70s Nightclub Fashion Returns for a Revival: Fuzzy Coats Have Become the Festive Season's Key Piece
While the iconic New York venue Studio 54 shut its doors almost four decades ago, its distinct fashion influence remains powerful.
Currently, the spotlight isn't on sheer bodysuits but on the plush, shaggy coats and wraps favored by style icons and club-goers alike.
With the holiday party season coming up, the distinctive Studio 54 coat is enjoying a major resurgence.
Shopping Data Shows the Trend
Among the hottest items from a recent collaboration between a major retailer and a designer brand is a short, cream, long-haired jacket with oversized lapels.
At a leading department store, searches for brown faux fur coats have jumped 190% compared to last year.
The demand for secondhand plush finds is also soaring, with queries for synthetic fur increasing by 257% in the last six months on a popular resale website.
"It's a one and done coat," says a senior style expert, adding that it serves as the central piece of an ensemble.
She likes to wear her own colossal shaggy version with hipster jeans or tights and micro shorts.
Screen Fashion Echoes the Trend
The aesthetic is replicated in a latest Netflix romantic comedy series, where a character wears a toffee-colored fuzzy jacket to a informal dinner.
When challenged about her bold look, the character replies, "It's what you said to look fancy. It's fashion!"
Emergence of the "Glamorous" Aesthetic
The trend fits into what a U.S. trend forecaster is calling "boom boom."
Rooted in the extravagance and excess of late-80s New York, this aesthetic evokes wads of cash, champagne, cigarettes, short skirts, loose morals and, naturally, fuzzy textures.
Similar to that time, the trend is set against a volatile economy.
Boom boom is very much about embodying the life you aspire to rather than the one you are stuck with.
Modern Materials and Playful Opulence
Whereas real fur was omnipresent during Studio 54's heyday, current iterations are mostly made from lambskin—a byproduct of the food industry—or man-made materials like acrylic.
The trend represents a tongue-in-cheek opulence—as if a famous Muppet has taken over with exaggerated proportions and surprising hues.
Star Adoption and Limited Drops
A London designer was an pioneer of this trend. Her fluffy coats with curly textures have been sported by top singers.
Because of strong demand, these coats are now only sold in exclusive collections. An forthcoming launch includes a rose and grey version similar to a giant pom-pom, as well as leopard- and zebra-print options with dramatic fluffy frou-frou.
"If you can only buy a single item, you wouldn't choose it to be a plain jumper or a pair of ordinary trousers, you want something dramatic," says a publication editor-in-chief.
This feeling is echoed by a style head at a major retailer, who calls it "a surprising, fun element" that avoids the need for a complete outfit.
The Ultimate Spirit Lifter
In the end, the fuzzy coat can serve as a great pick-me-up.
"It doesn't have to cost a lot," says the editor, "and it will make you feel glam when everything else is rather dreary."
