The Cherry Alignment: Fashion & Style 1986

Sasha Mitchell by Bruce Weber

Calvin Klein: Time magazine named Klein one of the twenty-five most influential Americans in 1996. Klein won the prestigious Coty Award three times in a row (1973–1975), becoming the youngest designer to ever have that honor. In 1982, 1983, and 1986 he also captured the Council of Fashion Designers of America Award. In addition Klein built a financially strong company with the continued advice and help of partner Barry Schwartz, who guided the company through tough financial times in the late 1980s. Few designers have rivaled his worldwide empire.

O, Rio De Janeiro by Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber: More often known for his homoerotic fashion photography celebrating the muscle bound new masculinity for the likes Calvin Klien and L’ Uomo Vogue, Bruce Weber’s ‘O Rio de Janeiro’ (1986) continues to be his most sought after publication. A collection of landscapes, family photos, still lifes and beautiful models all displayed under the warm sun of Rio de Janeiro become a dizzying montage of Weber’s subjective world in what one could call his photographic journal.

Cindy Crawford by Herb Ritts

Herb Ritts & L.A. Style: The photographer, known for modernizing the nude and transforming celebrities into icons, often focused on Los Angeles for his stunning portraits. From the bright sunlight locations in the desert to the beach in Malibu, Ritts always possessed an innovative approach to fashion.

He became interested in photography when he and friend Richard Gere, then an aspiring actor decided to shoot some photographs in front of an old jacked up Buick. The picture gained Ritts some coverage and he began to be more serious about photography. He photographed Brooke Shields for the cover of the Oct. 12, 1981 edition of Elle. Five years later he would shoot Madonna for her 1986 release True Blue.

Jill Sander ad 1986

Jil Sander was featured in Vogue for the first time in 1986. As an unwavering champion of minimalism—most particularly, the stripped-down suit—Sander was a key force behind the sea change in women’s fashion in the eighties and nineties, as excess went out and restrained finesse came in. Her trademarks were neutral colors, unusual textures, and an open-minded attitude toward technological innovation.

Christy Turlington in Helmut Lang

The Helmut Lang fashion brand was created by Austrian fashion designer Helmut Lang (born 1956) in 1986. The Helmut Lang brand still exists today, but has been carried on without Lang's involvement since 2005.

1983 Karl Lagerfeld took over as chief designer for Chanel. He changed Chanel's fashion lines from the old lines to shorter cuts and eye capturing designs. During the 1980s, more than 40 Chanel boutiques opened worldwide. By the end of the 1980s, these boutiques sold goods ranging from US$200-per-ounce perfume, US$225 ballerina slippers to US$11,000 dresses and US$2,000 leather handbags. Chanel cosmetics and fragrances were distributed only by Chanel outlets.

Ines De La Fressange for Chanel

Chanel marketer Jean Hoehn explained the firm's approach, saying, "We introduce a new fragrance every 10 years, not every three minutes like many competitors. We don't confuse the consumer. With Chanel, people know what to expect. And they keep coming back to us, at all ages, as they enter and leave the market." The 1984 launch of a new fragrance, in honor of the founder, Coco, continued the label's success. In 1986, the House of Chanel struck a deal with watchmakers and in 1987, the first Chanel watch debuted.

Supermodels in Versace

In 1986 we saw the ascendence of the super-models: Christy Turlington, Linda Evangelista, Stephanie Seymour, Helena Christensen and Cindy Crawford were on every cover and featured in every major ad campaign.