The 90s are synonymous with a few things: grunge, the early days of the internet, and the age of different art forms converging into one. A new docuseries on Hulu called In Vogue: The 90s, explores the decade that ushered in bold trends and statements that still feed our culture to this day and how the magazine pushed forth a new generation of models, actors, musicians, and “it” girls.
In Vogue: The 90s is told through the eyes of those who lived and worked in fashion during that whirlwind time, including former and current editors Anna Wintour and Edward Enninful; supermodels Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss, and Linda Evangelista; actors Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Nicole Kidman; and designers Tom Ford, John Galliano, and Donna Karan — along with a whole host of other icons.
There’s much to learn about the revolutionary time period, including recognizing the cultural shift that has since spilled into modern day. With the first three episodes now streaming on Hulu and Disney+, here are five things we learned so far from the series:
Consumers were craving something less glamorous
As former Vogue fashion director Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele puts it: the magazine in the 1980s was “boring, boring, boring.” The covers featured perfectly airbrushed and ornate photos of women who were often extremely polished a la Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly.
That all changed when Madonna first graced the cover of Vogue in 1989 — ushering in a new decade of young people who looked to the pop icon as she broke the status quo. Full of “girl power,” Victoria Beckham says, Madonna’s cover shoot was a more casual approach for Vogue. The singer is shown in a pool with wet hair and in jeans and a t-shirt on the cover, moving away from the typical glam of covers prior.
When Kate Moss first appeared on the cover of The Face magazine — which was a black and white photo with her big smile and freckled face wearing a headdress — authenticity started to bloom. Instead of perfectly tailored, chic clothing, Moss was dressed down with daises in her hair, ushering in a new kind of magazine shoot. “Anti-fashion became fashion,” former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful said.
The “Supermodel” was born
Most people have grown accustomed to supermodels by now, recognizing that they are just as famous and well-paid as some of Hollywood’s biggest stars and musicians. But that wasn’t always the case before the 90s.
“The public became fascinated by the supermodels,” Wintour said.
Before Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner became household names with even bigger fashion contracts, there were Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford, and more. The models paved the way for what we now know models to be — personalities and a part of celebrity culture. The models of the 90s appeared in music videos, spoke on talk shows, and did interviews where Evangelista famously said they “don’t get out of bed for anything less than $10,000 a day.”
Before the 90s runway superstars, models were just that: mostly unknown women who wore clothes at fashion shows and appeared in ads without making too much noise. But this generation altered that entirely — turning models into more than just pretty faces.
Fashion and music began to merge
Going off of the supermodels becoming their own celebrity — George Michael did something out of the ordinary by making a music video for his hit song “Freedom! ‘90” only starring models lip-synching the lyrics. Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Tatjana Patitz, Christy Turlington, and Cindy Crawford were the five women who were shown mouthing the lyrics and looking incredible.
“A pop star not appearing in their own music video happens all the time now,” Enninful said. “But back then, we’d never heard of it.”
In 1992, controversial rapper Marky Mark — who most people know as actor Mark Wahlberg now — and Kate Moss were put in a Calvin Klein ad. The photoshoot and commercial introduced the brand’s classic black-and-white style, along with the use of musicians in their ads. The ad also launched Moss’s massive career.
The HIV/ AIDS epidemic severely impacted the fashion community
The global AIDS crisis emerged in the 1980s and lasted into the 90s, at first affecting predominantly gay men in New York City. In Vogue: The 90s touches on the devastating disease and how many people within the fashion community were affected. As a result, the entire culture of arts and fashion was changed.
Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gautier, and Tom Ford all said in the documentary that they lost someone very close (whether it be a partner, friend, or colleague) to AIDS at the time.
“The fashion community was one of the hardest hit,” Wintour said of the AIDS epidemic. “So many people that we cared deeply about were being affected… The whole world was being affected by this.”
Grunge shook up the fashion world
The anti-fashion movement became a phenomenon in the early 90s, with the rise in alternative rock and rebellious music, along with clothes to match. People were shopping at thrift stores and buying oversized plaid shirts, ripped jeans, combat boots, and graphic t-shirts that were against the establishment. The same style is now seen on the most stylish people — with many Gen Z-ers gravitating toward baggy “dad shorts” and big t-shirts like Billie Eilish.
For a fashion magazine like Vogue and famous designers, this shift took some time to adjust. Despite some hesitation from Wintour, Vogue did end up doing a grunge spread in 1992 that showcased the growing trend. The photoshoot only happened after Marc Jacobs, who was working for Perry Ellis at the time, rebelled against the brand’s typical buttoned-up style for the spring 1992 collection. The models wore flannels, beanies, and mixed patterns with harsh hemlines. Jacobs eventually got the boot after the show, but as we know now, he’s become a legend within the fashion industry.
