With the recent release of The Shards, a series based on Bret Easton Ellis’s chilling horror novel, we can’t help but find ourselves reminiscing about ’80s style, an era of fashion that, these days, tends to receive more scorn than nostalgic reminiscences. Much comes to mind when someone mentions the Decade of Decadence: neon workout sets, acid-wash denim, and gravity-defying hair. Yet, our interest remains thoroughly focused on the shoulder—or, more accurately, a few inches above, where the iconic power shoulder resides.
The attention-grabbing power shoulder has long been the rage. The original iteration was pioneered by designers such as Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiaparelli in the ’30s. In the ’80s, the structured shoulder overwhelmed the market, serving as a critical component of the larger power dressing movement that allowed women to de-sexualize their look and assert themselves in a workforce characterized by male bravado.
