As the luxury fashion industry struggles to reflect the world outside of its eco-system, it found a familiar friend in the 1980s. Emerging over the last few years with the rise of the leather bomber jacket, polka dots, colour-blocked windbreakers and Armani-coded relaxed tailoring designers once again turned to the decade to inspire collections of empowered silhouettes and maximalist daywear.
As women increased in the workforce and began to break the glass ceiling ‘Power Dressing’ became the uniform of the time. For fall the majority of shows featured a version of a strong shoulder either in grey tailoring, a silky blouse, or a leather co-ord. Miguel Castro Freitas at Mugler explored what power dressing means for women today and drew on one of the brands most influential decades with an injection of statement graphics, while Valentino and Stella McCartney looked to the softer side of the era with pussy-bow and sash blouses. Dior and Carolina Herrera updated the eighties favourite colour combination in puff-sleeve skirt suits and ruffled day dresses.
