Three 1980s Fashion Icons
Sine McEllinThree very influential and very different fashion icons of the 1980s.
Molly Ringwald
Molly Ringwald shot to fame starring in John Hughes’ 80s teen classics Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985) and Pretty in Pink (1986). The media referred to her as a member of the ‘brat pack’, a group of 80s teen idols including other actors from The Breakfast Club. Ringwald stated she was very aware of her public image during her teen years and she tried to be a good role model for her fans.
The costumes she wore in these movies have been recreated many times over by countless fans every Halloween including that of Claire Standish in the Breakfast Club, a spoiled suburban princess who wore a distinctive outfit of brown Ralph Lauren equestrian boots, long brown wrap skirt and pink top with rolled sleeves.
Her eclectic outfits mixed a tough edge with frilly feminine influences.
Vogue noted that her Pretty in Pink Character Andie Walsh was ‘styled like Fran Lebowitz by way of Cyndi Lauper’. Molly spoke to Vogue about her experience working with costume designer Marilyn Vance (who also did The Breakfast Club):
“At that point, people were still mostly going to the mall and shopping at places like Judy’s or The Gap. The idea of shopping vintage was somewhat bizarre. Everything Andie wears was sourced from vintage stores in Los Angeles, and that was very much the way I shopped at the time. I definitely think the film had an impact in that teens started dressing in more vintage outfits and in more layers. I really loved everything Marilyn did except the prom dress, which I’ve been pretty open about not liking at the time.”
“They’d already made multiple copies of Marilyn’s design [for the prom dress]. When we had to reshoot the ending, I got so excited because I thought I’d be able to wear a different dress, so I had my friend Colleen Atwood design something really fabulous. I begged Howie (director Howard Deutch) to let me wear it instead, but he didn’t wanna have to reshoot any of the scenes where I’m in the Pepto-Bismol dress and talking to Duckie right before the prom. I kept all of the clothes except for that dress because I hated it so much, and of course now I wish I could frame it!”
Molly counts Andie’s green bomber jacket as her favourite costume piece she has kept over the years.
Amy Beth McNulty played the character Vickie on Stranger Things in homage to Molly.
Her magnetic presence, unique personal style and red hair made her an instant icon and her collaborations with John Hughes helped to define 80s pop culture.
Check out the look we created inspired by Molly as Andie from Pretty in Pink. The pieces used in this outfit are all from our sales stock!
Grace Jones
Grace was born in Jamaica and moved to New York State with her family when she was 13, where her father had established his own ministry. Grace began to rebel against her parents’ religion and regularly attended gay clubs. She moved to Philadelphia in the 60s and lived in hippie communes there, shaving off her hair. She said of the decision “It made me look more abstract, less tied to a specific race or sex or tribe”.
She then moved to New York and signed as a model. She moved to Paris in 1970 and found that the fashion designers there were receptive to her unusual looks. She was hired by Saint Laurent, Claude Montana, Azzedine Alaïa and Kenzo. She appeared on the covers of Vogue, Elle and Stern magazines and shared an apartment with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange.
Her next career move had her sign with Island Records and become a recording artist, releasing her first album in 1977. Her follow up ‘Fame’ was released in 1978 and became a disco hit. She became known as ‘Queen of the gay discos’ for her sexualized live shows and ruled the night at Studio 54. ‘Muse’ was the last of her disco albums before she transitioned to New Wave in 1980.
Her 1981 album ‘Nightclubbing’ was a Top 5 hit in 5 countries. The album’s iconic cover art is a painting by Jean-Paul Goude with Jones presented as a man wearing an Armani suit jacket with a cigarette in her mouth and a flat top haircut.
She recored a number of reggae albums, one of them being ‘Living my Life’ which features another famous artwork by Goude.
Her collaboration with him defined the visual landscape of the 80s. Not only did he design her album covers, but also directed her music videos, choreographed her performances and helped develop her image overall. They had a son together.
She went on to achieve mainstream success as an actress, starring as Zula in ‘Conan the Destroyer’ (1984) and May Day in ‘A View to a Kill’ (1985).
She released ‘Slave to The Rhythm’ in 1985, followed by ‘Island life’, the cover of which has been called one of pop culture’s most famous photographs.
‘Inside Story’ (1986) was her last charting album in the US.
In the 80s, she also starred in the feature films 'Vamp’, ‘Straight to Hell’ and ‘Siesta’.
Her image has been described as Neo-Cubist and AfroFuturist. She has a distinctive androgynous appearance which she is as famous for as her music. She has a penchant for brazen and Avant Garde fashion, often wearing angular clothing with sharp shoulders and designs by the likes of Thierry Mugler and milliner Philip Treacy.
She has been hugely influential to countless artists including Bjork, Madonna, Roisín Murphy and Lady Gaga.
Kate Bush
Catherine Bush was born in Kent in 1958 and went on to become one of the most influential musicians of all time- noted for her unusual lyrics, vocal style and dance performances. She shot to stardom at the age of 19 with her first single- the epic Wuthering Heights (1978). She went on to break many records for a female artist, and has received numerous awards.
Since 2016, “The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever” event has been held in various locations around the world where participants recreate Bush’s music video for Wuthering Heights in which she is dancing out in the ‘wily, windy moors’ wearing a red dress.
With the release of Emerald Fennell's adaption of Wuthering Heights earlier this year, it was the perfect time for us to binge listen to Kate Bush and look back on her epic style. We love her use of red, and how she took trends from the late 70s and 80s and made them completely her own! Here are some looks we put together from our sales stock inspired by her:
Throughout 1978 during the Wuthering Heights and The Kick Inside promotional tour, Kate was never not photographed in her pair of Karl Lagerfeld-designed Chloé red leather shearling-lined over-the-knee boots. She wore them with everything and to this day, they are still the best boots I have ever seen! Red was so her colour.
Her sense of style was an essential component of her artistry and it can be described as romantic, eccentric, bohemian and theatrical. As mentioned above, her red dress in the WH music video is particularly memorable, but she has served plenty of other looks besides!
In 1979, she was photographed wearing jewel coloured quilted pieces by Chinese-Dutch designer Fong Leng (look her up if you’re not familiar; her designs are amazing).
She also loved lycra and bodysuits- all the better to dance in. Her clothing served her music and it continued to evolve throughout the decades.
Here are some of her 80s looks:
Kate experienced renewed popularity in 2022 when Stranger Things prominently used her song ‘Running Up That Hill’ in their fourth season. It went to number one in the UK charts decades after its initial release.
We love you, Kate!