Every generation in decades past has had their share of exciting fashion. The 1950s had oversized poodle skirts. The ’60s had trippy tie-dye T-shirts with purple and turquoise swirls. And the ’70s made their pant legs (and shirt collars) so wide, one could land a plane on them. But it was in the 1980s that designers seemed to ask, “What if we could just not follow any rules at all?” Better yet, “What if whatever style we choose, we make it glow?”

Artist Harold Austad shared his theory on the unique, electric fashion that helped shape Gen X-ers in the 1980s and through the mid-‘90s. And his idea wasn’t just that the generation wanted to stand out with bright, neon colors. It was an overall feeling that permeated through much of the decade: bigger and brighter than a thousand suns.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Fine Art by Harald Austad (@thesupergraphics)

A post shared by Fine Art by Harald Austad (@thesupergraphics)

In an Instagram Reel with a chyron reading “80s and 90s power aesthetics,” Austad notes that it wasn’t just everyday fashion that came in bright colors. Super Soaker toys, ski gear, watches, and........

© Upworthy