That 70′s Show
April 6, 2008
Every once in a while, i would sit and wish that i was born in another time. Some time when i get to experience the ’60s – ’70s era: Woodstock, ‘make love, not war’ slogans, fashion – oh, the fashion of the ’60s were immaculate! And with that comes one of those few times when i wished i was born as a woman and in another time.
Two weeks back, i was assisting the Fashion Editor of Female on a spread for the May issue and it was all about retro/hippie chic. I remembered steam-ironing the clothes (from Prada, billowy white dresses from Stella McCartney, rainbow-coloured knitted cape from Missoni) and was completely in awe by the burst of colours. My imagination went wild, of course. I imagined myself lying down on a lawn somewhere just chilling to Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix. Of course, the real hippies don’t exactly wear Missoni, Prada or Stella McCartney but oh well, we all have dreams, no
It appears to me that ’60s hippie-inspired fashion is back and here to stay. Local magazines such as Project Smitten, Harper’s Bazar and international bibles such as Nylon are all featuring the retro looks, in line with the S/S collections on the runways.
Seeing the ’60s hippie-inspired fashion revived and resurrected on the runways this season taught me that the era was not just about drugs and experimentation; it stood for something much bigger, a larger cause, a movement that completely transformed society on the whole.
From colourful patterns on kaftans to using tons of chiffon, various designers have interpreted the hippie getup in many different ways. This season D&G, Prada and Roberto Cavalli, just to name a few, were all bitten by the hippie bug and showcased in their collection peasant dresses, bell-bottoms and long prairie skirts.
Present day fashion icons like Victoria Beckham and Nicole Richie have all been spotted proudly wearing their bell-bottoms out and about. The figure enhancing bottoms allow for a more proportionate figure as it hugs and flares out at all the right places. 
However, the one thing that never fails to catch my attention and capture my imagination seems to be the one item that women gravitate towards time and again – peasant dresses. Perhaps it’s due to the fact chloé has single-handedly brought them back to the fashion forefront or maybe that peasant dresses flatter almost every body type there is (I’m assuming it’s the latter rather than the former). Updated versions hug the body instead of hiding the womanly curves and the patterns provides that extra oomph, while ruffles enhances femininity.
Anyway, fashion is always cyclical. Reinterpretations (as it’s politely called in the fashion world) are all the rage now with designers citing ‘Old Hollywood Glamour’ and ’1920s’ as their inspiration. The fact still remains that all styles get recycled time and again (and some more so than others) and this definitely mean that the hippie style will inevitably make its comeback a few time over in the years to come.
