PARIS, July 6 ― The Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris is paying tribute to the fashion, design and graphic art of France in the 1980s, the decade of all artistic possibilities. From October 13, 2022, to April 16, 2023, this era of celebration, freedom and all things eclectic will be saluted through hundreds of works, including fashion creations, posters, photographs, record sleeves and furniture.

Overshadowed in recent years by the '90s and the Y2K years ― two decades universally loved by younger generations ― the 1980s will be back in the spotlight in France this fall. Currently buoyed by popular television shows such as “Stranger Things,” the '80s will be firmly on the agenda at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. The Parisian museum plans to retrace the vibrancy and eclecticism of the decade, while touching on the decisive changes made in those years, through an exhibition with scenography created by the designer Adrien Rovero.

The '80s in France saw the rise of a new generation of designers, with Olivier Gagnère, Elisabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti, Philippe Starck, Martin Szekely and more, all in a context conducive to freedom of expression, the exhibition's organizers explain. Fashion, too, was freed from the usual style norms and conventions, with some designers even being elevated to the rank of 'superstars,' like Jean Paul Gaultier or Thierry Mugler. Advertising, graphic design and the audiovisual industry all flourished, driven by the likes of Jean-Paul Goude, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Etienne Robial. And, from new wave music to post-punk and hip-hop, a new chapter in Parisian nightlife was played out in some of the French capital's legendary hotspots.

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The exhibition, titled “Années 80. Mode, design et graphisme en France” (The 1980s: Fashion, design and graphic design in France”), takes the election of President François Mitterrand in 1981 as its starting point. It covers three broad themes ― the new political and cultural era, the buzzing design scene, and the looks of the 1980s ― all themes that reflect a certain spirit of renewal and revival in many fields, including design, fashion, advertising, media and the audiovisual sector. The decade's landmark events give pace to the exhibition, such as the launch of the country's Fête de la Musique (Make Music Day), the creation of the Institut Français de la Mode fashion school, and the emergence of political marketing ― right up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

No less than 700 works will bear witness to the effervescence of a heady decade that certainly left its mark on history, including furniture, fashion looks, posters, photographs, record sleeves, fanzines, and various objects. These hail from legendary designers of the '80s, from François Bauchet to Martine Bedin, Olivier Gagnère, Andrée Putman, Philippe Starck and Martin Szekely, as well as designers who revolutionised fashion during this decade, including Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler, Vivienne Westwood, Chantal Thomass, Rei Kawakubo, Azzedine Alaïa and Martin Margiela.

“Années 80. Mode, design et graphisme en France” opens at the Paris Musée des Arts Décoratifs from October 13. ― ETX Studio

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