Fashion Week Channels Eighties Glam

New York Fashion Week isn’t as glitzy this year. The party circuit is slower, the shows not as production-heavy, the front rows not as star-studded, but thankfully the fashion is more than making up for the overall feeling of economic malaise.

Metallics, statement necklaces and purples are still in – but the hottest new look has to be the return to eighties glam. Think New York dance clubs circa 1983. And no one is channeling that “Duran Duran meets Dynasty” look better than (who else?) Mr. Marc Jacobs.

Last season he gave us suffragist chic, this season it’s Simon Le Bon meets Pat Benetar. Metallics, neon jewelry, shoulder pads, space make up and crimpy hair littered the Jacobs catwalk.

"I was thinking about the good old days in New York," he said after the show, "when getting dressed up was such a joy."

Not far behind the nostalgia-filled bandwagon is Betsy Johnson, who gave up her runway cartwheel this time for an intimate show in one of her stores. If Cyndi Lauper (or Annie Potts in Pretty in Pink for you die-hards) isn’t the inspiration for this leggings and tutu-filled offering, I’ll eat my Men Without Hats cassette.













So for you newcomers to bangled arms, lace tights and leg warmers, you’ve got a lot to look forward to. And for us old school veterans? Maybe it’s time to dust off the day-glo.

What do you guys think?