SEATTLE — Well? How did I get here?
When Arnold Schwarzenneger said "I'll be back," in 1984's "TheTerminator," he wasn't referring to resurrecting his role in thesequels. However, 2003 seems to be the next installment of the1980s, and not just because the Terminator is now thegovernor-elect of California.
The `80s are everywhere: on fall fashion runways and toy-storeshelves, in film and on television, in the new wave of syntheticpop music, and in a revival of interest in now-ancient videogames.
Fashion houses such as Versace, Dolce & Gabbana, Gucci andTommy Hilfiger have taken to the Reagan era by adding punk andgraphic prints to their fall collections. The styles worn by PatBenatar and Jennifer Beals two decades ago are back in retailstores across the nation. Shoppers can't escape leggings andtapered pants, bangle bracelets, black jeans, miniskirts, thick andcolored pantyhose, and endless chains and zippers.
It's not just high fashion that's jumped on the craze. IsaacMizrahi, who became an internationally renowned fashion designer in1987 under the watch of Chanel and then saw the end of his businessin 1998, is once again making clothes for the masses. He'sdesigning a moderately priced clothing line for women atTarget.
And the faces that helped make the 1980s the decade ofextravagance have become the faces of 2003. Claudia Schiffer,German supermodel, has a L'Oreal ad campaign. Linda Evangelista,who once uttered she wouldn't get out of bed for less than $10,000a day, has been seen posing for various designers' ads in magazinesfor the past year. Cindy Crawford has been on television sinceApril selling Clairol hair products.
So why the 1980s — and why now?
"Because there's nothing else. We sort of eat things up and spitthem out so quickly that we've run out of trends and culture tosatiate our endless appetite," said Randy Barbato, co-producer,co-writer and co-director of the `80s-themed film "PartyMonster."
In other words, the public has reminisced about the 1940s, the1970s and everything in between, he said. Now, the 1980s are retroand style-setters are embracing the decade's vintage appeal.
This fall's "Party Monster" explores the dangers of excess inthe drug and club worlds of the 1980s. The film is based on thetrue story of Michael Alig, a Midwesterner who moved to New YorkCity and lived his life as if he were never going to grow up. Herealized he could become well-known, and so could all his friends,by dressing extravagantly and making a name for himself inManhattan's club scene.
He and his friends were known as Club Kids, 14- to 30-year-oldswho spent their days running around New York creating outfits ofglitter and iridescence, and their nights in clubs showing offtheir creations.
"They said, `Look at me, look at me, look at me' — andeverybody did," Barbato said.
Eventually the drugs and the attention led Alig, played byMacaulay Culkin, to kill a friend.
"It's the story of our country's intoxication with celebrity ...of someone who so badly wants to be someone important that he'sdriven to do something horrific," Barbato said.
Another appeal of the `80s, Barbato said, was its unabashedfocus on consumption.
"Consumerism was a good thing; greed was good. Right now,America is nothing like we think it should be. We're all wanting somuch for America to be as heroic and as strong and as rich as weremembered it. The `80s was it, when everyone was swooshing around,consuming caviar and champagne," he said.
Barbato said young people are ready to break out of the "normal"mold that the Gap and Ralph Lauren created in the past decade.
Urban Outfitters, a trendy retailer, has already seen customersgo wild for retro clothing.
Melissa Wdowiak, the women's clothing manager, said wide leatherbelts and plastic, circular earrings are popular. So are T-shirtswith large logos. Big for fall, she said, are tight pants cinchednear the ankles and zippers all over pants and jackets.
Nordstrom has its own array of `80s clothing, from color-blockedsweaters to bright tights. The vivid colors popular 20 years agoare a must-have once again, said Keith Wagner, the Northwest'sfashion manager for Nordstrom.
Wagner said the sweaters are a modern version of the"Flashdance" look, not asymmetrical, but just slightlyoff-the-shoulder. Jennifer Lopez may have fueled the craze for the"Flashdance" look with her recent video for "I'm Glad," an homageto the movie.
And the tight clothing isn't the same either, Wagner said.Instead of Spandex, the clothes are made of stretch nylon andstretch cotton blends.
Hair and makeup trends for the `80s have also returned. All thefemale models on the Versace and Chloe runways had big hair, eitherwavy or textured in some way. Celine models sported matte lips andVersus models wore very colorful eye makeup.
Also returning: Care Bears, the colorful teddy bears that firstappeared in 1983 and were featured in children's books, movies andtheir own television show.
In January, American Greetings also re-released StrawberryShortcake, the red-headed doll who smelled like strawberries anddebuted in 1980. Bean said that companies who have licensed theCare Bears and Strawberry Shortcake products from AmericanGreetings are reporting sales increases of 50 to 500 percent
Other companies have resurrected classic `80s toys, includingTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Transformers.
The type of music `80s artists created is still alive, thanks inpart to a movement called electroclash.
Electroclash started in the late 1990s in New York City as areaction against the house music featured in clubs. It's largelymusic made with synthesizers and keyboards, very similar to themusic of the `80s.
"A lot of what's happening in the clubs right now, you can'ttell it apart (from 1980s music)," Barbato said.
The 1980s revival is producing somewhat of a reaction in today'sgeneration, he said.
"Something that is going on out there today is similar to whatwas going on in the `80s," Barbato said. "American youth is readyto be freaks."
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