Ahead of the Curve: What’s in Style

Rebecca Birnbach | February 6, 2025

The 80’s are back, and I would love to tell you why.

For the past few months, I’ve been quietly keeping predictions to myself, but now I’m breaking my silence as more evidence rolls in. When I say ’80s fashion, I know most of you think of something akin to neon leotards and leg warmers, but there’s so much more: bold silhouettes, sequins, color blocking, workwear, and yes – shoulder pads.

Where We’re Coming From

For the better part of the past decade, Americans have been inundated with fashion heavily inspired by the 1970s: long, flowy skirts, earthy naturals, platform mules/clogs, western boots and belts, and a revival of crochet and knitwear. The ’70s didn’t just influence our fashion, but we’ve seen a ’70s revival in culture and media: think “Daisy Jones & the Six,” “The Holdovers” and “A Complete Unknown,” the new Bob Dylan biopic.

Where We’re Going

Rather than continuing with the ’70s trend, the Fall/Winter 2024-25 runways practically screamed with an air of the 1980s: bold browns, electric greens, dazzling purples, shimmering fabrics, brash blazers and unapologetically chunky jewelry. The Spring 2025 shows doubled down with dramatic sleeves, ruffles galore, sheer and mesh fabrics, ostentatious florals, geometric motifs, polka dots and large collars.

What’s more, the cinematic world isn’t far behind. “The Substance” (2024) –– starring Margaret Qualley alongside ‘80s icons Demi Moore and Dennis Quaid –– channels the TV aerobics-craze pioneered by Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons.

Why and What Will It Look Like?

Studies have indicated that fashion trends follow alongside economic ones: when the economy goes down, heels get higher, hair gets shorter, hemlines get longer, and overall, the pendulum swings back into a more conservative style.

While the 1980s were characterized by a booming stock market which gave way for bold colors and big statements, it is unclear if everything from the ’80s will return this go around, given our current financial climate. After the peak of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, former President Biden rebuilt parts of the American economy to the point of outperforming the rest of the world. Despite such, mainstream dialogue surrounding the everyday price of goods caused the economy to become the number one issue on voters’ minds this past election. Although President Trump will inherit the growing economy that Biden left behind, economists predict that Trump’s imposed tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada will significantly affect consumer prices. The “Hemline Index”, transitioning from micro-mini skirts of the past few years to the new high-low and midi-length revival, could indicate the environment of mass economic uncertainty.

If you’re like me, the first thing I think of when I think of the ’80s is big hair, and the second is the corporate “9 to 5” culture where women flooded en masse into the workforce: riding the second wave of the 1970s, women were educated and for the first time ever, legally protected from employment discrimination. This new ability to obtain success, coupled with the desire to take up space in the office as men did, culminated in the legendary “power suit”. Vogue’s October 1985 editorial spread titled “Power Dressing” displays women hovering above men with text reading, “The women dressing to be noticed … and gain the upper hand. Men can fuel fantasy. But women set the direction … and the tone. You get the sense that things are changing.”

Following suit (pun intended), designers like Claude Montana, Emanuel Ungaro, Theirry Mugler, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Yves Saint Laurent have launched collections containing exaggerated boxy shapes, harsh angles, bright colors and peplums –– all of which blur the lines of traditional men’s workwear with women’s high fashion, letting the wearer declare her power via her wardrobe.

So now, with current and imminent threats