It’s Haute Couture Fashion week in Paris – well, sort of. Shows are being attended by video links and style is being created, communicated and consumed in a virtual world. But for a brief moment, let’s pretend we’re not in the middle of a pandemic and turn the clock back to the early 90s courtesy of MTV’s House of Style. The show premiered in 1989, focusing on America’s growing fascination with supermodels, their ridiculously glamorous lives in the modelling industry, and occasionally touching on some heavier topics like eating disorders. Cindy Crawford, who was already established as one of the supermodels of the era, hosted for six years but was also an executive producer of the show. We’ve dug up the Paris episode for your frivolous enjoyment – it’s full of pretentious moments, 90s nostalgia, unexpected cameos, a dangerous amount of hairspray and a glimpse into the most indulgent era of the fashion industry…
Will we ever see the return of fashion week as we knew it? Do we even want to? Only time will tell. But without the drama, excitement and press coverage surrounding the industry during their sacred fashion weeks, perhaps a show like MTV’s House of Style needs a revival to “keep the dream alive” and report on the latest trends. After Crawford’s six-year run, MTV cut the number of episodes per series until the show was ultimately canceled in 2000. It was briefly revived in 2009 with Bar Refaeli Chanel Iman and again in 2014, with rapper/ model Iggy Azalea. Third time lucky?
In the meantime, should you be craving more 90s fashion nostalgia, here’s the Milan episode from the same year:
