60's Fashion and its Icons

60's Fashion and its Icons

The 1960’s as a decade was quite a phenomenon. It was a decade in which fashion, music, photography and the cult of personality united as one. It was known as the rule-breaking decade, and more popularly known as the ‘Swinging Sixties’.

Fashion in the 1960’s consisted of: Doc Martens boots, Teddy Boy suits, Wigs, Mop top hair, The Twiggy look, Paisley and Mini skirts to name a few. The 1960’s was an iconic era for style as it was when the young became the leaders of the fashion. Young people led the way for new, hip and innovative designs and fashion pieces that we would still wear to this very day. One of the most iconic fashion figures of the 1960’s was that of the model Lesley Lawson, more famously known as ‘Twiggy’, she paved the way for the all new British, androgynous look with almost baby doll like features.

Skirts were a big trend during the 1960’s with Mary Quant generating short waist skimming mini dresses and skirts that were set 6/7 inches above the knee, they were known to be one of the defining fashion moments in the 60’s. Mary Quant is known to have made the mini skirt what is was, she was very daring in her approach and liked to take risks in her designs. The trend was very controversial but took off as it was so different from what the women of that time were wearing, especially compared to the 50’s. The Quant style soon became known as the Chelsea Look. In the late 1960’s Mary Quant also popularised hot pants, which are still worn today by the younger generations. She wanted to make garments that were practical yet liberating and free.

 

                                                                                 Biba was an iconic London fashion store of the 60’s and 70’s it was founded by Barbara Hulanicki and her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. The Biba fashion store was hugely popular amongst society, selling fashion items at affordable prices, particularly the Quant mini-skirt. Even though Mary Quant was the first British designer to show the mini-skirt, Biba was responsible for putting it out there on the high-street at affordable prices. The Biba feel was based around the Art Deco style, and the logo incorporates this approach. Every product had the Biba logo on it; it was the first to set a standard for brand marketing and the first high street store to create a look for itself. The description ‘Hordes of half-crazed teenage girls’ was only used to describe two things, a Beatles concert or a typical Saturday at the Biba store when it was popular. It just shows how much of a phenomenon Biba had created and how it has helped shape fashion and merchandising to this very day.

I went to the BIBA and BEYOND exhibition at Brighton Museum and Art Gallery and took pictures of the collection, here are a few: 

Ossie Clark has been compared to the 1960’s fashion great Biba; he was also a major figure in the swinging 60’s. Clark was heavily influenced at the time by Pop Art and Hollywood Glamour, which can be seen throughout many of his designs. He was first recognised at the age of 23, when he was singled out by British vogue in their 1965 issue. Ossie and his wife Celia Birtwell produced some of the most memorable garments of the 1960’s. They collaborated with flattering silhouettes and romantic textiles to create iconic and eye-catching fashion designs. Clark designed for major celebrities, including The Beatles and Mick Jagger. He pronounced himself as a master cutter; he meticulously fitted coats, jackets and suits in wool, crepe, tweed and suede. His deigns were extremely precise and he loved to explore, create and discover new shapes and designs with different fabrics. He was a perfectionist to say the least.