From the models to the music videos to the Marky Mark cameos, the ‘80s and ‘90s were brimming with the kind of decade-defining pop culture that put its successive years to shame (we mean, not that the technological revolution or Lady Gaga’s meat dress were small feats, but come on. Where’s our …Baby One More Time?!).
We can’t help but get a little nostalgic with every throw back Thursday to fashion’s yesteryear.
To all the Kates and Chloës and Naomis, we can only say thanks for the vicarious memories. Climb on into our Delorean—we’re heading back to the glory days.
Three Supers in a Tub
You don’t have to be Demarchelier to know that when the holy trinity of Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington clamors into a tub, champagne in hand and red heels on feet, you’d better snap that shot, pronto. That’s just how fashion photographer Roxanne Lowit got her big break—in the bathroom of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, post-1990 Versace Couture show, no less. The reason for their priceless expressions? Rumor has it Sylvester Stallone had just come in and threatened to pour champagne on the supermodels. Yes, this was real life—then.
Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg for CK Jeans
Okay, now what’s more ‘90s than Kate Moss, Marky Mark, those supersized initials and a whole lot of denim? This isn’t a BuzzFeed quiz (but if it were, we’d win). We remember carefully tearing this sultry straddle out of Vogue—for locker décor purposes, of course—and taking mental notes on the cool-factor of exposed waistbands. Fast-forward two decades and still nothing comes between us and our Calvins—we can’t be the only ones who’ve contemplated mass-buying the entire throwback collection on MyTheresa.com, can we?
TLC Takes the VMAs
The nipple-pastied, boy band-riddled 1999 VMAs played host to some of the best award show moments in recent memory (the Britney and *N Sync collab!). But none were quite as iconic as TLC sashaying down the red carpet in space-agey dominatrix tracksuits, looking all CrazySexyCool and wanting zero scrubs. Who could forget Chilli’s fringe choker, T-Boz’s sequined long-sleeved capelet or Left Eye’s majestic magenta hair-horns?
Anna Wintour's first Vogue Cover
The year was 1988, the model was Michaela Bercu and the jacket was a bedazzled Lacroix (emphasis on the Christian). According to ancient Wintourian folklore, Anna’s first cover was so out of the Vogue norm—what with the model’s half-closed eyes and stonewashed Guess jeans—the printers actually called to ask whether there had been some last-minute mistake. Nope—just an easy, breezy, beautiful cover shot.
Chloë Sevigny in Kids
Almost twenty years pre-Selena, Skrillex and “Spraaang Breeeeak”, Harmony Korine had his sights set on Sevigny. Swap the glass slippers for Doc Martens and it’s the quintessential mid-‘90s Cinderella story—a former Sassy Magazine intern gets discovered while watching skateboarders in Washington Square Park and winds up starring as an HIV-positive teen in a gritty docudrama, catapulting her to instant it-girl status. With her boyish dirty-blonde pixie and cap-sleeved periwinkle tee, Sevigny’s Jennie became the poster child for underground teenage culture (and everything your parents wish they could un-see).
—Chelsey Burnside
—Chelsey Burnside
