Pcould we speed up time by dressing? In the 1960s, silhouettes took the present by surprise and preferred geometric and refined shapes to fluid lines and classic drapes, carrying – beyond clothing – a certain idea of modernity. A key material then emerged: vinyl, a plasticized variant of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) discovered somewhat by chance, in the 1920s, by a scientist working for the tire industry.
But it was well after the Second World War that it experienced its hour of glory: in London, the stylist Mary Quant took full advantage of its waterproof properties and notably declined it in colorful oilskins; in Paris, vinyl lends itself to architectural forms under the leadership of creators like Pierre Cardin, Paco Rabanne and, of course, André Courrèges.
The latter considered the infinite possibilities offered by the conquest of space and plastic as a “strong symbol of progress”. Inspired by astronauts, Courrèges created his cult vinyl boots to which were added miniskirts, small jackets or trapeze dresses, emblematic of the movement that would later be called “space age”.
A fantasy future
More than modernity, it is the future that is in question here. A future fantasized by a society of oil and abundance throughout the last century. In 1995, vinyl dressed Michael and Janet Jackson locked in a space capsule for the music video for Scream — one of the most expensive in history. Or, in 1999, cast Trinity’s body with a full suit in the film Matrix.
In the cinema, however, if we had to choose only one, it would be Catherine Deneuve, in a black raincoat designed by Yves Saint Laurent in beautiful day (1967). In this film by Luis Buñuel, his character explores neither space nor a dystopian future but what Sigmund Freud called the “dark continent” : female sexuality.
Because vinyl is not only futuristic, it is also erotic. Of catsuit of catwoman – decorated with a hood, it becomes the zentai among fetishists – for panties, it is a classic in sex shops. And this plastic material which constrains the body without letting it breathe has a special place in the SM wardrobe.
In the 1990s, the Eurodance scene, whose aesthetic played with these codes, imposed it in clubs, like the group 2 Unlimited in the music video for No Limit. In 1993, this hit dominating the box office in thirty-five countries was described by the leading English magazine NME (New Musical Express) as “the ultimate piece of pop existentialism, 2 Unlimited suggesting that the whole world is a playground of hedonistic excess.”
Today, the future generates more anxiety than hope and the limited nature of natural resources imposes itself on everyone. Once a symbol of the future, historical vinyl, a very polluting material derived from petrochemicals, is on the way to becoming a fascinating vestige. The big brands have no other solution than to display their desire to produce a more ecological material (with for example, at Courrèges, a 70% vegetable polyurethane). For a better future, we will probably have to slow down in the end.
