Fashion in the 1970s

The 1970s continued the hippie look reminiscent of the past decade. Worn out jeans remained popular as well as tie-dye. The fashion for unisex was on the upswing. Afro hairstyle and platform soles became in with the rise of the radical chic. It is said that male appearance changed more in this decade than any other time in the century.

In the US, fashion focused on simple and longer skirts. Jeans became more popular, becoming an accepted item in the fashion scene. Some of the designers who rose to popularity were Calvin Klein and another US designer, Ralph Lauren. Meanwhile, Pierre Cardin popularized a staple style of clothing featuring narrow shoulders with tight fitting lines, having no tie and interfacing, and coupled with jackets and tunics.

Men also opted to dress down, regarded as hippie', and this gained recognition as more of a deliberate look.One of the more innovative designers of the decade was Kenzo Takada, who mixed Western and Oriental influences to create a new fashion trend. Another name worthy to mention is Sonia Rykiel, who created figure hugging knits.

An Italian designer who made waves in this decade was Giorgio Armani, who made a distinctively successful collection of clothes for women in 1975. It was also during the ‘70s when fashion trends began to cross borders quickly. Western fashion trends were looked upon by the rest of the world. Synthetic materials were also introduced. The decade also got inspiration from fashion trends in the previous decades.