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Teddy Boys had established a
teenage market in the fifties and made it acceptable for males to dress for
show. Now both sexes became increasingly fashion-conscious and the trend-makers
made the most of it.The biggest fashion change from the Fifties came in the rise
in hemlines. |
By 1963 she had formed the 'Ginger
Group' which was exporting its own mass-produced designs to the U.S.A. and she
also launched her own cosmetics range in 1966 and footwear collection in 1967.
Shopping for clothes had become fun, a fact quickly picked up on by many others.
Yves Saint Laurent, who had become the house designer for Christian Dior when
Dior died in 1957, started his own fashion house and also opened up a chain of
160 boutiques called 'Rive Gauche', but not until 1966. Although not an
innovative designer, he is important because he was the first couturier to
develop ready-to-wear clothes on a large scale.
In 1963 hemlines were just above the knee but the rise gained extra momentum and popularity when designs by Andre Courreges appeared in Vogue in 1964. By the end of 1965 skirts six inches above the knee were not uncommon.
The changing fashion scene did not go unnoticed by the Treasury. Up until 1966 skirts under 24" long were classed as 'childrens clothing'. From 1st January 1966 womens clothes were assessed for tax purposes according to bust size, not length.
The Kings Road became one of the main clothes centres of Sixties London, the other one being a small lane behind Regent Street near Oxford Circus, called Carnaby Street. These were the fashion shrines of British youth in the early to mid Sixties.
The most influential retailer there was John Stephen, who acquired his first boutique in 1963 and ended up owning ten shops in Carnaby Street with names like 'Male West One', 'Mod Male', 'His Clothes' and a similar number around other areas of the capital as well as at least two in Brighton. Other establishments included 'Lord John' owned by Warren and David Gold and 'Lady Jane' owned by Harry Fox. Away from Carnaby Street another leading London fashion name was Barbara Hulanicki who started a mail order business with her husband, Stephen Fitzsimon.
Her ultra modern, affordable and attractive styles made her a cult figure in the fashion business leading, in 1963, to her opening the BIBA boutique in Abingdon Road, soon followed by a larger store in Kensington Church Street which had an all-black 1930s style décor with twenty or more potted palms and even more hat stands. Dark wood screens, low lighting and pop music gave the place the air of a discotheque. The largest store was opened in Kensington High Street in 1969, surviving until 1973 when it moved to the old Derry & Toms store in Kensington, finally closing in the mid-seventies.
Another trendy place to shop was Cecil Gee in Shaftesbury Avenue. Fashion boutiques with bright lights, colours and pop music opened with enthusiasm all over the country. Of course, to display the clothes to their best effect, fashion models were required and the big names in fashion modelling were Jean 'The Shrimp' Shrimpton and Lesley 'Twiggy' Hornby, known as The Face and The Image of the Sixties respectively. Other top Sixties models were Patti Boyd who married Beatle George Harrison, Penelope Tree, Paulene Stone, the incredibly tall Veruschka and willowy Peggy Moffitt. In 1964 the World In Action programme produced by Granada Television made an edition called 'The Face On The Cover' in which a TV crew followed Jean Shrimpton on modelling assignments in New York and London.
At the age of 15, Twiggy was already dating one of the top hairdressers, Justin de Villeneuve. He arranged a modelling photo session for her, the results of which led to her being featured in all the leading fashion magazines and attaining celebrity status virtually overnight with her boyish looks and 32-22-32 figure. She further influenced the fashion scene by bringing out her own range of clothes in 1967. Between them, Twiggy and The Shrimp changed the general public's concept of fashion models, and fashion itself, completely. Driven by the need for constant change in fashions the mini skirt soon became a mini dress which, combined with the 'A' line design which hung straight onto the hips, ignored the fact that girls had a waist at all. In fact, the dresses were becoming so small that on 5th November 1965 the government brought in new Customs and Excise rules to prevent women avoiding taxes by buying children's sizes. The 10% tax depended on the length of the clothes before a rethink resulted in women's clothes being measured by bust size instead.
This 'waist-less' look soon became apparent in the design of trousers as well, which became much lower-cut, sitting on the hips instead of the waist, hence their name - 'hipsters'. Stretch trousers made from wool and helanca or Bri-nylon were also still an extremely popular commercial style. To emphasise the slim line they were made with stirrup loops to fit around the feet and stretch the fabric straight down from the seat rather than clinging to the hips and thighs. Slimma, the well-known British ladies' trouser maker sold them in large quantities for years, although the style had been around since the late fifties.
Another style born in the previous decade was trouser suits for women, which became more popular and socially acceptable in the mid sixties. The advent of the rising hemline heralded, sadly, the end for stockings and suspenders which were virtually obsolete by 1965. They were replaced by the new, seamless, one-piece 'tights' in various colours and patterns. Stockings returned much later, but as self-supporting items which did not need a suspender belt. New materials were also being produced. Crimplene and Trevira arrived in 1961 and happily joined the other synthetics such as Acrilan, Bri-nylon, Orlon, vinyl and PVC which provided a whole new design medium for fashion garments. Imitation leather and suede was widely used for shorter length 'car coat' styles, often with woollen collars and cuffs. A popular leather substitute was 'Corfam', made by DuPont, used by Rayne to make court shoes and also by Mary Quant for ankle boots.
Synthetics also provided the basis for the shiny, sometimes collar-less 'Beatle-style', wet look two-tone suits favoured by the mods of the early Sixties. As the decade progressed, styles converged towards a unisex look, hipsters and 'T' shirts being the most common denominator.
Trouser styles had started the Sixties being about 10" around the leg, the drainpipe fashion preferred by the Teddy boys, but gradually increased in size becoming 'flares' by 1965. Hats, noticeable by their absence as soon as hair styling for men became a fashion consideration, did not become popular again until hairstyles became longer and more casual, and took the form of peaked soft caps in the style worn by Donovan and Dylan. Female trousers went even further into the pantaloon range - almost full-length culottes. Shirt collars became wider, rounded and button-down. Suit lapels also became wider and 'kipper' ties abounded in ever more startling combinations of colour and design, combining the neat look of the mods with the expressive, bright colours of hippie flower-power psychedelia which reached its peak in 1967, flooding the 'alternative' fashion world with kaftans, afghan coats, beads, body paint and flowers in the hair.
The first topless dress designs appeared in 1964 at the ever more outrageous fashion shows but were unsuitable for general public wear as the proud owners soon found themselves on indecency charges. The idea, though, soon translated itself into baring other, less taboo, parts of the anatomy leading to bare midriff designs, Courreges bringing out the 'cut-out' dress with large holes cut in the sides or at the back and front, and the even more adventurous large-stitch crochet and linked-plate creations. Swimwear also succumbed to this minimalist trend. The bikini, a more revealing version of the earlier two-piece swimsuit, had been commonly available since 1959, gradually becoming smaller until, in 1964, Rudi Gernreich 'invented' the topless swimsuit. He was also responsible for the highly revealing bra-less body stocking fashion of the time.
Other popular 'fads' of the Sixties included false fingernails, false eyelashes ( male mods often used eye makeup or mascara to enhance their looks ) and, for some reason, disposable paper knickers. 'Disposable' clothing really reached its zenith around 1966 - 68 but was more of a gimmick than a viable alternative. Bow ties became a popular unisex accessory and a revival of 19th Century fashion brought back the 'choker', a collar of pearls or fabric, gleefully known as the 'dog collar.
In a 1966 publicity stunt by the Scott Paper Company in America paper dresses were offered for sale at $1.25 each. They sold more than half a million during the next six months! However, disposable clothes were not really much cheaper to make than ordinary dress production. Another accessory to come back into fashion in 1964 was the wig when it was discovered that The Supremes used them on stage. Wigs were also used by men, notably Andy Warhol who owned more than 500. There were also the famous 'Beatle' wigs and also a range of 'groovy' wigs created by John Stephen. Later in the decade 'afro' wigs were also popular.
Films and pop groups also affected the fashion scene. Berets became popular again after Faye Dunaway wore one in 'Bonnie and Clyde', blonde streaks after Audrey Hepburn's appearance in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' and knee-length vinyl boots and 'space-age' designs after Jane Fonda in 'Barbarella' to name but three from the movie world. Following an appearance by The Beatles at Wembley in 1964 wearing new-look suits designed by Douglas Millings, the style was on sale in John Temple and Neville Reed shops the following October priced at 12 guineas ( £12.60 ).
Hairdressers ( before the later hippie fashion for both males and females to wear their hair long and uncut ) and photographers were also closely linked to the world of fashion and were celebrities in their own right. Probably the most famous of the Sixties photographers, David Bailey started as a photographer with the Daily Express in 1959, working as an assistant to fashion photographer John French. He left to set up his own studio and managed to acquire a contract with Vogue which he used to turn Jean Shrimpton into one of, if not the, leading models of the Sixties. His fresh and irreverent approach to fashion photography launched his career and made him a leader of style in the emergent pop culture. His second marriage, in 1965, was to film star Catherine Deneuve, the best man being none other than a certain Mick Jagger. Bailey was the inspiration for the story behind the 1967 cult movie 'Blow-Up' starring David Hemmings. Others were Patrick Litchfield, another top fashion and celebrity photographer, famous for the ruffs, frills and velvet creations he wore, Tony Armstrong-Jones, a fashionable commercial photographer who became the Earl of Snowdon when he married Princess Margaret and Paris-based Helmut Newton whose op-art / pop-art fashion shoots graced the pages of Stern, Vogue and Queen magazine in the Spring of 1966.
Sarah Moon worked as a fashion model in the early 60s before becoming a freelance fashion photographer, working for Cacharel, Elle, Marie-Claire, Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. She also did advertising work for Biba. John French used a stark, black and white style in his fashion photography which influenced many Sixties photographers. Terence Donovan worked with French and John Adnan before opening his own studio in 1957, working in the Sixties for fashion magazines such as Elle, Cosmopolitan, Marie-Claire and Vogue.
The top name in hairdressing during the Sixties was undoubtedly Vidal Sassoon whose customers included Mary Quant, Jean Shrimpton and Mia Farrow who he famously flew to America for, when she wanted her hair styled, while she was on set making ' the film Rosemary's Baby'. He had worked for 'Teazy Weazy' Raymond until 1955 and by the time the swinging Sixties arrived he had his own salon in Bond Street. Creations of his included the 'bob cut', the 'five point geometric cut' - the neat swinging line as used by Mary Quant and Nancy Kwan, the 'one-eyed girl', the 'asymmetric Isadora cut' and the 'Greek goddess' styles. These 'modern' hairdos had taken over from the popular but troublesome 'beehive' style . In this, the hair was back-combed to give it massive height and volume, styled, and then set in place using huge amounts of hair lacquer. Together with stiletto heels it could make a girl look up to a foot taller than she really was!
Styles for women varied considerably, new 'cuts' being created on a regular basis covering a very wide variety of 'looks', but settling down to the simpler, long, shoulder length ( or longer ) hairstyles of the mid to late Sixties, via the chin-length heavily fringed or centre-parted Mod look. Another name commonly believed to be a top hairdresser* was Justin de Villeneuve ( real name Nigel Davies ) who was probably even more famous for his 'discovery' of, and relationship with, the fifteen year old Lesley 'Twiggy' Hornby. Her 'boyish crop' hairstyle was actually created by Len Lewis who was better known as 'Leonard of Mayfair'. He also has the credit for creating the 'mop top' style of The Beatles who were brought to him by Brian Epstein after their sojourn in Germany in order to 'smarten up' their image. He had been a protégé of Vidal Sassoon and, working with colourist Daniel Galvin, his salon at 6 Upper Grosvenor Street saw many famous visitors including Judy Garland, Liz Taylor and even John F. and Jackie Kennedy when they were in town. The 'In' hairdresser for the mods in the early to mid Sixties was John Anthony's salon in Twickenham. Hair styles for men gradually lengthened as the decade progressed, through the 'mop-top Beatle' style, the raised-back Mod style and the longer, more casual 'Rolling Stones' style to the shoulder length hair favoured by the hippies of the later Sixties, often worn in permed 'Afro' style.
Shoe fashions changed almost
weekly ranging from stiletto heel shoes to thigh length boots, elastic-sided
winklepicker 'Chelsea' boots to cuban heeled shoes with buckles or even Hush
Puppies and Clarks desert boots, depending on your particular taste and what
your 'group' were wearing - bowling shoes were even the height of fashion for a
short period!
Also popular was the 'Courreges boot', mid calf length with open slots at the
top and a tassle or bow in front. These were made of white kid, calf or patent
leather.
Hemlines continued to rise and, by 1968, had become what was not much more than a very wide belt - the 'micro' skirt - so it seemed the only way to go was down. The straight midi skirt, calf length, took over in 1969 soon followed by the ankle length maxi. This design change also affected the length of coats and it was not unusual to see mini or micro skirts being worn under an open, ankle length coat.
Another 'name' of Sixties fashion was Zandra Rhodes who came to the forefront in the latter part of the decade when she opened her Fulham Road clothes shop. Specialising in fantasy evening wear, her use of bright colours and her outrageous designs were perfectly attuned to the psychedelic culture of 'flower power'.
In 1968 The Beatles opened their Apple boutique in the West End, run by Dutch hippie designers Simon and Marijke, combining the flowery 'hippie' look and 'Sergeant Pepper' military styles with top designer names. This was followed on May 22nd by a second shop specialising in theatrical clothing. Although the establishment was very popular as a showcase for the latest fashions, the high prices tended to make the youth buy their clothes elsewhere and the shops closed on July 31st with huge losses. The Beatles took what they wanted from the stock and everything else was given away to passers-by.
The Portobello Road was one of the favourite alternative places to go, offering uniform style items, sometimes the real thing, at a fraction of the cost of the designer equivalent and pretty well qualified for the title 'fashion centre' itself, although it supplied demand rather than created it. Psychedelia was a completely international influence and many European designers like Elio Fiorucci and Emilio Pucci were making use of the bolder colours and patterns.
Outside of the hippie world, the 'Regency' or 'Romantic' look evolved from Mod in 1967-68, involving the use of frills and bows and crushed velvet. It was really after this stage, with fashions diversifying so much that the drive and vitality started to drop out of the fashion market, with minor changes and styles coming and going without great success and mingling with the various 'left over' fashions from earlier in the decade such as 'skinny-rib' sweaters and tie-dyed garments. Other fashion items worth mentioning from the middle and end of the decade are wet-look PVC coats, crocheted dresses and bikinis and the futuristic 'space age' designs of Paco Rabanne which involved the use of metallic discs or plates and day-glo colours. Also, evening and 'formal' dresses were increasingly influenced by hippie designs.
It would take a very much larger item than this to even start to investigate the fashions of the Sixties in detail as fads were regional as well as national and international, and changed almost weekly, as immortalised in the words of the Kinks' 'Dedicated Follower of Fashion', but it is probably sufficient just to say that it was all NEW and, for a while, it was great fun!