Années 80 : Mode, Design Et Graphisme En France

Exhibition at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 22 October 2022 - 16 April 2023

In France, the 1980s were a political and artistic turning point in the fields of fashion, design and graphics, from the election of François Mitterrand in 1981 to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

This decade saw the emergence of a new generation of designers - Olivier Gagnère, Elizabeth Garouste and Mattia Bonetti, Philippe Starck, Martin Szekely... - in a context that favoured freedom of expression. The silhouette was freed from style injunctions and certain fashion designers were elevated to the rank of "superstars" such as Jean Paul Gaultier or Thierry Mugler. Advertising, graphic design and the audiovisual sector had their heyday with Jean-Paul Goude, Jean-Baptiste Mondino and Étienne Robial. From new wave music to post-punk and hip-hop, a whole history of partying was written in the legendary places frequented by the night owls of Paris.

This exhibition catalogue retraces both the context of this cultural policy supported by Jack Lang and the diversity of creation during this decade. Through 700 works - objects, furniture, fashion silhouettes, posters, photographs, music videos, record sleeves and fanzines - it analyses this frenetic period synonymous with eclecticism, where postmodernism opened up all artistic possibilities.