How fashion defined 1980s cinema
With numerous imprints on Western pop culture and a firm nostalgic grip on contemporary life and entertainment, the 1980s is a definitive decade in film, fashion and other expressive mediums. This era brought groundbreaking changes to how cinema was approached and consumed, informing style and interior subcultures and movements, with all these factors reflecting and influencing one another.
These factors are evident in how the up-and-coming, aggressive punk rock movement burst onto the scene with full force and power, replacing the subtle hippie movement. A society that once prioritised tranquillity and a carefree approach expressed through a down-to-earth fashion and music style was now cast out for something more aggressive, angry, and direct, represented in fast-paced music and excessive, statement fashion items.
When it came to cinema, this change, among others, was represented through visual iconography and overall art direction. Characters walked the screens in bright and vivid colours, characterised by over-the-top patterns and shades. These flashy excessive colours and styles coincided with how film as an overall art form was changing in the ’80s, with the goal of becoming bigger and better fueling everything. For example, studios invested heavily in ‘high concept’ films. This meant simple, exciting and easily-consumable projects gained popularity, redefining American filmmaking.
Alongside big budgets, glitzy special effects and powerful studios, this development meant that the ’80s brought the rise of blockbusters, with films like The Terminator, Ghostbusters and Aliens calling for specific costume direction to accompany this new image. In turn, Western films from this decade produced the characters, style and stories that would influence pop culture for decades to come, creating iconography and costumes that would precede the film’s reputation.
First and foremost, costumes are vital in reflecting a film’s genre and era. The ’80s saw the rise of the punk movement, an expressive and unapologetic approach to fashion and art supported by progressive politics. One genre of filmmaking that employed punk aesthetics and attitude was horror, a style of filmmaking defined by the alternative, unorthodox and unnerving. Horror in the 1980s differed from that in the 1970s by emphasising excessive visuals over immersive suspense. A film that embodies these elements is The Lost Boys, a 1987 horror comedy directed by Joel Schumacher. The Lost Boys presents a reflective, stylised vision of vampires that coincides with the punk fashion of the era.
The vampires of The Lost Boys submitted to ’80s punk aesthetics and hyperbolic design through their ripped leather jackets, torn jeans, mullets and combat boots. They showcased their animalistic nature through leopard print and purring motorcycles, further displaying the appropriate ‘outcast’ imagery that denoted the era’s punk movement and horror fixation. Furthermore, the fashion in The Lost Boys embodied cult cinema, a prominent addition to this era of horror filmmaking that showcased stylistically appropriate but also wildly idiosyncratic.
In contrast, fashion in ’80s cinema also reflected a more traditional yet evolving image, such as a more upper-class and idealistic vision of America. This variation is defined in Michael Lethan’s Heathers, released in 1988, a film that tracks a high school clique of girls whose lives are disrupted by a new arrival and a series of murders. The dark and disordered subject matter is juxtaposed with a colourful and organised costume design consisting of preppy and patterned set pieces. Heathers’ costume direction presented the materialistic and seemingly ‘sophisticated’ American suburban lifestyle, exerted in the coordinated blazers and skirts the teen girls wear. The characters uphold the ideal American youth through their fashion choices, echoing the yuppie image that began in the early ’80s.
The Breakfast Club, directed by John Hughes and released in 1985, is another iconic teen film from the decade that illustrated the importance of fashion in communicating character. Hughes’ film brings together five teens from different social groups during a Saturday detention. Despite initial conflict due to these visual differences, the group learns they share more common ground than expected.
The film’s costume reflects each character’s lifestyle, expectations and pressures, elevating the theme of differences and judgement. For example, Claire, cited as the “princess”, executes her characterisation and role in the narrative through her preppy and trendy style. Her costume showcases traditional femininity in its bright pink shade and skirt, presenting a put-together and collected image. However, we learn that Claire feels the opposite, as she suffers from high expectations and the pressure to conform.
This example of costume is contrasted and elevated by Allison, the ‘basketcase’, and Bender, the criminal. These characters dress in a more alternative style relating to goth and punk, such as plaid, denim and baggy dark clothing. This costume design reflects the lower expectations Allison and Bender have assigned to themselves compared to Claire, as the two come from a lower financial background and face alienation at school. The two also experience cruel judgment, even by the other main characters, so much so that Allison undergoes a makeover that replaces her gothic style with a brighter and basic one to be accepted by the Jock. This narrative point demonstrates the significance of costuming in ’80s cinema, emphasising the adolescent pressure to fit in and conform. However, Ally Sheedy, the actor behind Allison’s character, disliked this direction but acknowledged how it was needed for the decade’s tropes, telling The Independent: “Listen, it was Hollywood in the Eighties. They wanted to take the ugly duckling and make her into a swan.”
She added: “I didn’t want anyone to be putting makeup on my face, so I tried to negotiate with John that it would be about taking stuff off or Allison taking down this wall that she had put up to keep people at arm’s length.”
This film and Heathers serve as one of the blueprints of the teen film that the ’80s popularised. Channelling teen identity and expression through costume choice, these high school dramas predetermined the later iconic ’90s and early 2000s teen films that value fashion, such as Clueless and Mean Girls. Storytelling through fashion choice is still prevalent and analysed in recent teen depictions, such as Euphoria’s vibrant and influential approach to costuming.
Lastly, the ’80s brought some of Western pop culture’s most essential items through its timeless and innovative fashion design, which are still recognised through the ability for people to replicate them in costumes. Movies that exemplify this cultural recognition include the aforementioned titles Ghostbusters and Terminator, Robert Zemericks’ Back to the Future and slasher horror movie icons. The costumes in these films have remained iconic in pop culture decades after their release, with the Ghostbusters uniforms and Terminator’s ‘robo-punk’ design replicated in Halloween costumes and cosplay. This factor highlights the power of merchandise, with iconic imagery and costumes from popular films being printed onto products designed for mass consumption, demonstrating consumerism ideals within the film industry. Furthermore, iconic ’80s film costumes help fanbases express their love and appreciation for a movie, replicating a main character’s appearance as an extension of what the designated film means to them.
Overall, fashion in ’80s cinema proves to be an essential way to experience the cultural zeitgeist of the time and track how its influence has flourished. Movies from this era represented various walks of life and expressions through costume design, entertaining audiences with their colour, iconic status and symbolism. It is interesting how the decade’s signature flashy and hyperbolic stylistic choices strayed away from the toned-down and monochromic approaches of the ’70s and predetermined how the ’90s balanced both in high-class preppiness and the anti-consumerist grunge movement.
