The 00s

The 00s.

• 2000, The world celebrates the turn of the millennium.
• 2001, Apple launches the iPod.
• 2002, The swarf planet Quaoar is discovered.
• 2003, The Human Genome Project is completed.
• 2004, Athens hosts the Olympic games.
• 2005, Hurricane Katrina flood New Orleans.
• 2006, Saddam Hussein is executed.
• 2007, Brown succeeds Blair as Prime Minister.
• 2008, Oil prices hit a record high.
• 2009, Water is discovered on the moon. 

In 2000, one of the world's great modern and contemporary art museums, the Tate Modern opened in London.

Alexander McQueen was named the 6th most influential artist/designer of the late decade. The exhibition "Savage Beauty" showed people that clothes can not only be a form of high art but also breathtaking and exhilarating beauty. 

Fashion of the 2000s.

Women's clothing style:

Women's fashion changed a lot between the beginning and end of the decade. Denim was a key feature in early 2000s, particularly mini skirts. Other fashions included ponchos and sweat pants. Colours like grey, light blue, yellow and hot pink were extremely popular. Mid 2000s fashion was heavily inspired by American Culture. The most popular was skin fit jeans accompanied with knee high boots. Late 2000s fashion was printed leggings, long baggy shirts and skinny jeans.

Hairstyles of the 2000s:

Straight and long hair was popular in the 2000s as well as the bob cut/ pixie crop which first became popular in the nineteen-sixties. 

Tom Cruise was the inspiration for many males hair styles. Other popular trends were: spiky, flat top and buzz cut. 

The 1990s

The 1990s.

• 1990, Nelson Mandela Freed.
• 1991, Collapse of the Soviet Union.
• 1992, Official end of the Cold War.
• 1993, World Trade Center Bombed.
• 1994, Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa.
• 1996, Dolly the sheep, first cloned mammal.
• 1997, First Harry Potter book is published.

Fashion in the 1990s.

Fashion in the 1990s was predominantly loose fitting and colourful unless you preferred the punk look, in wish case colour was less desirable.

In the early nineties fashions worn by hip hop artists were becoming increasingly more mainstream. By the late 1990s hip hop was the most popular among the younger generation.

Starting the mid 1990s, industrial and military styles were creeping into fashion. People were finding any way to make a fashion accessory out of a piece of machinery. Camouflage pants were increasingly popular.

By the late nineties, rave culture began and people were looking for a more glamorous look again. People had decided that looking rich was cool again and brand designers were back in a big way.

Interestingly enough, late ninteen-nineties fashion is very similar to that of today. In the 1990s, musicians had more influence on what young people wore more than designers.

The 1980s

1980s Postmoderism.

1980s:

• Ronald Reagan was elected president, November 4th, 1980.
• John Lennon Assassinated, December 8th, 1980.
• Anwar Sadat Assassinated, October 6th, 1981.
• Argentina invades the Falkland Islands, April 2nd, 1982.
• Back To the Future Opens, 1985.
• The Challenger Disaster, January 28th, 1986.
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall, November 9th, 1989.

Postmodernism was the end of Modernism. Postmodernists believed that Modernism had failed and that the art work produced was boring and monotonous. 

The postmodern age was about individualism, consumption and the break with the past/tradition. It was about the lack of structure. Postmodernists were encouraged to create who they wanted to be. 

Neo-expressionism.

Neo-expressionism acted as a major revival of painting in a expressionist manner in the 1980s and it occurred internationally.

Fashion in the 1980s.

The nineteen-eighties fashion has always been commended for its creativity. The early eighties were somewhat simple in colour, with a lot of browns, tans and oranges. Blocked shapes were all the rage and dressing like a sports person was very common.

 By the mid 1980s, pop music stars were encouraging an entirely new style, one that most people associate with the decade now a days. 

Bright coloured accessories like sunglasses, hoop earrings and bracelets were must have fashion pieces. Teased hair, loud make up and neon were an important part of this style and this was the style that was extremely popular with the youth of the decade. 

By the late eighties, Nike had grown into one of the most profitable companies in the world. Like Coke vs. Pepsi, Reebok vs. Nike was the athletic battle of the decade. However, with help from Michael Jordan, Nike won the battle. By 1988, every child had a pair of Nike Air Jordans. 

 

Post-postmodernism.

Post-postmodernism is a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy, architecture, art, literature, and culture which are emerging from and reacting to postmodernism. Another similar recent term is metamodernism.

1970s Feminism

Feminism-

 "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social and economic equality to men."- Oxford Dictionary.


"Why have there been no great women artists?" - Linda Nochlin.

The question was not asked until 1972 after years of great art made mostly by men. Women were the subject of years worth of art without any of it being made by one.

Women's lives throughout Western history shows us that they were expected to bear children, cook and clean as opposed to having opportunities to go to school to study the arts like men. Even if a women showed great artistic talent her future as a mother would be much more important than pursuing her artistic potential.

Drawing by women was seen as an occasional recreational skill which only rich women would be able to undertake.

The Feminist art movement was the name given to the rise of female artists in the sixties and seventies which began in America.

The Equal Pay Act began in 1963 and the Executive Order 11375 banned gender discrimination from 1967.

Feminism in Fashion:

Compared to women in the nineteenth century, women now have much more freedom and and rights. Fashion began to change for women during the first World War when they were required to work whilst the men were off fighting for the country. This meant that they required more practical clothing.

Coco Chanel's designs catered for the working women as they were considered simple and practical. Flannel blazers, straight linen skirts and jersey sweaters formed her collection which were inspired by menswear. This convenient day wear meant that women wear able to work to a better efficiency. Unfortunately, after the men returned home after the war, women were relieved of their jobs in industry and sent back to the kitchen.

In wasn't until the 1966 when Yves Saint Laurent designed Le Smoking. Saint Laurent wasn't the first person to make trousers tailored specifically for women, however, it was the first of its kind to draw attention to the industry as well as the public. The style of the pantsuit has been popular ever since and is a common choice for office wear in modern day society. The pantsuit is considered by many to be a symbol of women being considered as independent individuals in the workplace.

Mary Quant's miniskirt was created with the hemline between six or seven inches above the knee. When it first hit the market it was extremely controversial, however more people came to except this development in fashion and it became a worldwide trend. The miniskirt was thought to be a sign of womens liberation in the late nineteen sixties.