It may be true that trends are recycled every 20 years, but it’s the grunge attitude and high-end minimalism of the '90s that has dominated fashion for so long. So why has the colour, camp and extroversion of the '80s come back around now? Perhaps it’s a result of the current socio-political situation. “At a time when the global political climate is fractious, there’s comfort in a certain kind of nostalgia. The '80s were a time of economic boom, when fashion and lifestyles were fast and frivolous,” Smith says. “With millennials delaying home purchases and starting families, they have disposable income which revisits some of that '80s hedonism. The '80s is somewhat akin to pure escapism from the harsher realities of life.”