Monday, October 13, 2008

RETROBSESSION

I've definitely been going through a long phase of nostalgia lately. I don't know if it's because I'm approaching thirty (I'm holding on to 28 as hard as I can but I'm afraid there's not much more I'll be able to do by next April) but I've become obsessed with stuff that was around when I was a kid.
This has definitely shown up in my work, I had a She-Ra inspired collection two seasons ago. I looooooooved that cartoon when I was a kid and I had been wanting to work the theme out into clothes for a while until I finally did last September. I had the chance to show this collection at the Salon du Prêt-à-Porter in Paris in January and used one of my favorite songs from the 80's, Kim Wilde's version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" as the soundtrack. That video was actually part of what convinced me I was going in the right direction. I mean, we've all dreaded the 80's after they were gone, but now, 20 years after we are in the middle of an absolute 80's explosion, strongly expressed through current music and fashion trends.
I mean, who thought leggings would EVER come back?
As a result of this nostalgic phase I mentioned, I've been googling and youtubing (does that word exist?) music that I used to listen to as a kid. Throughout this search I've re-discovered Italo-Disco. I think I just learned that was the actual name of the genre. I don't know if it was ever big in the States but I used to live in the former Soviet Union and the only kind of "cool" music that would make it through the Iron Curtain was this type, with performers such as Sandra, Sabrina and Modern Talking.
I think I heard most of this music from one of my chauffeur's tapes. Well, now, as I was searching for these songs from the past (including long-lost favorite "Here I Am" by Mike Mereen) I came across a true Italo-Disco jewel : Need Your Passion, performed by Sweet Connection. The song sounds incredibly familiar, but then again most songs has similar beats. I had never seen the video until now and I have become absolutely obsessed with everything in it. Starting from the "seductive" (hahaha) looks one of the performers gives the camera through 90% of the video, the hairstyles (!!!), the fake patent-leather outfits and then, to top it off, the choreography. It's just too much. I love it. I confess. I do. I love the song. I've downloaded it into my iPod and I do cardio to it on repeat every day. There, I said it. Here it goes.