Episode 76: New Wave Gets Fashionable
Video may have killed the radio star, but it poured gasoline on the spark of New Wave. As MTV exploded, youth culture moved to center stage and companies making wearables were more than happy to cater to changing tastes. In this episode we focus on Vans and Swatch, a couple of iconic fashion accessories found on the wrists and feet of Gen X.
E X T R A S :
(Top to bottom): A pair of the iconic Vans checkerboard slip-ons, a poster from Britain’s 2 Tone Records listing several of the ska bands on the label, Jeff Spicoli holding his new pair of Vans in a scene from Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
(Top to bottom): An early Swatch showing some of the design elements that made them must-have fashion accessories, a Swiss tourism poster on the left and a Swatch homage to that poster from designer Paula Scheer, a print advertisement for a line of Swatch watches reaturing artwork from Keith Haring
Vans History
“The Story of Vans” timeline
“Off the Walls of Greatness: Vans, an Orange County Icon” (Irvine Weekly article)
History of the Vans Checkerboard (Vans article)
Profile of Doug Palladini, Vans CEO (NY Times article)
Swatch History
“40 Years of Swatch” (Fratello Watches article)
“Swatch & Art, A Timeless Love Story” (Swatch article)
New Wave and Design
“New Wave Graphics Are the Most Influential Designs You’ve Probably Ignored” (AIGA article)
“The History and Bands of New Wave Music” (MasterClass article)