Fashion's invented a time machine.

Designers must have a time machine hidden away somewhere as trends are gracing us in S/S 11 collections from 1970s and now A/W 11 has reacquainted us with the 1990s.  

Vena Cava showed their collection yesterday during New York Fashion Week.  Designers for Vena Cava, Lisa Mayock and Sophie Buhai were inspired by Donna Karan and Giorgio Armani, as well as the post 80s/early 90s, where fashionistas were unsure what to do with their detachable shoulder pads.   

The collection therefore contains jackets with Joan Collins style shoulders (Dynasty is making a comeback both on screen and on the street), palazzo trousers which sit nicely on the 'natural' waist and midriff bearing cropped tees. 

Here are a pick of my favourite designs:

An all black ensemble which screams classic.  Black pegged trousers, midriff bearing cropped tee with transparent panelling detail and a fringed jacket, complete with shoulder pads.

I'm a big fan of this look.  Black leather shorts with a plain jersey crop top and an oversized cardigan which has leather detailing on the sleeve.  

A simple look that can be worn both during the day and out at night when paired with killer heels and the right accessories.  Light terracotta palazzo pants with black off-the-shoulder leotard. 

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Shoulder Pads

Shoulder pads were widely considered a metaphor for power, with women earning suffrage in 1918; this was just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  In the late thirties, Jacques Heim was one of the first of designers to introduce the shoulder pad into twentieth century fashion, with his three pocket blue tweed tailored jacket.

During the forties women’s wardrobes became less dainty and more masculine with the utility suit consisting of a ‘boxy’ shouldered jacket and skirt made traditionally from herringbone tweed.  When Christian Dior launched his New Look in 1947, shoulder pads had fizzled out of fashion. 

The eighties, a decade of power dressing, New Romantics, stretch dressing and sportswear sees the revival of the padded shoulder. Pop culture saw Joan Collins in Dynasty with abnormally large shoulders and it wasn’t long for the trend to take on.  Joanie told The Times that the renaissance of shoulder pads by Valentino and Versace was a “radical change” and “more flattering than an Italian waiter”.  By the end of the decade stuffed shoulders were no longer just designed to shape a garment, but became, as Collins once said, a monster fashion statement.  Detachable shoulder pads meant that women could sew shoulders into any garment they fancied, from T-shirts to pyjamas.  Women enjoyed how padded shoulders created a silhouette, which smoothed out postural imperfections, acting as a non-permanent form of cosmetic surgery. 

New designer on the block, David Koma, has revolutionised the pronounced shoulder.  Featuring asymmetrical shapes rather than the typical ‘boxy’ shape we are accustomed to.  Koma has given a fresh stamp to the outdated trend throughout both his S/S and A/W collections.  Rihanna has recently been seen in a figure hugging David Koma LBD, which featured rounded, pronounced shoulders with a circular tangerine and noir pattern.  As well as Rihanna, other popular icons such as Beyoncé and Cheryl Cole have also sported Koma’s designs, proving that when it comes to 21^st century shoulder pads, David knows best. In the words of Joan Collins, “welcome back, dear friends.”