, contemporary colours are in comparison to the original seventies colour palettes.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe 90th Textile Institute World Conference
Place of PublicationManchester
PublisherThe Textile Institute
Publication statusPublished - 26 Apr 2016

Keywords

  • Seventies
  • fashion
  • forecasting
  • cycles
  • colour

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Groundhog day: is 1970’s colour really back in fashion?'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this