Design for Design's Sake.

In the 1980s, as American designers abandoned synthetics in favor of natural fabrics and gained new respect from their European counterparts, their designs were becoming increasingly expensive and impractical — much to the dissatisfaction of the people who were supposed to buy and wear the clothes. Despite fashion-industry growth, especially in menswear, and retail success (until 1987) as shopping became a national pastime, the design industry became more distanced from the populace. Fashion shows became stages rather than places to find styles, and a disparity developed between the clothes that were featured on the runways or in the press and the clothes that women actually wore. The editor of Vogue magazine during the 1980s, Grace Mirabella', recalls the decade: "Clothes were about labels, designers were about celebrities, and it was all . . . about money." Indeed, designers seemed to be designing for...