Fashion may be the only art form that shows a demonstrated fear of color. We love our vibrant Matisses, our colorful Calders, but we want our cocktail dresses black. Perhaps that's because fashion is the only art form that labors under... [more]

Fashion may be the only art form that shows a demonstrated fear of color. We love our vibrant Matisses, our colorful Calders, but we want our cocktail dresses black. Perhaps that's because fashion is the only art form that labors under the demand that it smooth bodily imperfections, not scream them. In any case, when color is finally brought out of the shadows, it retains the power to shock, even more than exposed breasts or backsides. Color is indeed the TNT of the fashion world. In the late 1990s, color bombs were hurled quite a bit in the battle for fashion supremacy. Explosive Color emerged as a sort of movement, a reaction to season after season of black and gray runways. The mother of the movement must be American designer Betsey Johnson, who first began mixing things up in the '60s. She describes the decade: "Wow! Explode! The Sixties . . . . It came to life in a pure, exaggerated, crazed out, wham, wham, wow way. The Beatles, Hendrix, Joplin, the Velvet Underground exploding so wonderfully." Johnson herself exploded with Pop dresses of clear plastic and colored paper, micro-skirts, and tight t-shirts. In the '80s, she reinvented herself as the queen of the lycra mini-dress; in the 90's, she enjoyed a revival with the "kinderwhore" look. Through all her many phases, Johnson has remained committed to color, especially today. Johnson found an ally in '90s designer Todd Oldham. Like Johnson, Oldham remains outside the high fashion mainstream, because, like Johnson, he emphasizes fun, affordability, and vibrant visuals. His fashion philosophy may be best expressed in an interview he did with MTV's House of Style, in which he encouraged viewers to dye their hair with Kool-Aid. Explosive color, then, is all about annoying your proverbial parents -- be they insistent on khaki in the office or black in the nightclub. The most patriarchy-pestering designer of all may be late-'90s German designer Walter Van Beirendonck. Head of the label "Wild and Lethal Trash," Van Beirendonck's collections are characterized by rave influences, anti-fashion sensibilities, cartoon references, crazy striping, and wild, wild hues. Recent collections have been a bit cleaner and more tailored, but the commitment to color remains, like a millennial fireworks display. [show less]