90s Plus Size Fashion Trends & Themes

The 90s. Fashion often cycles back pulling fashion trends like grunge tees, and skater dresses, but some fashion genius has staying power beyond trends. We looooove this about 90s minimalism. This timeframe gave rise to trendy but simple streetwear 90s outfits. Kate Moss wore her slip dress, Gwyneth cut her hair short and Winona had her slip skirt and crop tops. As a minimalist architect, Mies van der Rohe very famously said, “less is more.” On the runway designers like Martin Margiela and Jil Sander were experimenting with shapes, elevated details, and texture, letting the design be art front and center. This is when the opulence of the 80s was left behind, the noise was stripped away and fashion became more streamlined. Fabrics were also becoming more innovative, introducing nylon and stretchy fabrics.

Meanwhile, well done plus-size fashion was a very very rare commodity in the 90s. There was a true lack of accessibility in fashion for curvy women and of course representation. Result: this exciting paired-down heyday of minimal 90s ingenuity never happened for plus-size clothing. Fast forward to today - reading about 90s minimalist style is like reading See ROSE Go’s design ethos. Which makes it refreshing and exciting to see chic minimalism finally coming into relevance in plus size fashion, thanks to See ROSE Go today.

Our co-founder and head of design, Yi Zhou, is heavily influenced by the minimalist design masters making their name in the 90s, Helmet Lang, Donna Karan, and each put form and function first. This is evident in the See ROSE Go dedication to elevated basics, tech material, simple lines, and redefining silhouettes. Checkout our favorite design concepts influenced by 90s minimalist designers and how we bring this to life in plus-size fashion at See ROSE Go.

Minimalism 

After the excess of the 80s fashion, fashion was stripped down to a less is more mentality. Color palettes were reduced to a basic black and white scheme including a few touches of color here and there. See ROSE Go launched in 2018 with a crisp dress shirt, straight leg tailored pants, skirt sets, tee shirt, and tee dress. Throw in a loafer and you have a true minimalist’s uniform. It was and remains a fresh and unique take on plus-size womenswear offering minimalistic design while maintaining a bold edge. Simplicity becomes a luxury when details take center stage and a basic tee shirt can boast being everyday-unique. A few designers come to mind when discussing the height of minimalism in 90s fashion–Calvin Klein, Helmut Lang, and Jil Sanders.

High Tech Fabrics

As working, mom’ing, female entrepreneurs the SRG founders understand multidimensional women today. We need our clothing to do more than look great, our clothing needs to perform for us. Taking a page from their time at NIKE Erin and Yi invented CoolROSE™ Tech jersey as a solution for everyday comfort. CoolROSE is a cotton-based tech fabric that is cooling, breathable, anti-pilling, and machine washable. This is where Helmut Lang’s legacy and influence step in once again. Lang’s designs were known for their high-tech fabrics during the 90s. It was exclusive and unheard of. His use of synthetic and technical materials is still making waves today.

See ROSE Go crafts several styles in our CoolROSE™ Tech fabric, the Coolest T-shirt, Go-To Dress, Peek-a-boo Long Sleeve, the Cheeky Skirt, our new tee dress. In addition, The Gentlewoman Turtleneck, Multitasker wide leg Pants, and Riveter Jumpsuit are just a few others that fuse form and function from performance benefits of technical material. High quality and long-lasting, these styles will be making waves a la Helmut Lang for years to come. 

Clean Lines

Forget the plaid, grunge, and mom jeans of 90s clothing. It is the clean androgynous look of the 90s that gets us. Maybe a less trendy look, but one that has made a more lasting iconic impression. Sleek and polished. Easy and comfortable. These looks were straight and streamlined. Clavin Klein was the king of understated style, playing with unisex basics in a simple linear way. We love a good clean line ourselves as seen in our signature piping detail. Our best seller Signature Tunic Shirt in white is a nod to the no-nonsense dressing of Calvin Klein. Simple, easy, sexy yet still sophisticated. Calvin Klein was the first to introduce a unisex fragrance, ONE. Unisex clothing was made popular by 90s style. Iconic clothing pieces are often unisex for a reason, everyone loves them. A good example today is our Riveter Jumpsuit. You can read up on the jumpsuit’s role in fashion over on our History of the Jumpsuit blog. 

Basic But Elevated

Donna Karan was made famous for her Seven Easy Pieces. Simple, elevated basics a woman must have in her closet to create any look for any situation. These included a bodysuit, wrap skirt, a chiffon blouse, a longer jacket or outerwear piece, leggings, a blazer, and a dress. The 90s version of a perfect capsule wardrobe that is still very much relevant today. This simple concept kicked off the capsule wardrobe, which we look to build at SRG with every delivery. Its out goal to ensure you can layer and build into your SRG pieces.

As we design See ROSE Go we are always questioning how can we build a capsule and layer styles creating outfits with easy pieces. Keeping the focus on what you want to DO. You can count on a cardigan to double as a light layer or a longer jacket, Our Off-Duty Leggings working seamlessly into any wardrobe and this Spring we introduced a crew pullover sweatshirt as a light over size top to layer. DK isn’t the only one on our inspo board. Lang’s minimalistic approach can also be seen in our Layering Vest, Tailored Track Pants, Coolest short sleeve T-Shirt and simple sleeveless tank top dress. 

90s fashion will forever be a part of our inspiration for their simple approach to a not so simple problem. Looking polished and feeling great to go or an accomplish in life. It’s because of thoughtful minimal design, see rose go pieces can work seamlessly into any style aesthetic. It’s not fussy, trendy or uncomfortable, which is why 90s minimalism is so well loved.  No matter your style, these no nonsense pieces work for you. Especially now as we collectively move toward surrounding ourselves with purpose and favorites. We desire a more purpose driven wardrobe. From the brands we support to the style and function and sustainability elements. Designers like Helmut Lang and Donna Karan will continue to inspire other creators with their minimalist designs creating chic timeless approachable designs that elevate our wardrobes to where we want to be.