"Mini skirts. Skirts should be the size of a belt. Life's short, take risks." -Paris Hilton
By | Kiara Moore
Miniskirts are a woman's staple in this decade. Although they have been trending right now, miniskirts have aged back to the early 1920s. Let's go down memory lane to see how miniskirts have impacted the fashion industry.
From the beginning, miniskirts have been always viewed as promiscuous. In the Roaring 20s, the iconic Josephine Baker was seen wearing a mini skirt made of bananas during a performance. Baker may have set the scene, but it wasn't until Mary Quant came around that society slowly started to grasp miniskirts as being a part of fashion. She was a British designer of the '50s and '60s, who retitled short skirts, to miniskirts.
While moving into the '70s and '80s, the fashion industry started to showcase miniskirts on the runway. Luxury-housed designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Michael Kors embraced the fad of miniskirts by designing them in bright bold colors and taking traditional business wear and making it fashionable.
Amongst all of this, the entertainment industry was also pushing the evolution of miniskirts, seen in a multitude of TV shows and films, the appearance of the mini skirt empowered women to feel feminine and sexy, especially throughout the '80s and '90s. Pop culture really took a keen to miniskirts which carried out into the early 2000s. Shows like Girlfriends and Sex in the City, and movies like Mean Girls and White Chicks, made miniskirts the “It Girl” piece of that era.
Now, in our post-pandemic era, after a little over a decade, the hype around miniskirts has evolved into current societal trends. As history has always repeated itself, denim miniskirts are a crowd-pleaser. However, brands have elevated the different silhouettes and styles of these tiny pieces of clothing. Miu Miu and Diesel both have designed miniskirts that are not only hot on the runway but have made the fashion scene hot by inspiring other brands to think outside of the box as well.
Of course, I must include America’s miniskirt Princess, Aliyahsinterlude. She has had one of the hugest influences on miniskirts by using her platform not only for fashion but as an empowerment piece, as miniskirts originated. Her self-branding has inspired many teens and young adults to love their bodies and dress for themselves, not for the critiques of others.
Fashion and Media are the sculptors of the evolution of the miniskirt, and how it is so trendy in this current era of life.
Sources
Fraser, K. (2023, May 2). The history of the miniskirt: The scandal, the empowerment and
the runway resurgence. WWD. https://wwd.com/feature/miniskirt-history-1235612271/
Zanowic, C. (2022, May 18). The return of the micro-mini skirt. VALLEY Magazine.
http://www.valleymagazinepsu.com/the-return-of-the-micro-mini-skirt/
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