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80s Blitz

Celebrate Polimoda’s 40th birthday with the best fashion books and films to guide you through the decade

80s Blitz

Celebrate Polimoda’s 40th birthday with the best fashion books and films to guide you through the decade

Time passes, but some things never go out of style. Founded in 1986, Polimoda was born in a decade that redefined fashion, creativity and self-expression. Let’s take a step back and look at a selection of influential books and films that captured the spirit of that time. These titles, available from the school’s Library, portray the true soul of the 1980s and take you back to that iconic era, with its bold looks, rebellious subcultures and unforgettable music. Ready to reminisce?

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Forty years since our first day of school, and we are still doing our homework. To kick off the new academic year, we made a reading list on the decade Polimoda was founded in, straight from our Library’s catalog. Big ideas, bigger shoulders. Ready to celebrate 80s style? Full list on the Polimoda Journal.

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BOOKS

FASHION

Through the lens of well-known photographer Sheila Rock, the book brings together rare archival images originally published in magazines such as The Face, Rolling Stone and Vogue. Featuring statements from influential artists, designers and performers, it celebrates the bold experimentation and individuality that defined the era. The raw energy of street style, emerging subcultures and groundbreaking creative identities is portrayed beautifully, from London all the way to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Tokyo. It is a unique visual chronicle of the 1980s, where fashion and music became powerful expressions of freedom, identity and innovation.

80s Fashion explores one of the most diverse and dynamic decades in fashion history, celebrating the visionary work of designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Fiorucci, Leigh Bowery, and many others. The book puts the focus on the powerful dialogue between fashion and music, revealing how club culture shaped new styles and creative identities. Through iconic photography and groundbreaking graphic design from magazines such as The Face and i-D, it captures the evolution of trends from underground scenes to mainstream culture. Featuring interviews and previously unseen archival material, it offers a fresh perspective on the creativity and influence of 1980s fashion.

At the beginning of the 1980s, London became the epicentre of a creative revolution, guided by the rise of influential style magazines such as BLITZ, The Face and i-D. Emerging between punk and the digital age, a new generation of creatives redefined fashion, beauty and identity through the club culture of the New Romantics, which was very vibrant. BLITZ’s fashion editor from 1982 to 1987, Iain R. Webb, captured this spirit through provocative imagery and experimental fashion editorials. Featuring over 100 iconic stories, rare archival material and original interviews, the book offers a personal portrait of a groundbreaking era through the voices of those who shaped it.

This title celebrates the outrageous fashion and creative rebellion of London’s 1980s club scene, where Leigh Bowery and his circle of avant-garde visionaries challenged traditional ideas of fashion and identity. Through extravagant designs and fearless experimentation, they transformed clothing into a form of genius artistic expression, blurring boundaries between fashion, performance and everyday life. Original designs by John Galliano, Pam Hogg, Bodymap and Bowery himself are featured, alongside rare photographs and exclusive interviews. It is a true tribute to a subculture that blurred the boundaries between fashion, art, performance and identity, reshaping British culture and LGBTQ+ history.

Published during the 1991 exhibition at Paris’s Musée de la Mode et du Costume, this book celebrates six visionary designers who challenged the boundaries of contemporary fashion. Through stunning images of their collections, creative work and previously unpublished portraits, it captures a moment of radical experimentation and artistic expression. The catalogue offers a glimpse into the diverse visions that helped redefine fashion at the turn of the decade, through the visions of famous designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Romeo Gigli, Vivienne Westwood, Sybilla, Martin Margiela and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac.

The Rise of the Stylist explores how London’s 1980s fashion scene transformed the stylist into a key cultural figure, who could bond fashion, art, music and publishing all together. Beyond shaping images, stylists acted as trendsetters and cultural intermediaries, translating emerging subcultures and social changes into new visual languages. They balanced commercial insight with experimentation and they influenced how identity, beauty and contemporary life were represented. Through interviews and an in-depth cultural analysis, Philip Clarke reveals how styling became a powerful force in shaping the creative landscape of the decade.

SUBCULTURES

Often dismissed by the generations before and after them, the 1980s were, in fact, a decade of profound cultural transformation. Defined by bold colors, pop music, extravagant fashion and mass consumption, they laid the foundations of the global culture we experience today. This book narrates that specific decade, which challenged conventions and blurred boundaries. It also gives historical context, talking about the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and how that has impacted society and the feeling of freedom. Today, its influence continues to inspire filmmakers, designers and fashion creatives worldwide.

Acme BOY  looks into London’s rebellious youth culture of the 1970s and 1980s, where punk and anti-fashion transformed the streets. Ripped T-shirts, safety pins, bondage trousers, studded leather jackets and provocative DIY styling challenged everything society knew at the time. Through the iconic boutiques Acme Attractions and BOY, the book captures a raw aesthetic that reshaped fashion worldwide. Featuring stories connected to the Sex Pistols, The Clash, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, it celebrates the radical spirit of a generation that turned rebellion into style.

Derek Ridgers captures the restless energy of 1980s London, a city transformed by radical social change and by an explosion of youth subcultures. Through his distinct street photography, he documents a generation who takes into account style rather than appearance: it was a way of life, a statement of identity and a sense of belonging. From punk’s rebellious spirit to the theatrical glamour of the New Romantics and the emerging rave scene, his portraits reveal how fashion and music shaped defined communities. A visual chronicle of a decade when individuality, attitude and self-expression redefined urban culture.

This title paints a picture of New York during the 1980s, a decade of cultural contradictions and when underground creativity challenged the traditional values of mainstream America. Through Amy Arbus’s street photography for the Village Voice, fashion becomes a reflection of the city’s changing social landscape and a powerful expression of individuality. Her portraits document a vibrant downtown scene where artists, musicians and outsiders redefined identity, challenged conventions and pushed the boundaries of style. Featuring both cultural icons and unknown trendsetters, the book offers a vivid snapshot of a city whose creative spirit shaped contemporary fashion and urban culture.

MUSIC

A Scene in Between: Tripping Through the Fashions of UK Indie Music 1980–1988 captures the raw aesthetic of Britain’s underground indie scene, where music and fashion became expressions of individuality and rebellion. Oversized striped jumpers, faded jackets, leather trousers, bowl cuts and vintage charity-shop finds defined a generation that embraced DIY style and rejected mainstream fashion. All of this is portrayed through rare photos and archival material, very authentic but experimental at the same time. Featuring bands such as The Smiths and My Bloody Valentine, the book celebrates an era when music, individuality and anti-fashion attitudes shaped a new youth culture.

DESIGNERS

Created by David Teboul, this book documents Saint Laurent’s working process as he prepares his Spring 2002 collection, from the first sketches to the finished garments. It contains candid and rare photographs, archival material and personal reflections, through which it reveals the intense atmosphere of his Parisian couture house. The publication captures the balance between his clear vision, his precision and the complexity behind haute couture. A true portrait of Yves Saint Laurent at work, published to mark forty years of his independent fashion career.

This title celebrates the extraordinary vision of Azzedine Alaïa, a designer whose sculptural approach redefined the relationship between fashion and the human body. Through a wide selection of creations, the book explores his mastery of cut, silhouette and craftsmanship, disclosing a timeless aesthetic whose main values are precision and sensuality. Each piece reflects Alaïa’s dedication to the art of couture and his aversion to the changing pace of the fashion industry. More than a retrospective, the publication offers an insight into the designer’s creative universe and into his influence on contemporary fashion.

Known for challenging conventional codes of beauty, gender and elegance, Gaultier turned traditional garments into statements of individuality and cultural rebellion. This publication examines his approach to design, shaped by street culture, popular imagery and an obsession with diversity. From his iconic reinterpretations of the corset to his playful vision of masculine and feminine dress, Gaultier’s work reflects a spirit of experimentation that redefined contemporary fashion. A portrait of a designer whose irreverent vision continues to challenge conventions and inspire new generations.

FILMS

  • Blade Runner, Ridley Scott, (1982)

Much more than a sci-fi film: this is a landmark of 1980s visual culture, blending science fiction, film noir and the cyberpunk aesthetic, which it went on to shape and influence. The dystopian vision of Los Angeles that is portrayed during the film reflects the decade’s anxieties about technology, consumerism, corporate power and urban decay. The film’s costumes combine 1940s elegance, punk influences and futuristic silhouettes, creating a visual language that combines nostalgia and innovation. Its use of neon, monumental architecture and multicultural street life has influenced cinema, design and contemporary fashion via designers like Alexander McQueen and Jean Paul Gautier. In conclusion, Blade Runner doesn’t just imagine how people will dress in the future; it uses fashion to convey the fears, desires, and contradictions of contemporary society.

  • American Gigolo, Paul Schrader, (1980)

Even if American Gigolo (1980) came out at just the beginning of the new decade, it managed to make fashion, luxury and personal image central to the construction of the masculine identity. It captures the exact culture of luxury, desire and self-image that defined the early 1980s. The film became a landmark in fashion through Giorgio Armani’s costumes, worn by Richard Gere, introducing a new vision of menswear based on soft tailoring, relaxed silhouettes and understated elegance. The main character’s carefully curated wardrobe reflects a changing idea of masculinity, where appearance becomes a way to seduce and identify ourselves and our social status. Its influence helped establish the connection between Hollywood and Italian fashion, making American Gigolo a defining reference in the history of contemporary menswear.

  • Flashdance, Adrian Lyne, (1983)

Flashdance (1983) follows Alex Owens, a young welder who dreams of becoming a professional dancer, capturing her ambition, independence and energy, which is exactly the same as the one of 1980s youth culture. The film made a permanent impact on fashion through Jennifer Beals’s iconic off-the-shoulder sweatshirts, high-cut leotards, tight leggings, ribbed leg warmers and worn-in sneakers. Its distinctive looks reflected the decade’s fitness boom and the growing influence of music videos, dance and pop culture on fashion. The film also popularised a DIY approach to clothing, encouraging people to personalise basic garments and transform them into statement pieces, a total representation of the 1980s rebellion and social status. Flashdance helped establish sportswear as a mainstream fashion trend, influencing generations of designers and shaping the evolution of contemporary athleisure.

  • Top Gun, Tony Scott, (1986)

Top Gun (1986), starring Tom Cruise, follows Maverick, a talented and rebellious fighter pilot training at the US Navy’s elite flight school. The film captures the ambition, confidence and patriotic spirit of 1980s American culture, while blending action, rivalry and romance. Its fashion became iconic through Maverick’s leather flight jacket with military patches, white T-shirts, blue jeans, aviator sunglasses and flight suits. These functional garments evolved into symbols of stark masculinity, freedom and effortless coolness. The film also boosted the popularity of Ray-Ban Aviators and helped turn military-inspired clothing into mainstream fashion. Combined with its memorable soundtrack, motorcycles and aerial sequences, Top Gun created a powerful visual identity that continues to influence menswear and pop culture today.

  • Paris Is Burning, Jennie Livingston, (1990)

Paris Is Burning (1990), is a landmark documentary exploring New York’s underground ballroom scene during the 1980s. At the time, society was shaped by racism, homophobia and economic inequality, and ballroom culture offered a place to build chosen families, develop alternative identities and claim visibility. Fashion lies at the heart of this world: it is not simply about clothing or trends, it is a way to construct identity and imagine different possibilities for oneself. Participants recreate the visual codes of high society, luxury fashion, and mainstream femininity, transforming them through their own creativity and performance. The documentary brought voguing and ballroom aesthetics to wider public attention, influencing music, fashion photography and popular culture. Its legacy highlights that fashion has a power as a form of resistance, creativity and cultural identity, while raising questions about representation and appropriation.

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