Over the past century, silver has been a bold standard-bearer of the new and revolutionary.

rom Art Deco-inspired evening wear to Sci-Fi futurama, silver has made a splash across throughout the magazine’s 100-year history, but its cultural significance has evolved, too. During the 1930s, silver meant glamour. While was not yet printing photos in color by 1933, there was no mistaking the high sheen of Alix Barton’s silver gowns, even in stark black and white. By the ‘60s, silver defined the Space Age. Sequined and lamé fabrics made by Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges spoke to the cultural moment, directly visualizing the global thirst for space travel and technology. Nothing was quite so mod as a gleaming silver mini dress. Through the 1990s, silver screamed celebrity. Metallics that shined as bright as the tabloid icons of the era were inseparable from fashion and Hollywood superstars alike. While the Supers shimmied in their youthful chain-mail Paco Rabanne dresses, silver continued to make a statement into the early aughts when imagined by designers like Versace and Louis Vuitton. In 2021, shades of silver are a meta-reflection of the youthful spirit and forward-looking yearnings of generations past.