I Love the 90's - An Ideal History of Contemporary Fashion

Did you love fashion in the 1990's? (If you were too young, I would rather not know).  What do you remember as the top looks of the decade?  The new exhibit at the Musee Les Arts Decoratifs in Paris recaptures many of them.

I think of minimalism, avant-garde and 'deconstructed' clothes from that time.  The rise of the Belgian designers (Ann Demeulemeester, Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten).  Yohji Yamamoto's sculpted pieces, Comme des Garcon's cerebral outfits and pleats from Issey Miyake are represented here as well.

Did those trends not appeal to you?  The 1990's were also the height of popularity for Jean Paul Gaultier's tongue-in-cheek fashion.  It was the debut of Tom Ford's reign of Gucci.  Azzedine Alaia was one of the hottest designers, making it into ultimate 90's teen film "Clueless".   Christian Lacroix was a sculpted explosion of color worshiped by the ladies of "Absolutely Fabulous". 

The exhibit runs until May 8, 2011.  Make it over there if you can, or peruse some of the exhibit images online.

Photos By Dominique Maitre for WWD