Années 80 - exhibition at MAD, Paris

As an 80s baby I had to go and see the ANNÉES 80 exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Located only a few steps away from the Louvre in the Rue Rivoli, the MAD is a beautiful gallery space which just closed a wonderful Schiaparelli exhibition. Until the 16th of April 2023, you can revel in fashion, designs and graphics of the 80s in France, exhibiting the works of giants such as Alaia, Mugler, the Memphis Group, Gaultier and many more. They shaped the cultural and visual landscape as much as the french government did by implementing new cultural events such as the Fête De La Musique and other yearly highlights, which thousands of people still attend to this day. The ANNÉS 80 is truly a wholesome exhibition coming at you from all angles: TV, posters, flyers, newspapers, fashion, furniture and music, all of it get a room and is presented through the 80s looking glass.

What the 80s represent

The exhibition is divided into these main categories:

(Product-) Design
Fashion
Posters, covers & typography
TV & commercial ads

*Ettore Sottsass bookshelf CARLTON, 1981*

Big up your wealth and status

Probably like no other decade, the 80s shamelessly celebrated wealth and made it known. Donald and Ivanka Trump’s New York penthouse and their hotels dripped in gold and they became exemplary of the decade’s obscene obsession with money and power. Cocaine was the drug of the time, exclusive to wealthier circles and quite the opposite of what was used on the streets. Broad shoulders, large belts with lots of bling, big hair and excessive make-up accentuated ever so delicately that you are part of cool kids, if not the rich kids. Designers like Mugler and Alaia created some of the most recognisable shapes that remained a sort of prototype that defines 80s fashion to this day. And I bet your mom, just like mine, had a similar denim dress in her wardrobe, too! That type of fashion was made for a new healthy and athletic body shape. Done with the skinny, slim and straight look, the 80s favoured a toned and sporty type. The only thing that I missed were Cindy Crawford wearing L.A. Gear trainers but perhaps that wasn’t big in France at the time. It certainly was in Germany though, hence me wearing my most precious L.A. Gear’s with double candy-pink laces. Too fly for the basket ball court.

The rise of men’s Fashion: Gaultier & Fassbinder

Impossible to think of the 80s without Jean-Paul Gaultier, who was probably the most commercialised designer, unlike Alaia or Mugler, who remained high end fashion. Through Gaultier’s collaboration with Madonna, he became quickly a house hold name but also thanks to his perfumes in their “scandalous” bottles. One thing that the exhibition highlights and something of which I hadn’t thought of was the “invention” of men’s fashion through Gaultier. Up to this point, men’s fashion has always been rather sartorial until Gaultier came along with his sexy sailors. AND GUESS WHAT: WHO DID IT FIRST?? Rainer Werner Fassbinder or perhaps his costume designer, introduced in his 1982 film Querelle the striped shirt ON A SAILOR for god’s sake, so Gaultier literally took Fassbinder’s entire image and made a fashion brand out of it. Voilà. Not sure if I’m impressed or disappointed. He stole the right way, from the right place at the right time and it exploded. He used it over and over again. Even the cone shaped bustier on Madonna was seen long before in the 50s. Gaultier’s legacy is one of a kind but it’s important to give credit where it’s due. As a big Fassbinder fan, I have actually never seen Querelle before (in my defence, I was into him just when I started my film studies and he did make 42 films btw) so I was quite blown away by this discovery. It’s certainly not the first time that film inspired fashion but to see it in such a clear and obvious manner was a surprise.

Design: that Memphis group bookshelf

Growing up in Germany, our flat contained a mix of typical grandma Balkan curtains, trinkets and crocheted table ware (yes, hanging over the telly). We also had a pitch black glass cabinet with turquoise features, a black and turquoise carpet, a strangely large coffee table that was made of rocks amongst the palm trees in the corner. So when I saw the Memphis Group’s utterly groundbreaking and innovative book shelf, my inner child screamed with nostalgia. That bookcase, if anything, is THE most 80s piece of furniture you’ll ever see or have ever seen. I was excited to see it in those colours, as it was always black in my memory. The colours made it alive again and gave it new meaning. The 80s are still somewhat intact and as expensive and unaffordable as ever.