The Age of Chic: 10 Fashion Designers Who Changed the Fashion World in the 1980s

Many of our readers experienced the 1980s and the fashion of those days. And although Soviet fashion was significantly different from the high fashion of leading houses, the influence of the designers who were popular at that time is undeniable. This is the era of Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein. The trends that these designers created changed not only the world of fashion - they changed the appearance of the entire population of our planet.

Calvin Klein's breakthrough came in the mid-70s, when they began producing designer jeans with the word "Calvin Klein" proudly displayed on the back pocket. Later, such clothing - with the company's name prominently displayed - became a real fetish for avid fashionistas, and this gave rise to the so-called logomania.

In the 80s, Calvin Klein releases a line of underwear that instantly becomes popular thanks to provocative advertising featuring half-naked models.

Stylish and elegant suits from Ralph Lauren in the 80s became a real sign of good taste. And Ralph Lauren's image itself was a kind of benchmark for how a wealthy person should look: a classic polo shirt (the Polo clothing line with a logo in the form of a polo player on a horse is still popular), a deliberately casually thrown on jacket and expensive accessories.

In the 80s, Ralph Lauren created a new image of a wealthy person who no longer looked washed out and perfect, but simply self-sufficient, who only needed to wear branded clothes to emphasize his status.

At 18, Jean-Paul sent his sketches to all the leading couturiers and thus got a job with Pierre Cardin. Despite the lack of special education, Gaultier released his own collection in the mid-70s, and by the 80s his name had become widely known, not least due to his scandalous nature.

Jean-Paul Gaultier boldly erased the boundaries between genders, releasing collections with men's skirts and high-tech outfits for women. Also in the 80s, Gaultier designed a dress with a cone-shaped bra, which became Madonna's signature look in the early 90s.

Since the beginning of his career, Lagerfeld has worked with four fashion houses at once, creating completely different collections of works for each. In the early 80s, Lagerfeld became the art director of the house of Chanel, simultaneously working on his own clothing line KL. For the house of Fendi, the designer developed the signature logo with the double F, and also released a line of sunglasses and a denim collection. The first series of perfumes from Fendi was also launched by Karl Lagerfeld.

Trained as an architect, Gianfranco Ferré later became known as a fashion architect. The designer launched his first collection in 1978, followed by a menswear line under the Ferré label in the early 1980s. In the late 1980s, Gianfranco became the artistic director of Christian Dior and was given just nine weeks to create his first collection for the house. Indeed, after just a few months, the new collection was ready.

Gianni Versace first launched his own clothing line in the late 70s in Milan. His brother Santo became the chief administrator of this fashion house, and his sister Donatella was responsible for photo shoots. In the mid-80s, Versace released the men's fragrance L'Homme, which brought a new wave of fame to Versace. Like Lagerfeld, Versace supported the cult of top models in every possible way, paying fabulous fees to the main models of his shows.

In 1997, Gianni was killed by a serial killer. A few days later, the killer committed suicide without explaining his actions.

Donna Karan began her career at Anne Klein and by the end of the 70s had become the house's top designer. In the 80s, she founded her own clothing line, targeting the average consumer. Karan eschews luxurious, incredibly expensive outfits and relies on affordable prices and a youthful target audience. It was a winning decision: the company's profits were so high and the brand's popularity so wide that in 1984, Donna Karan was inducted into the Coty Hall of Fame.

Donna Karan started the fashion for black thick tights and short skirts, which became a real salvation for plus size women who wanted to wear miniskirts. Donna also introduced the concept of "Seven Simple Things", which implies that a woman's wardrobe only needs seven items to look different every day and not need anything.

Italian designer Giorgio Armani began producing his own clothing collection in the mid-1970s and became known for his stylish men's jackets. In the mid-1980s, Armani signed a contract with L'Oréal, which led to the Armani Junior, Armani Jeans, and Emporio Armani perfume lines.

In addition, Giorgio Armani was the costume designer for the films American Gigolo starring Richard Gere, The Comfort of Strangers and The Untouchables.

Franco Moschino began his career as an illustrator for Gianni Versace. In the early 1980s, he founded his own company, Moonshadow, and launched a high-end clothing collection, but soon decided to launch a more affordable line, Cheap and Chic.

In his collections, Moschino ridiculed high fashion, adding notes of absurdity. Thus, on the belt from his collection it was written "Waist worth money", and on the jacket - "Expensive jacket". There were also inscriptions "Where to wear this?" Franco invariably placed his logo "MOSCHINO" in the most visible place of the clothes, usually making it in gold. It's funny, but thanks to such steps Moschino himself got into the world of high fashion and created a brand that is now imitated by others.

John Galliano's breakthrough came right after college, when he created a diploma collection based on the French Revolution. Then the avant-garde clothing store Browns bought the entire collection and put it on display. This helped the designer get financial support to present his collection at British Fashion Week.

Galliano decided to go for the shock value and doused all his models with water right before going on stage.