Modern Fashion Lives in Disco’s Shadow | by C.S. Voll | Aug, 2022

Believe it or not, the 1970s were influential years of style

Many view the 1970s with disdain. High oil prices, rampant unemployment, and inflation soured the image of the decade. The ostentatious style are of the butt of jokes, too. Although these factors were important, the period’s negatives often distract us from its important contributions. One important area was clothing. Fashion was never the same after daring, individualistic people ripped up the guidelines.

Fashion in the 1970s was more than white polyester suits, gold chains, and platform shoes. Saturday Night Fever (1977) casts a long shadow, but it isn’t the definitive one for all experiences. Nonetheless, disco influenced many facets of culture. Andrew Kopkind, a journalist and cultural critic, wrote in August 1979:

Disco is “unreal,” artificial, and exaggerated. It affirms the fantasies, fashions, gossip, frivolity, and fun of an evasive era. The Sixties were braless, lumpy, heavy, rough, and romantic; disco is stylish, sleek, smooth, contrived, and controlled. Disco places surface over substance, mood over meaning, action over thought.

Kopkind called the era the Disco Years because of the music’s pervasive influence. All this started in the 1970s, when the first disco clubs formed in gay communities. Many gay DJs turned to disco music because they faced less exclusion in the scene. These DJs edited danceable funk, R&B, and soul music to accommodate energetic dancers.

Certain traits made a song popular on the dance floor: heavy percussive sounds, a high beats per minute count , and catchy lyrics. Because dancers did not want to hear lulls, skilled DJs also learned how to blend one track into another. Despite its innovations, disco remained underground for years because some viewed it with suspicion.

During the early 1970s, many of the stylistic elements of the previous decade remained popular choices. Bright, psychedelic prints still graced many fabrics. Floral shirts, minidresses, and miniskirts were relevant. The dashiki and caftan were still common, too.

In 1973, the first mainstream Disco hit was Love Unlimited Orchestra’s “Love Theme”. More people began to visit disco clubs. This new environment, the glitzy dancefloor, changed the needs of fashionistas. Clothing had to allow a range of movements, for one.

To meet the new demands, designs like the wrap dress came to the forefront. The wrap dress did not encumber its wearer, swayed with a dancer’s movement, and was flexible enough to be worn to parties and work. New synthetic fabrics, such as qiana, ensured it wasn’t too stifling, either. Diane von Fürstenberg alone had sold over 5 million wrap dresses by 1976.

More women wore pants in the 1970s. Often, the style was quite similar to their male counterparts. Trouser legs were often flared, which further increased the drama of dance moves. High rise pants created trim silhouettes that accentuated waists. Many stylistic choices fed off the increased prominence of sex, pornography, and sexuality in society.

Hot pants, the shorter cousin of trousers, appeared in the decade. Certain people paired it with colored tights, much like they did with miniskirts in the 1960s. Boots were the footwear of choice for such an outfit.

Jump suits made enormous waves in the disco era. It offered a futuristic, all-in-one solution for revelers. To make a statement, many had sequins or metallic fabric. Dancers could modify the jumpsuit: daring wearers could change the amount of cleavage with the zipper, for instance.

Platforms shoes were a hit with consumers. Because of the humidity, some also chose wedge sandals or platform sandals. These shoes added height on crowded dance floors.

The 1970s were also the years that subcultures proliferated across the globe. Punk, with its rebellion against high culture, influenced fashion to a significant degree. Torn clothing, leather, chains, and chunky boots were just some of the punk elements that broke into mainstream fashion. Even outsiders incorporated pieces into their own wardrobes.

Young people also looked to the past for inspiration. Films like Cabaret (1972), The Great Gatsby (1974), and Bugsy Malone (1976) were examples of this fascination with the ’20s and ’30s. Thrift stores became popular for people interested in a retro look. In Great Britain, the Teddy Boy subculture put a unique spin on Edwardian-era fashion.

The disco clubs were spaces that encouraged expressions of individuality. Experimentation was important. Sometimes the testing birthed a fashion breakthrough, and other times it fizzled out as a short-lived fad. Later in the decade, there were the debuts of skintight leotards and stretch pants, which would become center pieces of the ’80s.

Disco parties were opportunities for individuals to break free of fashion guidelines. Men also experimented with loud and/or pastel colors. The decade was a period of substantial change. Diana Mankowski, a historian, wrote:

Reflecting the idea that ‘discos are nothing if not a fantasy world, where you can change your identity by changing your costume,’ discotheques became places where glamour and fantasy reigned. Disco was the rallying cry of a generation shaking loose mid-century propriety.

Many elements of the so-called Disco Years is still evident in modern fashion. Above all, the spirit of viewing outfits as canvasses for an individual’s likes, beliefs, and artistic spirit lived on through the decades.

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Kopkind, A. 1979. “What we do now is disco” in San Diego Reader.

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