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Introduction
The 60s are renowned as a decade that saw the first emergence and popular awareness of fashion and fashion trends. One of the main reasons this era was so unique was that it catalyzed a complete transformation of women’s fashion. In contrast with the previous, modest and symmetrical styles of the 40s and 50s, the 60s brought back some of the risk and emotion that the 1920s had begun. The 60s established themselves as a trendy era not to be forgotten with its urbane and informal dressing style. Women wore bold prints and bright colors, embracing the change with modish finesse and flamboyance. Many women began to take risks with low heels, extreme hemlines, and psychedelic prints. More importantly, however, many of these trends were the result of the social structure and happenings of that time (Okonkwo 2010). It is particularly important to note that the styles that emerged in this decade still have a remarkable influence on the trends and fashions of the contemporary times.
The 1960s was a great decade to be young. This decade rode the tailwinds of the industrialized boom that occurred in America after the war, and found itself in a rich economy with a new generation that was determined to separate itself from its more modest ancestry. The previous fashion industry, entrenched in tradition, was unable to cope with the shifting demands of these new designers. One of the effects of this division was the segregating of two very different generations. These new young people had the extra cash of their parents with none of the hard times to earn it, and thus celebrated their autonomy with positive ideas an innovative new trends. With the technology that had been quickly invented with the large-scale military budgets of the first and second world wars, the world was quickly becoming a much smaller place, and globalization offered young people of this era an entirely new market from which to choose and collaborate. (Connikie 1990).
In 1950s, Paris was the hub of the fashion industry. However, as trends started to shift in the 1960s, London emerged as a city that gave birth to fabled soundtracks from the Who, the Beatles, Cream, and the Stones, and other innumerable artists and bands. London was a city where “the street scenes, especially along Carnaby Street in Soho, with Mods and hippies parading their utterly distinctive gear, provided youth culture around the world with exemplars of cool that are still embraced today” ("Twiggy: Rare Photos of a Swinging Sixties Icon"). London became the buzzing center of fashions that found their way across the globe into popular culture. Through the new technologies of Technicolor and photographs, fashion designers and their models made their mod fashions famous and the highest in taste. Twiggy was one of the models who represented the fabricated expression of this new Swinging London.
Twiggy (Lesley Hornby) is, without a doubt, the most admired, trendy, and fashionable model of the 1960s. Her ‘pixie look’ gave her a unique position in the fashion industry. Her style included a chic cropped hairstyle, shift dresses, ballet flats, and cigarette slacks. The 1960s Twiggy fashions were short, exposed, and bold, for the most part. There is no doubt in the fact that Twiggy turned out to be a magazine maven. She set remarkable trends with her daring dressing style. In fact, her bold style proved that a short-haired, short woman can look incredibly sexy. She became the poster girl of 60s fashion for models who had an asexual appearance. She is also famous for her contributions in popularizing colorful, bright tights, mini-skirts, and baby-doll dresses.
The baby doll dress of the 1960s was made famous when the doll-like Twiggy modeled it. This dress was designed by taking inspiration from the feminine and flowing cloth that is frequently used for toy dolls. The dress was short and flirty, both daring design decisions for their time. It was a particularly flattering design for women who were thin. In modeling the shape of this dress, it allowed Twiggy to attain a more full-bodied appearance. However, it is worth mentioning that the baby doll dress was also meant for not-so-thin, larger-bodied females. This style was both playful and comfortable. It gave a more chic look when women paired it with tights with geometrical patterns and long boots (Mansour 2005). The length of the 1960s baby doll dresses was shorter than the usual dresses in that era. As mini-skirts were debuted in the same decade, hemlines got shorter, and boots got taller. Similarly, baby doll dresses were usually cropped at mid-thigh. Twiggy repeatedly modeled dresses that demonstrated her rebellion against traditional fashion in the 60s. The design of Twiggy’s baby doll dress emphasizes the young-looking nature of this dress. In this image, Twiggy represents her iconic style with heavy eye makeup, her classic pixie cut, and her outrageously large earrings. The cut of the dress is contradictory: it appears to be made for someone much younger, and is very modest at the neckline. However, because it is cut so short, it seems to identify sensuality in a model who looks much more like a boy than her curvy Hollywood predecessors. The bright pink only serves to complement the shocking hem, as it insists on being noticed. The earrings are an interesting choice: the 60s saw the beginning of the disco era in the United States as well as an emerging culture of technology (culminating with the Apollo landing in 1969), and fashion like this represented this fascination with both a new trend of dance and the science fiction of the future. Twiggy’s stance is not meant to be forthcoming or sensual; in fact, she looks aggressive and displeased. This is another departure from her predecessors—until the end of the 50s, female models were almost always portrayed in scenes of friendly or soft femininity. If they weren’t smiling, they looked vulnerable and weak. Twiggy not so—she imposes the attitude that one can be young and loud without needing feminine wiles to traditionalize her.
Twiggy was, without a question, a breath of fresh air for the fashion industry. She emerged in a time when Marilyn Monroe was considered the feminine sex symbol due to her luxuriant curves. For that reason, little Lesley had to hang around for a long time for her share of fame and success. For that, she had to prove her potential to the fashion world as she was not only small in size, but also in stature. However, her determination and inflexibility made her the first diminutive supermodel (165 cm tall) who gained worldwide recognition. It is extremely significant to mention that Twiggy never turned out a catwalk model. However, she became the perfect and most sought-after photographic model of her time.
Twiggy’s “ultra-slim figure, doe-like eyes, and cropped hair offered an instant image for the era as she became a frequent cover start for fashion magazines across the globe” (Baugess & Debolt 2012). She became a regular for renowned fashion magazines from American Vogue to French Elle. Twiggy was also quick in adjusting to the Mods style. This style was one of the 1950s subcultures that was particularly popular in Britain. Those who followed this style were finicky about the way they dressed. They were also concerned about up-to-the-minute fashion trends and styled themselves by wearing bright and flashy dresses and accessories. The boyish figure of Twiggy was just right to present A-line dresses, flared mini-skirts, coats without collars, and round collared shirts.
Young women all over the UK began to sport dresses and hairstyles inspired by Twiggy. She used to wear false eyelashes, named ‘Twiggies’, which also became extremely popular among women in 1960s. In 1967, Twiggy spent several weeks in America for the promotion of her clothing line. She got a chance of a photo shoot in New York that increased her popularity even more. After this shoot, she doubled her per hour photography rates from $120 to $240 (Baugess & Debolt 2012).
Twiggy transformed the fashion industry forever. According to fashion historians, Twiggy is surely the first contemporary supermodel who was successful in destroying the assumed full, curvy, perfect body without anyone’s help (Olson, 1999). Her increasing popularity made a revolutionary change in the fashion industry as the idolized voluptuous figures started losing their desirability.
The influence of Twiggy is multifold. She was not only able to set innovative fashion trends but also influenced the fashion industry by introducing the Top Model concept. She is also the first woman who contributed in bringing a shift in the idea of beauty prevalent in her time. She was successful in ending the obsession of society with the hourglass-shaped body type. She was able to take the place of Marilyn Monroe by presenting a boyish and asexual appearance.
Even though Twiggy retired from her career as a model only a few years after its beginning, she left an everlasting impression on the fashion industry. She became a well-recognized public figure as she advanced herself as a social-cause promoter and businesswoman. In addition, her popularity extremely influential for a lot of people who try to copy her look. Twiggy’s influence has brought a drastic change in the look and presentation of contemporary models. She is considered a role model and inspirational for the top models of the present times (Gilman 2008). Although she was English, she succeeded in setting significant trends in the United States of America. She was a revolutionary in the 1960s as she took advantage of her achievements in starting a profitable business. One can easily observe her influence on television programs and runways as models still imitate her appearance and style.
References
Connikie, Yvonne. Fashions of a Decade. New York: Facts on File, 1990.
Gilman, Sander L. Diets and Dieting: A Cultural Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 2008.
James S. Baugess, & A. A., Debolt. Encyclopedia of the Sixties: A Decade of Culture and Counterculture. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood, 2012.
Mansour, David. From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Pub., 2005.
Okonkwo, Uche. Luxury Online Styles, Systems, Strategies. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010.
"Twiggy: Rare Photos of a Swinging Sixties Icon." LIFE. January 1, 2014. http://life.time.com/culture/twiggy-rare-photos-of-a-sixties-icon/#1 (Accessed November 1, 2014).
