Cybergames and soccer players: How neon became so fashionable
WE CONSIDER THE TRENDS FROM PODIUM, which can be adapted for your wardrobe for the next six months. At the last shows, neon was so much that he overshadowed the pastel shades and the main star of recent seasons - red. Kenzo and Balenciaga, Balmain and Jeremy Scott, Prada and Christopher Kane all turned to bright things. We tell why psychedelic shades have become universal and how to wear them.
How it all began
Judging by the latest shows, neon is no longer associated exclusively with cyberpunk - now any clothes are made in acid shades, from classic jackets and flying dresses to tracksuits and even fur coats. It was not accidental: neon colors combine different trends, and their history is not from the artist's studio, experimenting with psychedelic shades.
Neon, like other inert gases, was discovered by chemists William Ramsay and Maurice Travers back in 1898. When they come into contact with electricity, they glow: neon emits orange-red light, argon - soft purple (and blue with mercury), xenon and krypton will give white hues, and helium - yellow gold. The main thing is to isolate these gases from the air, which French engineer George Claude did by placing them in tubes with electrodes. This is how the first neon lamps appeared, which already in the 1920s Claude’s company began to deliver to the USA. Two signs for the Packard auto show in Los Angeles, for example, then bought for twenty-four thousand dollars.
Neon lamps are so bright that they are visible even in daylight. It is not surprising that they quickly began to be in demand - the streets of world capitals filled with luminous signs, attracting the attention of passersby around the clock. In the 30s, the variety of colors only increased due to the phosphor that was painted on the inside of the lamp. Any cafe or diner, disco or roller rink had to acquire a neon sign to entertain (and distract) visitors. Luminous lamps turned into a romantic symbol, a guiding star of many generations: more than one song is devoted to neon signs and the light emitted by it, including jazz singer Peggy Lee "Neon Signs".
In the 1960s, neon lamps replaced practical plastic signs, and bright colors were taken over by artists: Andy Warhol created portraits of acidic shades, Martial Rice used neon lamps to fix pictures, and Joseph Kosuth made installations from luminous tubes. After another two decades, neon made its way into pop culture from pop art: Madonna and Cindy Loper were lit on the stage in light green and pink outfits, teenagers participated in the filming of multi-colored catalogs, and on TV channels and in sport clubs aerobics were only done in acid bodies. The neon of the 80s symbolized eternal fun and youth, and in the 90s it was borrowed by even more cheerful and young guys - ravers; in clothes of acid shades danced including cybergames. Later, from parties, neon made his way into sportswear, which is clearly visible both during the day and at night.
How neon got back into fashion
If we consider how much attention is paid today to the 90th, it is not surprising that neon has returned. Today, acid colors are especially common in street and sports brands. Immediately, several adidas covered with flashbacks - here we have a green uniform made in collaboration with Gosha Rubchinsky, and a yellow jacket from the Palace collaboration, and an acid suit from teamwork with Alexander Wang. Plush costumes, perhaps, are difficult to attribute to the sports form, but they can not be imagined without the brightest colors, such as blue, in which Paris Hilton went.
The trend could not get around and sneakers. Some Yeezy models are made either in the color of “eyebrows”, like 350 V2, or with neon inserts: for example, the Yeezy Season Boost 700 has orange parts and bright yellow laces, and 350 V2 Beluga 2.0 has an orange number. Of course, they pay attention to Neon and Nike - now there are acid-yellow Air Max in their lineup, and models for running do appear in neon shades every season - including for security reasons.
Designers often return to psychedelic shades to add futurism alongside: Blumarine, for example, showed something similar in 2012, and in 2018 Jeremy Scott. In this case, neon colors may well be universal. For example, in one of the latest collections of Raf Simons for Jil Sander, the designer showed how bright shades correspond to the office style. The classic acid-green shirt, which also referred to the dress code, was shown by Maryam Nassir Zadeh in 2017.
What to wear with neon
To begin with, let's mark the simplest way - with everything and at once, as in the latest Balenciaga collection: a bright jacket or an acid jacket can be an interesting accent in a multi-layered image. Sportswear also does not require deliberate moves: colorful hoodie, olympic sweaters, windbreakers are perfectly combined with simple blue or white jeans. But bright sneakers, we would advise to wear with dark or gray things, such as a massive sweatshirt, as shown by Kanye himself.
Surprisingly, even such brands as Balmain, famous for their love of luxury, were able to customize neon for themselves: for the next fall they can find colorful dresses with sequins, acid-striped sweaters, colored fur coats and much more. What is not a reason to dress up like this, for example, for the New Year? Pick up a pair of black tights, leather pants (they also promise to return next autumn) and other things that have details of the same bright color.
Photo:Columbia Pictures, Area, MSGM, Edun, No. 21, Zara
