Michael Doster

DOSTERMICHAEL

80/90

Foreword by

REGINA STAHL

Beauty Director of GERMAN VOGUE

One day I received a call from Michael Doster, whom I’d known for a long

time – he told me about his plans to edit a book about his fashion photogra-

phy of the 1980-1990 decade. Furthermore he asked me if I’d like to look at

his work of that period and write a few lines about it. Looking at old pictures,

he had always been one of my favourite things - and in the Eighties I was a

fashion editor for German Vogue and had seen all the collections. So I agreed

and arrived, very curious, at Michael’s studio. Had I known what was waiting

for me – I might not have been so enthusiastic about the project. Hundred of

beautiful photographs, which he had done mostly for editorial and advertising

campaigns, were spread out on the floor, like a giant carpet. I felt that Micha-

el loved every single one of them – so when he asked for my opinion about

which ones to exclude from the final choice I really had a hard time. A hard

time which was also filled with joy because it brought back so many memori-

es. The Eighties were the times when fashionwise girls changed into divas. It

was the comeback of dressing up, doing your hair and playing around with a

lot of make up. Working women became lady bosses with the discovery of the

pantsuit starring jackets with strong shoulders. Everything was quite obvious

– the colors, the prints (remember the big success of polka dots?), even the

buttons tended to be gold. It was the decade of French designers like Ungaro,

Jean Louis Scherrer and above them Yves Saint Laurent. American creators

like Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren suddenly made their entrance into

the hall of fame. And it was just shortly before the supermodels appeared on

the runways… but even the Eighties had beautiful women I like to point out,

who will be seen again in the following pages: Janice Dickinson, Carla Bruni

and Deirdre, whose boysh haircut might be taken as an earlier style-version of

today’s icon Agyness Deyn. To those who – like Michael and me – were part

of the Eighties and to those who think they have discovered Eighties styling as

the latest moment of chic: look at this book, have a Kir Royal (very Eighties)

and simply enjoy!