Riccardo Slavik. Stylist, Fashion Editor, and DJ talks analogue fashion, bad taste and queered ‘neutral’ leopard print.
One thing to keep in mind whenever we talk about Fashion in the age before the widespread diffusion of the internet is that Fashion back then was for Fashion people and the few people who cared about it and/or could afford it. The distribution and presentation of Fashion was not aimed at the masses, and it wasn’t a pecuniary elitist thing; fashion back then was much less expensive than it is nowadays, no matter how annoyingly permeating it is. Analogue times were about research, choice, dedication; if you wanted to buy an international ‘style’ magazine ( I-D, The Face, Blitz ) you had to go look for it, if you wanted a 12inch mix you had to take a bus, or a train or hope your small local shop was crazy enough to get it. Research wasn’t about a Google page or Insta scroll, people had to physically move from their homes and towns to find what they wanted. It’s a long intro but I think Fashion needs to be understood in its own place and time. At its best, fashion is a snapshot of the times; it reflects the economics, the social movements, the mood.
Gaultier’s innovation of the catwalk
Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring Summer 1989 collections were a kaleidoscope of inventiveness ‘Western Baroque’ and ‘Voyage Autour Du Monde Dans 168 Tenues’ have remained in fashion history for the explosion of themes, concepts, ideas they presented and the total innovation of showing main line and second line clothes on the same catwalk and quite often mixed together. That in itself was rather revolutionary, the catwalk was a place of prominence, it elevated the designer’s vision, and showing Junior pieces mixed with the Gaultier lines gave them a worldwide platform and elevated them, it meant they were cheaper, but not less then, the main lines. Gaultier’s play on unisex style didn’t go as far as repeating earlier efforts to put men in skirts but by pushing the leopard print denim and gold lame fabric from the Junior line in both shows he presented a united front of sexy, shameless, playful, yet affordable, style. Playing on gender norms and staples of ‘bad’ taste he pushed his latest younger line through repetition and recognition.
The shows were also a celebration of Camp and rebellious Queerness, the menswear show mixed over the top cowboys, baroque fops, sailors and printed layers, in obvious defiance to ‘good taste’ male models walked in tiny gold chaps worn with polka dot shorts, flower print chiffon tops and gold lame waistcoats, the sexy cowboy in micro swim briefs and vinyl gloves was on the same catwalk as the dandy in red double breasted jacket, brocade waistcoat, wide yellow pants and walking stick.
Singled out as chic
Let’s go back and remember that Fashion at the time was NOT everywhere, we would glimpse it on the news, in a newspaper, in selected magazines, and it was hard to get a full view of a collection unless you bought a specialized magazine like Collezioni, which had photos from every show in every fashion capital, but was extremely expensive. But the gold, the leopard print, the overall queerness of it all was palpable even through a few black and white photos on Details magazine, or glimpsed on the evening news… That leopard print was peculiar and still recognizable, lighter and a bit more yellow than the classic 50s leopard print of pin-up fame, maybe smartly subdued to turn it into a sort of queered ‘neutral’, it appeared on leggings, jackets, aprons, suits, hats, mules and linings… it was everywhere and that made it recognizable and desirable. At a time when fashion wasn’t easily available to everyone, wearing a piece of clothing that was recognizable was a plus if you were trying to be a fashion victim. Gaultier’s fashion had that quality of being easily spotted, it singled you out as chic, but with a quirky, creative personality, his clothes had a touch of the British subcultural references but woven through with French chic and Italian savoir faire, they might have looked wild and alternative but they were exquisitely made, unlike most Brit fashion of the time.
By 1989 I was a regular at Gaultier’s boutique in Via Della Spiga, in the luxury ‘quadrilatero’ area of Milano. I wasn’t in any way a good customer, I went there regularly to browse and rarely had the funds to buy. But the genius thing about Junior was that it was sold and presented alongside the main line. Jean Paul Gaultier understood his clothes were based on the craftsmanship and precision of couture but had a very young viewpoint, he also understood that young people couldn’t afford his vision when it was realized at its Made In Italy peak; the custom fabrics, the architectural construction, the details, but he also wanted to see young and cool people wearing his clothes. Showing denim pieces alongside the finest fringed silk and stretch satin and lace looks, the exquisite cage dresses after a denim hourglass jacket, was a way to normalize the cohabitation of idea and luxury.
The versatility of the trapezoid
The unisex appeal of the collection translated also in the patterns, few items were gendered, the denim trucker jacket had a super 80s trapezoid shape but would look great with the short straight mini ( which in turn could be worn over leggings or pants ), the jeans were low cut and had wide-ish hips even when shown in the menswear show ( mine were always slipping until a couple of years ago when I got fat ). I bought a number of pieces in the leopard print, the leggings are gone, as are most of the rest, except for the trucker jacket and the jeans. I had a pair of black denim chaps from this collection; who knows what happened to them.
I love that the jacket has retained its 80s shape through the years, I love seeing it now in a different time and space, on different people. Some could say that styling is transference, it’s a way of seeing better looking people dressed the way you dress, or would like to dress. It is, in a way, for me, I’ve always dressed people as some sort of version of myself, and I’ve always loved to insert items from my own wardrobe/archive into my editorials.
Photographer: Lorenzo Marcucci, Stylist: Riccardo Slavik, Model Karol For CAP 74024.
Fashion, with a capital F is also about references, about things you can’t find on the world wide web, about memories, it’s also about the ebbs and flows of what’s ‘in’ and what’s ‘out’, the tidal wave of shapes, proportions, moods. The Junior denim jacket, with its wide shouldered trapeze shape and the low waist carrot jeans were so wrong for the long, skinny shapes of the late 90s and early 00s that my leopard print pieces languished in the back of my wardrobe for decades, they’re out and about again and will probably stay out for a while, as Fashion has embraced a sort of ‘to each its own’ renunciation of specific shapes, lengths, trends. Mini is in, but max is in too, oversize is in, but body con is super in also, as designers don’t try to influence personal style anymore, but inside try to give people what they think they want, I wonder if we’ll see a moment in the near-ish future when something will be as definitely out as that 80s jacket was in the late 90s.
The power of wet leopard print
And speaking of fashion being about memories; one Sunday night in the early 90s I was wearing my full Junior look: leopard jacket and leggings and t-shirt, at Tutti Frutti, a one night summer party, when somebody threw me in the pool, it was that kind of night. I was still drying when I went to Contatto, Milan’s chicest after hours club, I found Jean Paul Gaultier standing outside of the backroom, the place where, on busy nights, people got to know each other intimately… he looked at me in my Junior, still humid look, and said: ‘Tanel is inside’ ….
Unfortunately, although the darkroom was empty me and Tanel ( my fave male model of all time and Gaultier’s muse/assistant ) didn’t get it on that night but I somehow gave them a ride to their hotel in the cab I was taking to go home and I still wonder at it nowadays. I never got to meet Jean Paul again, though I did meet Tanel a few times later on while I was working at Plastic, Milan’s iconic alternative club. I wonder whether I’d have had the nerve to talk to him if I had been wearing something else, it might be the power of leopard print!
Riccardo Slavik backstage Summer 2023.
Riccardo. in Tendance magazine 1989/1990 wearing his lost leggings and a Jean Paul Gaultier pour Gibò reversible FW 1987 jacket.
I am so grateful to Riccardo for taking the time to share his experiences, opinions and great knowledge with us all. To find out more about Riccardo Slavik’s work as a stylist, fashion editor and writer, as well as lots of photos of him looking stunning in vintage Gaultier, visit Riccardo’s Instagram page.