Vogue: May 1994

One of my favourite presents this Christmas was a copy of Vogue from the month and year I was born – May 1994.
My university tutor said that if we wish to find out what will trend this season we should take a look at 10-15 years previous and he didn’t lie.. This issue of Vogue featured supermodel Karen Mulder on the cover. Karen won the Elite model management contest and has been seen on the runways of Valentino, YSL, Lanvin and Armani. The issue featured the same things that are in Vogue today and still nearly 20 years on most of the fashion that is in there could still be worn today.

Back in May 1994, key trends included:

Alice bands – worn by the likes of french actress Beatrice Dalle. Alice bands could be worn however you liked – there was no rule at this point.
Rose print – loved by Dolce and Gabbana season after season, the rose print is still popular today. In 1994 you could see them being worn on corsets by Vivienne Westwood.
Trouser suits – The classic trouser suit with a palazzo effect trousers were used in Galliano’s work whilst Sonia Rykiel used dungarees for her trouser-suit look.

My favourite shoot from the issue was placed under a series called ‘cool khaki’ which looked at army-inspired clothing and told a tale of travelling. The image chosen showed a Prada collarless army jacket and a metal webbed belt. The outfit cost £340. An authentic Asian setting was created by the effortless-chic army jacket worn by a nonchalant model with a messy hair-do holding a bowl of noodles. The black and white effect also adds to the post-war effect.