Eighties power dressing is tipped to be big again this autumn with sombre clean lines cropping up on the catwalks, but one of the signature features from the power dressing look is conspicuously absent. Shoulder pads were the symbol of '80s capitalist success, they were a way of adding testosterone to the first generation of career women giving them a psychological edge in the boardroom. Just when we all thought they were coming back, there's a new contender to the padding crown.
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This time round shoulder pads are out, from Alexander McQueen's "Widows of Culloden" collection with theatrically padded curves, to the rise in popularity of Stefano Pilati's bubble shaped skirts for YSL exaggerated hips are where it's at. Roksanda Illincic's dresses create an impossibly curvy silhouette, one that unusually for fashion, isn't afraid to take up physical space and Giambattista Valli's Radzimir trench (£1,165 from Browns) offers an accessible take on the trend.
Susie Bubble posted about this recently, and she found herself wanting to try out vintage girdles and padding to get the look. At a time when feminism is slowly gaining popularity it's funny that padded hips are making an appearance. Arguably these exaggerated curves are to feminism what shoulder pads were to capitalism, the emphasised bulges underlining female might. With the Observer calling us "Generation Y", a generation of women with high ambitions and no direct experience of sexism maybe it's time to get our hip pads on and show the world who's boss! Until the next trend of course.
Isabelle O'Carroll writes for Catwalk Queen and is the Editor of Brandish. She loves writing about herself in the third person.
