Written by Oscar Holland, CNN
Delving into the archives of popular culture historical past, “Remember When?” is a brand new sequence providing a nostalgic have a look at the superstar outfits that outlined their eras.
Remember when being British was cool?
It was the late Nineteen Nineties and, throughout a short window of respite between Thatcherism and the War on Terror, the UK was awash with optimism. Its financial system boomed, the dot-com bubble appeared impenetrable, and essentially the most urgent concern among the many Brits was whether or not the millennium bug may ship fax machines into meltdown.
The Spice Girls emerged right into a coinciding period of cultural confidence, dubbed — with no trace of irony — “Cool Britannia.” The five-piece, and different British bands, loved ranges of world success not seen since The Beatles. And the younger stars weren’t afraid to flaunt their Britishness.
Enter one of the crucial memorable clothes in pop — and style — historical past: Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack gown, worn on stage on the 1997 Brit Awards, the UK’s equal to the Grammys. This was lengthy earlier than the flag turned a Brexit battleground. What would, right now, be dismissed as garish act of patriotism was one way or the other symbolic of the daring, blithe zeitgeist.
If Ginger Spice epitomized a brand new sort of pop star — one which cackled by way of TV interviews and flirted with Prince Charles — then her daringly brief gown, with its low rectangular neckline, embodied a brand new sort of Britishness, free from stuffy, stiff-upper-lip associations.
Deeming her unique gown to be “boring,” Halliwell requested her sister to sew a Union Jack dishcloth to its entrance. Credit: Dave Benett/Getty Images
At greatest, the gown reclaimed femininity on behalf of the legions of younger girls impressed by the band’s pervasive “Girl Power” message. At the very least, it demonstrated Halliwell’s nous for producing headlines. Her bandmate, Melanie “Scary Spice” Brown, later stated: “That was the primary time I noticed how sensible Geri was. She had an actual sense of what would catch on within the press.”
Because though late-Nineteen Nineties Britain was a time of lots, the period’s best-known outfit was, in actual fact, an ingenious act of DIY: Halliwell had deemed her unique black Gucci gown to be “boring,” and so had requested her sister, Karen, to sew a Union Jack dishcloth to its entrance (the again was emblazoned with an usually neglected peace image).
She faultlessly captured the nationwide temper, and the gown’ historic standing was confirmed virtually instantly. Pictures of Halliwell have been splashed throughout the entrance pages of the nation’s then-untouchable tabloid newspapers the subsequent morning. Just a 12 months later, the garment — arguably little greater than an upcycled rag — was purchased by Hard Rock Café’s co-founder Peter Morton for £41,320 (then slightly below $70,000), making it the most costly merchandise of pop-star clothes ever to promote at public sale.
Subsequent makes an attempt to duplicate the gown’ influence have fallen flat. In 2006, Italian designer Roberto Cavalli made Halliwell an up to date Union Jack frock, full with rhinestones and Swarovski crystals, for the Spice Girls’ first reunion tour. Six years later, the singer herself launched a group of flag-themed clothes through the fast-fashion retailer Next, although it shortly disappeared from sight.
A floor-length reinterpretation of the Union Jack gown makes an look in the course of the Spice Girls’ 2019 reunion tour. Credit: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images
Then, at 2019’s UK reunion tour, Geri stunned followers with a billowing, floor-length reinterpretation of her signature gown. But, fairly than placing a demure spin on a risqué basic, the sparkly robe left Halliwell (now referred to as Geri Horner) trying like a medieval superhero.
The unique Union Jack gown was, inescapably, a product of its time. In a interval of nationwide soul-searching, it appears becoming that Britain’s most pertinent image of cultural self-assurance ought to stay within the closet, shunned in favor of one thing deemed extra “age-appropriate.”