From Grease to Physical and Koala Blue: Olivia Newton-John’s fashion legacy | Damien Wollnough
Olivia Newton-John’s place in fashion history is assured by the most memorable makeover in cinema. Opposite John Travolta in the 1979 movie, Newton-John’s transformation as Sandy from good girl to bad in the musical’s final moments, taught generations that a black leather jacket, pants so tight that you need to be stitched into them and a spiral perm are enough to win any man’s heart.
A promotional still of Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta in the 1978 film “Grease” and models in the Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2014 runway show in Paris, September 28, 2013.with Newton-John playing a teenager at 28 in full skirts, varsity jackets and with her glossy hair worn in a swinging high ponytail.
Away from the screen, Newton-John was equally influential, launching the Koala Blue chain of boutiques in the US with friend Pat Farrar in 1983. At one stage there were more than 60 Koala Blue stores in the US, Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, France and Australia, with their vibrant logo designed by Ken Done.