In the early 2000s, we saw an emergence of a the 60s-70s revival. At that time, bands like The Strokes, The Hives, The White Stripes, The Vines, The Killers, and Franz Ferdinand received some hype for their old-school attitude and style of music. Tight-ripped jeans were cool, even with the boot cuts so they look like "bell bottoms." Long wavy hair was cool for guys, almost like a Kelso (That 70s Show) imitation. Now, the 80s are coming back. It is a bold assumption, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Trends recycle themselves, even if they are just the smallest things. Where do these trends come from? Well, I'm not the one to make such a bold of a claim. But my hypothesis, which is a pretty obvious guess, is the involvement of the corporate businesses and marketing. Like Naomi Klein says in her book, No Logo, "street style and youth culture are infinitely marketable commodities" (80). The 80s trend could come from a group of kids who shop at second-rate stores for all we know. The point is that whatever trends the market is promoting, it will spread like wildfire. Marketers won't stop their advertising, and the next thing you know, 80s fashion are the only things available at the mall.
In No Logo, there are "Cool Hunters" who stalk youth culture everyday seeking the modern definition of "cool" in order to squeeze dollars out of it. These "cool hunters" could blend in easily, being young associates of large corporations, and notate the next big move of youth culture. In matter of fact, these "cool hunters" hype up brands and promotions using a 'peer-to-peer' distribution. It's almost as if they don't need to search for cool, they can create whatever trends they want with the corporations support and hype. These "cool hunters" make their way into private parties, gatherings, concerts, and other youth events, and whatever is put to spotlight ends up being called "sold out" by modern youth. Then, the search begins again in this cycle that goes on and on.
Now, I really don't know where the 80s trend is coming from. Somehow, the corporations have caught on to this trend, either by using their "cool hunters" or just because. Who knows what will happen. Perhaps the 80s fad will only last for a short period of time, or it may never come. Fads come and go, but the marketing machine never stops rolling. Anything has become marketable, and you take that any way you like. Now if you don't mind, I am going to continue to listen to "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul...Yeah, Paula...So what?
P.S:
Check out the picture and video below. These are recent; they look pretty 80s to me.
Do you think the 80s are coming back "in" because of this generation's desire to move away from "branding"? In some sense people who want to revive these fashions are trying to get away from big name brands like Hollister, American Eagle, etc., but at the same time themselves aren't really original either if they're copying a style from before. I think people who actually grew up in the 80s and adopted the style of the time are looking at today's youth and in some ways, are laughing...
ReplyDeleteWhoa! They sound just like The Cure. And they do "look" very 80s.
ReplyDeleteI have this theory that the cycle is about 25 years. So, the TV show "Happy Days" came out in the late 70s, and was about the early 50s. And then the show "Wonderful Life" came out in the late 80s about the 60s... etc.
So, the theoretical question is why 25 years? Something to do with the relation of children to parents perhaps?
And of course the 80s (which was my generation... sadly) was all about the elitist brand, which is why punk rebelled against it. Remember the movie Pretty in Pink, in which the main character made her own clothes? But how did she make them--that's the key. She didn't make them from scratch. She got old clothes and put them together in new ways. That was the post-punk aesthetic of people like Cyndi Lauper.