History Timeline

Structured, boned undergarments that shaped the Victorian silhouette and underpinned nearly every outer garment of the era.

The early-1900s silhouette built around the S-bend corset, pushing the bust forward and hips back for a distinctive curved profile.

The dropped-waist, boyish silhouette that defined 1920s Western fashion, a sharp break from corseted Edwardian dress.

The bias cut's rise after the 1920s - fluid, body-skimming gowns cut on the diagonal, restoring a natural waist and curves after a decade of flat, dropped-waist dressing.

Christian Dior's 1947 collection that revived a cinched waist and full skirt after years of wartime fabric rationing, reshaping postwar fashion.

The nipped waist and full skirt of Dior's New Look carried through most of the decade, giving way by the late 1950s to Balenciaga's looser sheath and chemise shapes.

A decade that moved from lady-like fitted suits to the miniskirt, most often credited to Mary Quant, and the geometric, synthetic-fabric 'space age' looks of Cardin and Courreges.

A decade with no single dominant shape - bohemian prairie dresses, Halston's disco-ready draping, Diane von Furstenberg's wrap dress, and punk's deconstruction all running at once.

Padded shoulders and bold structure, and stretch Lycra worn as two different tools for the same goal - projecting authority as women moved into corporate workplaces in greater numbers.

A decade split between Seattle-born grunge, reaching high fashion via Marc Jacobs, and the pared-back slip dresses and clean tailoring that came to define 1990s minimalism.

Ultra-low-rise cuts, logo-driven pieces like the Juicy Couture tracksuit, and a fast fashion industry accelerating fast enough to put trends on shelves within weeks of the runway.

Luxury sportswear worn as everyday clothing, a normcore backlash against dressing to impress, and a trend cycle reshaped by Instagram and a fast fashion industry facing its first real reckoning.

Pandemic-driven comfort dressing, a Y2K and late-1990s revival cycle running faster than ever, and a 'quiet luxury' pushback against logo-driven fashion - all amplified by social media microtrends.