While arguments continue to rage surrounding whether or not climate change is a real thing, when and how the UK will crash out of the EU, and if Donald Trump did or did not collude with Russia to get himself elected in 2016, there’s one thing we can probably all agree on: that the heady days of the 1990s were the golden years when it came to fashion.
Think about it. With their big hair, bigger lewks, and the biggest personalities, the decade saw the birth of the supermodel, with the likes of Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Linda Evangelista strutting, sashaying, and spinning their way down every runway worth walking, demanding nothing less that $10,000 to get out of bed, and generally being the IRL personification of fabulous.
Now, we bring you a snapshot of the era in the form of House of Style – the Cindy Crawford-fronted, MTV documentary going behind-the-scenes to show you the good, bad, and most bizarre bits of fashion in the late 80s.
First up, and with the strains of Right Said Fred’s “I’m Too Sexy” welcoming us in(!), we land in Paris in 1992, where Crawford sits down with fashion’s enfant-terrible Jean Paul Gaultier to talk his shocking collections, challenging traditional notions of masculinity and femininity, and how important it is to have fun in his work. The show then moves on to Paris-based model Evangelista, who offers a whirlwind tour of the city, before taking us backstage to the first ever Hervé Léger show – where she applies her own make-up surrounded by cigarette smoke.
There’s also a handy guide to dressing like a true Parisian (plenty of pearls, a pair of Prada-esque nylon knee-highs, a fake Kelly bag, and a sausage dog are all key, apparently), and the SS92 MTV House of Style Fashion Awards, with JPG winning ‘Most Unusual Models’, Chanel snapping up ‘Coolest Music’, and Thierry Mugler taking home ‘Worst Accessories’ for a pair of wild, blow-up, cactus-shaped shoes (into them tbh).
Elsewhere, in another episode, the cast of Seinfeld visit an aromatherapist and a reflexologist in LA (with varying degrees of success), before Kate Moss gives a rare interview in which she details her favourite parts of her face and body (“My lips… And my shoulder”), and where she sees herself in ten years (“I wanna have babies!).
With the Easter holiday upon us, and four long days stretching out into next week, the archive clips are ideal for a chilled out session on the sofa: exactly how the risen Lord would have wanted it.
Watch the full show below and head here for more.
