It took nearly two years for the hit rock musical Rent to get from workshop to Broadway, but its sassy, sexy downtown look will be available retail this week--a scant nine days after its Broadway opening night--when Bloomingdale's opens a Rent boutique in Manhattan.
While there may be mild irony in an upscale department store peddling a look that is based in part on thrift-store chic, fashion has long fed on pop-culture events for inspiration. Diane Keaton's shapeless slouch gear in Annie Hall and Jennifer Beals' off-the-shoulder Flashdance sweat shirts both set looks that lasted for months on the streets. Bloomingdale's...