The sixties were both a period of fracture and continuation when it came to fashion. American icons such as Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn carried forward the elegant silhouettes of the late '50s, while disruptive designers, most notoriously Mary Quant, popularised the mini-skirt. ‘Swinging London’, spearheaded by figures such as The Beatles and Twiggy, gave rise to a period of playful and modern looks, developing designs inspired by Pop Art and Space, and later came the Hippie Hedonism of the 1960-70s.
An article about 1960s fashion, especially one about summer fashion, can't be complete without mentioning the effect of the 'mini'. Widely thought to have been invented by the 'Queen of the 60s' Mary Quant, and then continued by André Courrèges, the raised hemline certainly raised a few eyebrows when it was introduced by Quant in 1964. With the likes of iconic British models Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy sporting the mini however, the trend quickly spread worldwide.
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Later on, designers such as Yves Saint-Laurent took the mini skirt trend up a notch, and by the summer of 1966, they were everywhere. With his modernist spirit, Saint-Laurent – who started as Dior's creative director at just twenty-one years old – revolutionised couture in the '60s, bringing art and fashion together in famous collections such as his 1965 Mondrian show.
The mini also lent itself very well with the 'Mod' look developed by Courrèges, who took up the spirit of the 'modernists' of Swinging London and took their style from the high street and onto the catwalks. Abandoning his early conservative designs under Balenciaga, Courrèges took up bold geometrical patterns on brightly-coloured clothes made of PVC, developing his signature 'space-age' couture and futuristic fashion. It was also Courrèges who popularised the famous sixties 'go-go' white flat boots and bug-eyed goggles.
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And it was not just 'space- age' couture that used bold colours and even bolder patterns. For both the men and the women, the influence of Andy Warhol's Pop images and Op art paintings by the likes of Bridget Riley can be seen through the daring prints and patterns championed by the designers of the time. It was a time of vibrancy: summer in the '60s would not have been complete without dresses, skirts, tops and shirts in bright geometric patterns and psychedelic colours.
Now, how to complete a '60s look? With a pair of big plastic oversized sunglasses of course! The decade, which would notably culminate in the first moon landing, saw an increased focus on scientific progress and a fondness for space-fantasies, with fashion houses designing 'astronaut' goggles made of thick acetate.
Tying in with the fun and bright styles of the decade, these flashy eyewear accessories began to appear on the face of celebrities, first ladies and royalty, before hitting the beaches – and becoming soon a fashion staple.
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This is an updated version of an article originally published on 25 May 2015
