Written by The Strategy

Each decade of the past century has had a distinguished style of clothing all its own. Corsets, bustles, flapper dresses, Dior’s New Look, and so on. From the start of the 20th Century right up until the 1980s there was a clear “look” that rang out for the rest of time as the identifier of that time.

Then the 90s came around, and everything got a little mixed up. It’s clear from the currently ongoing comeback that just won’t quit, the 90s had a plethora of styles to offer up. Supermodels galore, preppy high schoolers, urban royalty, for the first time there was no one true identifier. Since then there hasn’t been any identifier for the 00s, and there probably won’t be one for the 2010s. But what does that mean? Do we need one, or are we better off without the age old fashion identifiers?

The modern day fashion industry, first off, has never relied so heavily on the past for inspiration. In the 1960s, no one was lusting after the flapper dress of the 20s and 30s; they were in their own time with their own fashions. Today, we have pieces designed in image of everything from the 20s to the 90s, and all that was in between. We love dressing up in flared jeans, peasant tops, and platforms, paying no mind to the fact that those styles were all the rage forty plus years ago. 

So, do we need an identifier? Maybe. Though we’ve been surviving fairly well without them, I think. The departure from defining styles hasn’t been long, but there have never been more options when it comes to what is available to us. The idea of not having limits opens the doors to bigger, better sartorial creations.

We don’t have fashion identifiers anymore, but there is no longer a need for them. This is arguably the most innovative and reflective era that fashion has ever seen.

And really, it can only get better from there.

Written by Katrina Garofalo

*Images for graphic via mydaily.co.uk, dior.com, glamourdaze.com, & thefashionspot.com