BY DR. TONY MONDA
Apart from food and shelter, clothing is one of the three essentials of life. On a social level, fashion records the history and serves as a mirror of the society of its times.
While the Cold War between the East and West, mainly Russia and America continued, and the arms race increased with each side trying to find the ultimate weapon; the 1970s marked an explosion in creativity. Fashion, art, music, architecture and design experienced a vibrant time.
The 70’s produced many iconic designs in furniture, lighting and accessories and architecture. In Toronto, Canada, the CN Tower became the world’s tallest freestanding structure.
In London, Prime Minister Harold Wilson held the British keys to their colonised states in Africa and to the future of our wellbeing.
In Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), Ian Smith’s UDI regime which catered only for the minority white settlers at the expense of the majority, was feeling the crush of UN sanctions. Our indigenous brothers and sisters who had began to marshal arms in the neighbouring frontline states of Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola and Zambia, were gathering strength by the day to liberate us from the colonial shackles.
There was a fashion revolution also taking place at this time, of tight shirts and tight trousers, known under the apt moniker of the time – Revolutions.
A similar revolution was occurring throughout Africa, in fact, the nineteen sixties and seventies were a time of revolutions the world over.
The time of our Second Chimurenga (1965-1979), was also a time of Afro hairstyles, Revo bell bottoms (maberi bottoms), flared
“Revolution” Jeans, “masatin” skinny tight shirts and “mabogard”.
It was a time of the “black power” wrist bands which were worn by conscious black people around the world as a symbol of the growing
Black Power, to signify the rise of African self-awareness and nationalism.
The decade witnessed the establishment of many new ideas. The Intel 4004 home computer
was created by Intel – the first cheap microprocessor. In 1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen in the USA, created Microsoft Personal Computer and 1976 saw Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak create the Apple Computer Company.
With the growth of home computers, “Bulletin Boards” became a popular way for people to find others with similar interests; much as Facebook today.
It was a creative and vibrant time where much knowledge about the world was being generated, thought about, designed and created.
The Boeing 747, the first jumbo-jet made its commercial debut flight from New York to London and the American space agency NASA introduced the Enterprise, the first space shuttle.
With the invention of transistors and integrated circuits in the late 1960’s, the 1970’s were the beginnings of the electronics and digital revolution. Companies looked for, and found ways to use the technology which resulted in the phenomenal growth of smaller, cheaper and more powerful products ranging from calculators to televisions and Liquid Crystal
Display – LCDs. E-Mail became the new communication revolution in 1971 in the USA.
Major socio-political occurrences that captured the spirit of that era were of revolution and liberation. In 1971 Qatar and Sierra Leone became independent from England, and in 1973 Belize and the Bahamas also gained their independence from the United Kingdom.
In 1974, India became the sixth nuclear power when it successfully detonated a nuclear bomb.
Oil prices increased drastically resulting in the oil crisis of 1973, when Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), announced that they would no longer ship petroleum to the United States and its allies in Western Europe that had supported Israel in its conflict with Syria and Egypt.
With oil prices quadrupling the Western world went into recession for the first time since World War II, introducing rationing measures.
This affected Zimbabwe which was under the Rhodesian’s regime and petrol rationing was introduced and petrol coupons issued to those who could afford them.
Dr. Tony Monda holds a PhD. in Art Theory and Philosophy and a DBA in Post-Colonial Heritage Studies. E-mail: tonym.MONDA@gmail.com
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