Looking at the Michael Kors 2015 Spring/Summer Ready-to-Wear collection, you can find references to 1950s fashion styles. This collection meshes 50’s silhouettes, colors, and styles with contemporary designs. One thing that can immediately be seen is the hourglass silhouette demonstrated prominently throughout the collection with the addition of a belt to enunciate the waist on most dresses. The hourglass figure was popularized after Christian Dior’s New Look collection from 1947, which lasted as a prominent silhouette choice throughout the 1950s. Large wide belts were also a major staple of the 1950s, which are shown in this collection with a bit of a modern twist as they are thinner.
In Looks 3 and 29 we can see there are also some A-line silhouettes. These were another popular silhouette from the 1950s, just behind the popularity of the hourglass. When viewing Look 41, it can seem quite similar to the sack dress that gained popularity near the end of the decade as fashion moved away from the hourglass and A-line silhouettes.
Moving away from silhouettes, we can look at individual articles of clothing. Pedal pushers and capris were largely popular in 1950s fashion. There are many looks in this collection that have these calf-length capris, such as Looks 45 and 47. Then, in Look 48, you can see a full skirt with a gingham pattern. 1950s fashion daywear consisted of wide, full skirts, and gingham was a very popular pattern for the decade. This collection is full of gingham and plaid, both of which were highly famous patterns of the 50s.
In this collection, the women’s looks also have some references to men’s fashion of the 1950s. Men’s fashion in the decade included straight hanging coats, which can be seen on some of the female models here, specifically in Look 10. This is an interesting way to bring in the 1950’s decade with a flair by rejecting gender norms.
Disregarding the patterns talked about above, the color palette of the collection is more loosely related to 1950s fashion. Michael Kors’ collection consists of some pastel greens and yellows, with some beige and white that do match the spring/summer palette of the 50s. But the color palette of this collection more closely references the autumn/winter color palette of the 50s with the heavy amounts of navy and black.
With this collection, Michael Kors is using history of the 1950s to create a new meaning of the past by combining it with a new experience. The 1950s were a decade that tried to confine post-war women into their roles as wives, mothers, and homemakers. Michael Kors’ collection is redefining the fashion styles of that decade with the new empowerment women have by pushing gender roles in fashion with the traditionally male clothes and challenging boundaries of the shapes and styles of the looks.
This example is relevant to fashion advertising and PR because it is a great example of reimagining a decade to create strong meaning in a collection that can connect with the audience. Here, women can feel represented as strong and independent while still showing their femininity like the 1950s fashion intended to do. This is an important part of PR for fashion because a PR professional needs to be able to know how to find identity and power from a campaign and turn it into something meaningful for the audience.
Find the full collection here: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/shows-reviews/gallery/michael-kors-rtw-spring-2015/michael-kors-rtw-spring-2015-7896180-portrait/
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