6 Designers From the ’90s Who Would Have Killed It in Fashion Right Now Inline
Photo: Condé Nast Archive1/12Helmut Lang, Fall 1994
The king of minimalist fashion officially retired in 2005. Although the label still exists, his personal aesthetic in the ’90s was totally in synch with current designers’ use of high-tech fabrics and slim cuts. If Lang were to put his brilliant spin on the ubiquitous athleisure and sport trend of today, well, it just might be as popular as Alexander Wang’s new collab with Adidas.
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv2/12Alexander Wang, Fall 2016
Photo: Condé Nast Archive3/12Jean Paul Gaultier, Spring 1995
Jean Paul Gaultier gave up his ready-to-wear business a couple years ago and while he’s still designing couture, it’s his gender-bending, celebrity-studded ’90s runway shows that so many remember him for. Gaultier put men and women together in his theatrical presentations, sometimes dressed in opposite roles, just like Shayne Oliver of Hood By Air is doing today. This was a year of unisex and genderless dressing and Gaultier’s collectsions from the ’90s would have been right on the mark.
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv4/12Hood By Air, Fall 2016
Photo: Condé Nast Archive5/12Thierry Mugler, Spring 1992
The power shoulder and structured silhouette is back, conjuring images and memories of Thierry Mugler at his outrageous best. Mugler was famous for exaggerated lines in the ’90s, especially when it came to jackets. This year, Simon Porte Jacquemus showed striking separates that harkened back to the big-shouldered, nipped-waist ’90s mold.
Photo: Kim Weston Arnold / Indigital.tv6/12Jacquemus, Fall 2016
Photo: Dan LeccaTodd Oldham, Spring 19977/12Todd Oldham, Spring 1997
Todd Oldham was as synonymous with the ’90s as Nirvana, and so were his deconstructionist designs. He ripped apart and reworked white button-down blouses and men’s trousers, just as the Eckhaus Latta designers showed repurposed sweaters and skirts for both Spring and Fall.
Photo: Luca Tombolini / Indigital.tv8/12Eckhaus Latta, Fall 2016
Photo: Condé Nast Archive9/12Christian Francis Roth, Spring 1993
For Spring 1993, designer Christian Francis Roth showed a collectsion that nodded to grunge, laced with a little bit of punk attitude à la current season Vetements. Roth shuttered his high-end label in 1995 and released a diffusion line the following year that also ultimately went under. Come back Christian—we’d be more than happy to see you on the runway again.
Photo: Luca Tombolini / Indigital.tv10/12Vetements, Fall 2006
Photo: Getty Images11/12Marithé + François Girbaud, Spring 2000
French denim brand Marithé + François Girbaud was major among hip-hop stars and stylish street kids in the mid- to late ’90s. They were credited with bolstering the popularity of the raver jean and stonewashed denim. This year, with inventive denim-based labels like Marques ‘ Almeida at the peak of popularity, Girbaud would be more than ripe for a full-scale comeback among It girls and their loyal Instagram followers. (No wonder Co designers Justin Kern and Stephanie Danan have teamed up with the heritage label.)
Photo: Yannis Vlamos / Indigital.tv12/12Marques ‘ Almeida, Fall 2016
