When we look forward at coming trends in hair, one of the first things we consider is couture fashion, and how it then leaks its way into co mmercial everyday fashion.(I.e. - The tailored men'sstyle suits by Yves Saint Laurent of the late 80's coupled with the androgynous short boy cut hairstyles on women). One aspect we must also consider when looking into the near future of coming trends in hair (as well as fashion) is the social and economical structure of our society, as well as how we, the people deal with it.
Let's take hair and fashion back 60 years. We'll start in the late 50's, early 60's. An important time for me, as this is when Vidal Sassoon rose up to the top of the hair fashion chain, and did something that no one else of that era was doing. It was called wash and wear hair, and it caught on like wildfire. Until that time, women were going into the salon once a week to get their hair "set", and lacquered, so that it would last yet another week. What Sassoon did was innovative. He used the architectural movement of Bauhaus (form follows function) to create beautiful hair that could move freely. Soft and feminine. Not fixed and rigid. It was during this time that women were starting to be seen more as equals among men. They no longer had to be pigeon-holed into themediocracy of being a housewife, staying at home while "the man" of the house went to work. No questions asked . Suddenly they were free. Just like their hair. A coincidence? I don't think so.
The 70's. A time of peace. Make love not war. The Vietnam war was now over, and it was a time of "free love". Loose morals called for loose hair. Women burned their bras, and men grew their beards. Everything was natural. Anything man-made or plastic was frowned upon (with over-grown eyebrows, no less)Leading up to the middle and end of the 70's another generation grew. It was called disco, and this was the height of 70's happy-go-lucky flamboyant fashion. There was a sexual energy in the air, and it was reflective of everything that was fashion of that time. Pants were tight, but the bottoms were loose. Like the hair. Like the attitudes. Was the hair loose and free like the human moral by coincidence? I don't think so. Free love was coming to an end.
By the late 70's, early 80's times were changing. Some social groups were rebelling against the "disco era". This new anarchical foundation was called punk, and it was everything that disco wasn't. It was a rebellious time with teenagers shaving their heads or sporting the Mohawk (pre-cursor to the faux-hawk of the more present.)Leather jackets replaced polyester. Shaved heads replaced perfectly coiffed center parted (feathered) hairstyles. It was a statement that reverberated anger and a time of rebellion and anarchy. And to every extreme fashion statement and social change, comes another. The scales tipped dramatically in the mid 80's with the "new romantic" period that followed. Suddenly there was love again. Romantic love. It became a time where it was ok. For men to wear eyeliner, and crimp their hair. The mid to late 80's, in my opinion was one of unique individuality, where anything went. And usually did. Hair became gravity- defiant. High hair became the norm. If it wasn't vertical, it wasn't right. It was a time when the economy was at it's peak. Everything was big. Hair was no exception. Women's jackets were worn with large shoulder pads. While lips and eyes were painted bright colours of green blue and fuchsia. Everything was big. Big money. Big hair. A coincidence? I don't think so. Then it all came crashing down.
The early to mid 90's was a time the economy was recovering from the large spending habits of the 80's. It was a time of recuperation. So what happened to women's hair during this time? It went shorter. It went messier. The unkempt boy cut was made popular again by the likes of up and coming models like Linda Evangelista. Heading into the mid 90's, T.V. Sitcoms were at a high (reflective of the economic times) and Television icons such as Jennifer Aniston brought haircuts like "the Rachel" to an all time high. Every women and their grandmother were running out to get this "new" hairstyle. Which, to any well knowledged hair stylist knew this was just another take on another popular hairstyles from the 70's. Called the "Farrah" after Farrah Fawcett. During the remainder of the 90's we lived through grunge fashion and grunge hairstyles. Hair length rose and dipped as much as women's hemlines on dresses. A coincidence? I don't think so. Then we moved into the new millennium.
During the early part of the millennium society was still in awe we were in a new millennium. People were afraid that the technology we had could not keep up to the ever changing needs of society. Technology was at the forefront of it all. That was reflective in fashion and hair. Edgy modernistic fashion and hair ruled the catwalks as well as the sidewalks. And to every extreme the scales will tilt. And tilt they did. With all the hard living from generations past, we the people were realizing more and more that our planet was in danger. Suddenly more and more Eco-friendly products were being introduced into our society. Electric cars. VOC. Or better yet, aerosol free hairsprays and containers were at the forefront. Society was going green. And so was fashion. Suddenly harshmetallics in clothing and more extreme hair colours were being traded in for earthier, more subtle colours and fabrics. Fashion was more purist. As was the hair. The downfall of our own economy in the past years has escalated this state of affairs. With the economy slowly coming to an end, so is another segment in hair and fashion. The sudden trend in 40's and 80's hair is an attribute to what is happening right now in our social economy. If you remember those decades, and what they represented you will see very clearly why these styles are coming back. Where they are going .And why they will be changing in the not so distant future.
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