Pegasus / Unicorn

Fashion Synopsis

A slew of fantasy and mythological movies made their way to the screen in the 80’s, and the childhood adoration of horses transferred itself to the mythical lore of the horse’s secret relatives: the flying Pegasus and the one-horned unicorn.

Movies like 1981’s Clash of the Titans brought the mythological winged horse Pegasus to life. Born from the blood of the beheaded Medusa, Pegasus symbolized freedom and heaven. Kids and adults alike fell in love with the flying beast that freely roamed the earth, but whose wings could carry it to heaven.

One year later, the animated feature The Last Unicorn bore Pegasus’ cousin, the one-horned unicorn. The gentle creature with the golden, spiral horn was another mythological beast with uncertain origins but high fascination factor. It's fabled that the only way to catch a unicorn was with a pure virginal maiden.

In the wake of all this free publicity, Unicorns and Pegasus were everywhere: airbrushed on t-shirts, dangling as charms from gold necklaces, quilted onto sweatshirts with lacy wings or gold lamé horns.

If there’s one thing that all little girls dream of having, a horse or pony would be it. In the world of childhood fantasy, where My Little Pony is a favorite toy and Black Beauty is a classic, the mythological Pegasus and Unicorn symbolized all the magical charms the gallant animal could possess.

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