The '80s 'Sexleisure' Look Is Making a Huge Comeback
Fashion

The '80s 'Sexleisure' Look Is Making a Huge Comeback

text by Kat Ward / photography by Eric T. White / styling by Solange Franklin

Sweat. Muscles. Glistening bodies. High-cut leotards. Fashion is cyclical, and we are back in the ThighMaster era. Since Teyana Taylor channeled Jennifer Beals for Kanye West's "Fade" video last August, the hallmarks of '80s sexed-up aerobicizers and muscle-bound gym acolytes have been popping up everywhere. Marc Jacobs and his boyfriend celebrated Halloween as old-school bodybuilder pinups, while Bella Hadid donned colorful leg warmers and a golden glow in a Jane Fonda-inspired video for LOVE magazine's annual advent calendar. Athleisure has been the look for a moment, but all-black "health goth" ensembles are becoming outnumbered by these bright, overtly sexy Reagan-era styles. But why now? According to Eli Linnetz, the 26-year-old director behind the "Fade" video, it might just be a case of kismet. "I think consuming culture at this moment involves a lot of grasping in the dark," he explains. "I don't know. I wasn't born in the '80s."

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Makeup: Mark Edio

Hair: Rubi A. Jones

Nails: Yukie Miyakawa

Model: Isabel Scholten at The Society Management

Stylist Assistant: Olivia Bannock