dsigner - adjective (Lifestyle and Leisure) Originally, of clothes and other fashion items:
bearing the name or label of a famous designer, and therefore (by implication) expensive or
prestigious . Later extended to describe anything fashionable among yuppies and the smart set generally; also applied to anything that can be designed individually for or by a
particular user. Etymology:
An attributive use of the noun designer which has become so common in recent years that it is now regarded by many as an adjective. History and Usage: This use of designer began with the designer scarf (also known as a signature scarf) back in the mid sixties, but did not really take off in the language until the late seventies. Then denim jeans were elevated from simple
workaday clothing to high fashion by the addition of the designer
label on the pocket, which made them designer jeans and therefore comparatively expensive. The trend spread to other areas of fashion (notably designer knitwear) in the
early eighties; by the middle of the decade the word had become one of the advertising industry's favourites, and anything associated with the smart and wealthy class targeted by these advertisers could have the designer tag applied to it ironically (for example, overpriced sparkling
mineral water served by trendy wine bars
came to be called designer water). A distinct branch of meaning started to
develop in the second half of the eighties, perhaps under the influence of the same advertisers and fashion writers.
Whereas before this, designer items had to be created by a designer (or at
least bear the name of a designer: the name was often licensed out on goods which the designer had never seen), the emphasis was now on designing for the individual customer, and in some cases the consumers were even encouraged to do the
designing themselves. This was the era of such things as designer stubble (a carefully nurtured unshaven look) and designer food (inspired by the chef-artists of nouvelle cuisine). The concept has been used outside the world of 'lifestyle' and fashion as well, for
example in popular descriptions of genetic engineering. Small wonder Perrier is called Designer Water. My
local wine bar has the cheek to charge 70p a glass. The Times 4 Sept. 1984, p.
12 I mean Ah'd...got into ma designer tracksuit just to be casual like. Liz Lochhead True Confessions (1985), p.
72 Designer stubble of the George Michael ilk has also run its bristly course. Hockney thinks that the only people who can
get away with it are dark, continental
men whose whiskers push through evenly. Guardian 7 Aug. 1989, p.
17 Altering the
shape of plants is
another possibility--what Professor Stewart calls designer plants...In some cases
they could be made to grow a canopy across the bare earth to keep in gases like carbon dioxide. Guardian 5 Mar. 1990, p.
6 'Designer' pianos in
coloured finishes, veneers and marquetries now form
about 5 per cent of the market. Ideal Home Apr. 1990, p.
84 See also designer drug
