We both grew up in the 70s, so we are 70s kids. We met in the late 80s when the 70s revival was beginning to bubble up. We were introduced at a party given by a mutual friend, and on the dance floor got talking about how we loved Cerrone’s 70s disco anthem Supernature; then it was round to Dominic’s to listen to more Cerrone and Giorgio Moroder’s From Here to Eternity album, while poring over Dominic’s mum’s vast collection of 70s Vogues and French Elles. We spent so much time talking about the 70s that Kirsty’s boyfriend Jefferson said that we ought to write a book on the subject. It has certainly given us plenty of time to do our research and become very familiar with our subject!

The reaction against lean, clean modernism, set in motion by the 60s pop movement, really came on stream in the 70s. Good taste continued to be challenged and pluralism promoted. London boutique Mr Freedom collaged the 20s, the 40s and 50s Americana for its fun fashion and furniture, while Italian design collective Studio Alchimia rejected modernism's 'less is more' dictum in favour of playful embellishment and radical experimentation with form. The return of decoration as a symbolic language was also embraced by postmodern architects such as Philip Johnson, who crowned New York’s AT&T skyscraper with a Chippendale top.
    Equally influential in shaping 70s style was the back-to-nature movement, which sprang from both the hippie reaction against plastic consumer boomer America and the environmental crisis that the boom had helped to create. In 1970 the first national Earth Day brought issues such as pollution and diminishing resources into the global consciousness, and shortages stared consumers in the face after the 1973 oil crisis, inspiring experimentation with alternative energy sources and eco architecture – an early example being Paolo Soleri’s Arcosanti, a compact, experimental town in the Arizona desert.
    Meanwhile Victor Papanek's Design for the Real World emphasised the importance of social and ecological issues over aesthetics and expendability, and the exhibition Italy: the New Domestic Landscape at MoMA in New York showcased flexible, space-saving designs such as sofa beds and modular furniture, which responded to issues such as the population explosion and the erosion of the family unit due to rising divorce rates and people having more freedom to opt out of marriage and kids. The eco idea of reutilizing existing things rather than producing new ones manifested itself in the High-tech movement in architecture and the adoption of utility clothing as day wear.
    The back-to-the nature movement was also inspired by the less technology-dependent past, which prompted the huge crafts revival and the Victoriana craze in interiors and fashion, as popularised by Laura Ashley and Habitat. Indeed revivalism was a cornerstone of 70s style. Other instigators included Barbara Hulanicki (20s, 30s, 40s), Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren (50s, 60s) and Lloyd Johnson (50s and neo-mod).

Well, it can’t be denied that they were hard times, what with the oil crisis, recession, unemployment, etc, which made many hark back to the optimism embodied by the late 60s. And there were a lot of synthetic fibres and lairy colours around, hence the ‘decade that taste forgot’ tag. The irony of this, however, is that the latter had their roots in the late 60s, with its enthusiasm for technology and psychedelic excess. But while people in the mainstream clomped around in platforms and flares, avant-garde subcultures were honing an alternative look – knowingly kitsch 50s revivalism, drainpipes, stilettos, crazy-coloured hair – which ultimately evolved into punk.
    However it wasn’t until the tail end of the 70s that punk – which faced huge resistance from mainstream culture – managed to blast away the remnants of hippiedom, and by then the platforms and flares cliché had taken root. Ironically, many of those who now malign the decade include people who clung on for dear life to platforms and flares while punk was trying to oust them, and a lot of looks that were born in the 70s – such as the Debbie Harry/Fiorucci look - became associated with the 80s instead, because the mainstream was so slow to catch up.

Well some of the characteristics that defined the 70s are already making a return. For example the punk/hippie do your own thing, do-it-yourself vibe is manifesting itself in the rise and rise of the blog and the street style revolution. Both of these give a free rein to self-expression and individuality, which to us are synonymous with the 70s and have been stifled in these increasingly commerce-led times where big brands rule the high
street and advertisers command the content of magazines, many of which these days are more about selling handbags than fostering creativity. It’s as though people are kicking against this, and things like the internet provide a platform for them to express themselves freely and share their creativity with millions.
    Talking of things moving in a more democratic direction, it would be nice if the next decade saw a return to the more humanistic, less-materialistic values that many strived for in the 70s. Certainly a backlash against materialism has kicked off in the wake of the recession, with the reappraisal of thrift and investment shopping in favour of expendable quick-fixes, and the spread of eco awareness has no doubt influenced this too. Perhaps the impact of the recession will continue to temper the avarice and extravagance (flagged up, for example, by the recent MPs expenses scandal) that marked the more buoyant years.
    In answer to the second part of this question, going back to the idea of self-expression, it seems that because we live in times where even ‘alternative’ quickly becomes co-opted by big business and can be bought off the peg at Urban Outfitters – people seem to be making all the more effort to be individual, even in the mainstream. Take pop stars like Lady Gaga and La Roux, who prize individuality and eccentricity above looking sexy, which is such a 70s sentiment. Their lack of vanity is refreshing in a world where increasingly women are expected to look pretty and perfect, and this, along with their eclectic, DIY spirit and flouting of ‘good’ taste, brings to mind punk and new wave singers like Poly Styrene and Bette Bright.

Joe Allen’s: the London branch of the New York theatre land restaurant opened in 1977, amid the transformation of the old Covent Garden Market into a style hotspot and the UK’s increasing demand for American-style eateries. The movie-star-studded bare-brick walls of this subterranean piano bar evoke the 70s’ obsession with old Hollywood, and as you tuck into your spare ribs you expect Bette Midler to walk in at any minute …
    Another ultra-70s institution is the old-school boho eaterie Langan’s Brasserie near Piccadilly, a haunt in the 70s of such in-crowders as David Hockney.
    The Barbican Estate: despite the backlash, modernism was still a dominant force in the 70s, and its lean rationalism provided solutions to concerns of the time such as space- and energy- saving and the need for smaller living spaces as more people opted to live alone. These blocks of flats, built between 1965 and 1976, some consisting of just two rooms, feature clever designs such as kitchen equipment built into walls and capsule bathrooms.
Rellik in west London (near the foot of the iconic Trellick Tower, which was completed in 1972): a brilliant source of good quality vintage 70s clothing and accessories by such designers as Ossie Clark, Thea Porter, Bill Gibb, Terry de Havilland and Vivienne Westwood.
    The architect Michael Hopkins’ house remains a super-stylish monument to 70s high-tech. It’s not open to the public, but there are images at Hopkins.co.uk. Similarly the 70s-in-aspic home of the artist Duggie Fields – in all its 50s-kitsch splendour – can be seen at duggiefields.com, along with some amazing images of the 70s avant-garde scene.

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'70s Style and Design