The Lisbon Museum of Fashion and Design host as of today an exhibition on the iconoclasts of the 80s featuring objects and outfits from Vivienne Westwood to Jean Charles de Castelbajac through to Romeo Gigli and others.
The height of modern fashion can be traced back to the eighties, the decade when a myriad of designers sprouted and reinvented the face of fashion, true iconoclasts who subverted great many rules, defying the rules of common sense for the common good and happiness of a generation eager to experiment, to subvert or simply to have a laugh. Some evolved and became household names, others emerged and submerged soon after. But all left their mark and their footprint in the wardrobes of a generation. In order to provide a better perspective on the age of bold silhouettes, MUDE, the Lisbon Museum of Fashion of Design opened yesterday an exhibition on some of these iconoclasts.
The vivid colours of Castelbajac, the pleats of Myiake, the modern pirate looks of Vivienne Westwood, the refined work of Romeo Gigli or the elegant austerity of Manuela Gonçalves is there in some of the items on display in this exhibition focusing on the form and silhouettes of outfits and design objects that bring us to a “revolutionary age as regards creativity and freedom of speech”. At a time of banal revivals this exhibition has the merit of showing the close proximity between the arts and the fashion witnessed in that decade by displaying true works of art by some of the best designers of the 80’s.
