The Stars of Vintage
From Grace Jones to Aaliyah, vintage fashion has inspired and been inspired by cultural icons for decades. We pick our 4 favourites and why we reckon you should add them to your moodboard.
70’s: Grace Jones
Always breaking boundaries, the actor, singer - and, yes, total icon - Grace Jones is inextricably linked with fashion, with a taste for the unusual. From her outrageous Studio 54 days and modelling career, to her high fashion love affairs with designers like Azzedine Alaia and Issey Miyake, to her elaborate stage costumes, Grace has always done whatever she damn well wants, and we salute her for that.
80’s: Cher
Another genre-hopping icon, Cher has been a powerful cultural force for more than 50 years now, but it was in the 1980’s when she really came into her own, acting on Broadway, relaunching her pop career and winning an Oscar for her acting (for ‘Moonstruck’). Her style has always erred on the side of OTT, but from boho dresses to leather jackets to spangled bodysuits - if you can dream it, she’s worn it.
90’s: Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy
Former Calvin Klein publicist and wife of John F. Kennedy Jr, Carolyn’s perfectly executed take on minimal chic not only summed up the decade, but earned her comparisons to her mother-in-law, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. With a wardrobe of preppy white shirts, silk column dresses and long woollen coats, as well as super-chic accessories, Carolyn’s was pretty much the ultimate 90’s icon.
00’s Icon: Aaliyah
When she was killed in a plane crash in August 2001, Aaliyah was one of the world’s biggest stars, poised to become even bigger with blockbuster movie roles adding to her already epic musical talent. Her chameleonic approach to style was integral to the 00’s, alternating between hip-hop-influenced baggy jeans and bralets, and glam skinny jeans and asymmetric tops.