They’re not expensive, and anyone can match the pieces with others, or with their own things, and their own style and personality come through. In the show notes distributed to press at the time, the designer wrote, “I want everyone to be able to wear my things. The spring 1997 collection also included a range of pieces featuring Tam’s signature earth tones with simple silhouettes. “Thailand told me you cannot put Buddha on shoes,” she says with a laugh. But back then, Tam had broken major ground. Today, religious figures can be found all over fashion. In some countries, the clothing was banned-a small protest even occurred in Hong Kong over the collection. While creating the Mao Zedong line, the designer had a hard time finding a manufacturer to create the pieces. In 2015, the look was included in the Costume Institute’s most-attended fashion exhibit in history, “China: Through The Looking Glass.” (It was also featured in the acclaimed documentary “The First Monday in May,” which chronicled that year’s Met Gala.) Today, pieces from spring 1997 are fetching thousands of dollars on resale sites, and the TikTok community is rediscovering the brand and falling hard for its unique aesthetic, as well as its intellectual play on cultural topics. The designer was nominated for the CFDA Perry Ellis Award for New Fashion Talent that same year the signature Buddha/Kuan Yin printed mesh dress in this collection was also archived by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tam found fans in the likes of Julia Roberts and Madonna, and Beyoncé was photographed wearing one of the famous Kuan Yin T-shirts. In ’97, the brand opened its New York store in SoHo, followed by locations in Los Angeles and Tokyo. There were less restrictions than there are today.”īut Tam’s spring 1997 collection remains significant beyond the fact that it was a personal favorite of the designer’s. The whole world was blooming, and you could really feel freedom of expression. “I think the world-and, at that time, America-really opened up. Tam’s star power was well on the rise by 1997, and her legacy remains imprinted upon fashion today. In it, Mao Zedong was pictured wearing pigtails and looking cross-eyed with a bee perched on the tip of his nose these images were screen printed onto column dresses, T-shirts, and jackets. Just two years later, she gained the industry’s-and the world’s-attention for her aforementioned spring 1995 Mao Zedong collection, created in collaboration with the artist Zhang Hongtu.
In 1993, she changed the name of her brand to Vivienne Tam and hosted her first runway show. During that period of time, Tam moved to New York from Hong Kong and created clothing that merged Western trends with Eastern imagery inspired by her upbringing.
#90s backdrop code
Tam made her entrance into the industry by launching her label East Wind Code in 1982, the name directly linked to “good luck and prosperity” in Chinese. She often mixed her clothing with political imagery like pictures of Mao Zedong- shocking her audience and captivating her biggest fans in the process.
I guess the message was really good.”īy the time this show took place in the late ’90s, Tam was pushing the boundaries of fashion in a way many of her contemporaries weren’t.
“You know, I didn’t realize when I did the Buddha collection that it would be loved by so many people. “It was one of my favorite collections,” Tam tells W. Kuan Yin floated on mesh dresses and tank tops, calling to the temples Tam visited her entire life growing up in Hong Kong. Digital artwork inspired by Chinese temples served as the backdrop for the runway. The designer’s spring 1997 presentation was a muted but impactful show that featured religious iconography in an entirely new format. Such an eclectic combination could only be found at a Vivienne Tam runway show from the mid ’90s.
#90s backdrop movie
The tune “Face of Love” by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan from the movie Dead Man Walking. In this new series, writer Kristen Bateman interviews the designers and people who made these productions happen, revealing what made each one so special.Įvocative, almost shocking imagery of Buddha and Kuan Yin-the Chinese Bodhisattva and goddess of compassion, mercy and kindness-plastered onto clothing worn by the Iberian supermodel Irina Pantaeva, Frankie Rayder, and Alice Dodd. Welcome to Forgotten Fashion Shows, a deep dive into some of the more niche runway presentations in fashion history-which still have an impact to this day.