The New Affluence

1960’s Britain became a nation of consumers, from pre-war Britain, post-war Britain was a free nation celebrating their new found freedom and youth culture was the main attraction. Britain was all about self-indulgence and the pleasures of spending were paramount. Britain was the no1 importer for champagne and the advertising industry was growing… so was the fashion industry.

The British economy hadn’t grown as much compared to Germany or Japan however with almost full time employment, the increasing availability of consumer goods and the division of the rich and poor was slowly being diminished.  There was a transition between an industrial and post-industrial economy as the youthful pleasures such as music and fashion were the centre of the nation and would soon form a new national identity.

Shopping became more popular and a main aspect of British culture, the classic British high street was changed significantly by new self-service supermarkets, often out of town and offering greater choice independence grocers.  

The complexities of social class became apparent in the media and through the labelling of pop stars, models, fashion designers and photographers who were known as being the ‘new aristocracy’ even footballers were involved in this cultural shift.

I think this was the shift between famous and un-famous and really made celebrities who we see today, George Best opened his own clothing boutique in 1966, much like many footballers who have taken business ventures into the fashion world including Cristiano Ronaldo with his CR7 brand. The cultural change from post-war Britain and music influences changed fashion and how people consumed goods.

Because there was a main focus on the younger generation, magazines such as Vogue and Queen who tried to address a younger audience, Vogue had ‘About Twenties’ pages which focused on a younger readers and magazine sales soared. Magazines became more fashion literate and the magazine Honey launched in 1960 which had a circulation of 200,000 by 1966. The magazine focused on fashion but also offered its young readers relationship and sex advice.

 I think this is what influenced magazines such as Teen Vogue and Nylon or younger magazines who focus on teenagers fashion rather than haute couture like Vogue and Harpers Baazar. Magazines today don’t just offer fashion they show a certain ‘lifestyle’ which is something that publications in 1960’s were looking to do, during this time British teenagers had spent £850 million on fashion and entertainment.

I think this era was the beginning of a consumer society and was a time of expression through fashion and music, being limited to resources from the war, people had little things to do.  Since the war the 1960’s was the time to experiment and express yourself, with wages rises and fashion being more dominant, teenagers were seeing the need to spend their money on looking good and showing others what they had. 

Refence from book: Swinging Britain - fashion in the 1960's by Mark Armstrong

1960's Super Models and Body Image Today

The rise of the supermodel: Twiggy

Everyone knows Twiggy, in 2016 we still refer to here as a legend and an icon. I find it fascinating how the image of a supermodel has changed and what make her so amazing in comparison to supermodels today such as Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner.

Twiggy was the world’s first supermodel, a skinny girl who once was told that she’d last about two weeks, little did they know that she would be seen as a British fashion icon and would go on to a successful modelling career.  All this happened during 1966 and she shot to fame when she was only 16. In my previous blog post I mentioned the evolution of the mods, well Twiggy was the one who gave the mods the pedestal they wanted. With her boyish hair cut and striking eyelashes, she became an idol for millions across the world and an idol for teenage girls during the 1960’s. She appeared on the covers of Vogue, Tatler and her own publication named Her Mod, Mod Teen World.

Barry Lategan, the photographer who shot her first images, said that ‘there are so many adjectives to describe what photogenic actually is, but my photos of Twiggy show the result of that.’ Her long eyelashes and short hair inspired a trend of millions of girls and she was the Face of ’66. Twiggy went against all odds because she was so skinny and small compared to the other models during the time who were a lot taller and curvaceous.

With Twiggy going against the odds being such a huge success makes me think of models in today’s industry who are featured on sports illustrated and model’s like Gigi Hadid who is known for her fuller figure, plus size models have also made an impact on the modelling world and it’s funny how the fashion industry changed. As during the 1960’s the fashion was to be curvaceous and have fuller figure and Twiggy was seen as the outcast, the look then changed and size 0 was the new figure which we saw on our catwalks, this has now changed again and we are seeing a lot fuller figure models on the runway in 2016.

This show how society has changed and how the view of body image has developed over the years, I do believe that the fashion industry showcasing small models is a step in the right direction to promoting healthier bodies in the fashion industry.

It’s very strange how fashion goes against the norm sometimes, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t.  I think the social opinion and the mod trend during the 1960’s helped Twiggie’s star status as she promoted the mod trend and made them even cooler, the British 60’s was truly on top of the world with music and modelling coming straight out of the UK.

picture 1: daily express 1966 

picture 2: jessiewilliams505.wordpress.com

picture 3: sports illustrated.com

1960's Pop Culture vs 2016

1960’s Pop Culture vs 2016

In the 1960’s America, there was a huge youth culture just like the one in the UK, surrounded by books, music and fashion, this was the heart of the pop culture during the 60’s in the US.

The Beatles was a huge influence in American pop culture and pocket-sized transmitter radios, stereos in cars and portable record players are all the rage. The brightest stars in the US during that time were mainly from the UK known as the British Invasion.

The 1960’s pop culture was the decade of the Smiley Face which was printed on T-shirts, this peaked in the mid 1960’s, there was the growth of drug culture and people were experimenting, especially in the UK. There was a giant explosion of freedom, due to the music and clubbing scene which was huge. The 1960’s also has relationships with Hippies and ‘flower power.’ In 1966 saw the growth of the psychedelic clothing and the hippie era was born.

The main music stars during that time as mentioned previously was The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, technology was also changing and radio was a huge thing. The rise of supermodel Twiggy and Ursula Andress (1961) who appeared in the Bond movie saw women being more liberated and changed the attitude of women’s society.

In comparison to pop culture today and how it influences the fashion and the media, I think popular culture has grown more and more and we live in a society who is linked to technology and social media, bloggers and celebrities are the main fuel of fashion trends which influences people to buy clothes. The print media is also makes a huge impact as well as the film industry, I think that the freedom of women and empowerment compared to the 1960’s is also more liberated which includes the build up to the Oscars 2016 which was protested for not having enough black nominees. The society has moved further and is progressing and there is a movement within the pop culture (including fashion) such as when Chanel did a protest during the finale of the show last year which touched on the subject of women’s rights.

Mary Quant and the Mods

Mary Quant was a huge influencer in the rise during the 1960’s – in this post I want to discover why she was so popular and what she did to change the way women dressed. I watched various style documentaries on YouTube to discover why she was so loved and how she helped create the Mods.

Mary Quant studied illustrations at school, she went onto opening her own boutique on Kings Road in London in 1955 which was named Bazaar. Her designs included lounge pants, dresses, t-shirts, small plastic collars to liven up sweaters and coloured tights. Her designs were described to be a little out of the ordinary but Mary’s attitude was ‘out with the old, in with the new’ and her success proved throughout the youth culture in London during the 60’s.

Mary is most famous for inventing the mini-skirt, an item which revolutionised fashion in London during the 1960’s and is still worn by women today in 2016. She was inspired by London youth culture and what was happening on the streets as well as the beatniks of Chelsea. Mary was ahead of her time and was a contemporary designer who wanted to appeal to the youth of London during that time, she introduced comfortability and movement which is probably what inspired her to make the mini-skirt. Mary said that the girls who came into her store wanted it ‘shorter and shorter’ which showed that the youth enjoyed the freedom they felt in the skirt, she introduced boyish silhouettes, high hemlines and bold colours. She also designed practical footwear which could be worn on the streets.

“Fashion is not frivolous; it is a part of being alive today.” – Mary Quant

Some may say that Mary had an influence in the Mod subculture, which conflicted with the Rockers. Alongside these sub-cultures became Punks, Teddy Boys and the Skinheads. The Mods in the 1960’s were seen as the coolest kids around and they oozed style. Unlike the Teddy Boys, Mods were subtle about their feelings and the Mod represented aspiration. They wanted to dress well whilst working, rather than waiting until the weekend to dress in their best outfits – I think this idea still exists in today’s culture and the youth of today are still concerned about how they come across in the workplace. The introduction of ‘work-wear’ fashion could stem from the Mods ideology of looking good when working.

They were influenced by a lot of cultural things including French films, Jazz music and ‘La Dolce Vita’… Italians. Everyone looked up to Jazz musician Miles Davies and watched French films in the cinema to gain style inspiration from their lead actors, this is the start of pop culture having influences on street style and sub-cultures. The Mods were ‘working class kids dressing like their better.’ They wanted to be known as a face, meaning they wanted people to associate them with what they were wearing.

Female Mods had short haircuts, with boyish looks like men’s trousers and shirts, they ditched their heels for flats and wore little make-up, they also wore mini-skirts which became shorter and shorter.

Male Mods adopted a tailored, sophisticated look with thin ties and button-down collar shirts, desert boots and Chelsea boots were their choice of footwear and they choice scooters instead of motorbikes which links to their love of Italian style.

The Mod era was mainstreamed by the likes of Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton, I think this look has been adopted in 2016 and there are variations of the Mod look as well as other sub-cultural looks around today and are still seen on the catwalks.

Images: 

Mary Q - Vogue.it

Skirts - Dailymail.co.uk

Mods 1 - 60'smodfashion.tumblr.com

Mods 2 - maxmayo.com