FASHION MAGAZINES - 1960s

The progressive and future-oriented 1960s saw a significant shift from bespoke haute couture to ready-to-wear fashion. These changes were driven by a variety of factors, including the post-war economic boom, which led to an overall increase in wealth, and the women's liberation movement, in which more and more women entered the workforce, earned their own money, and desired more practical, affordable, and fashionable clothing. The rise of youth culture with its desire for non-conformist fashion (as opposed to the traditional and conservative lifestyle of the older generation), the rise of pop culture, and the growing influence of mass media constantly brought about new trends and accelerated the fashion cycle. Technological advancements such as the development of synthetic fibers and mass production, as well as the transformation of retail structures from bespoke ateliers to department stores and high street boutiques, accompanied this transition. These developments were accompanied by a geographical shift of focus away from Paris as the only trend-setting authority towards the US, where Jackie Kennedy and her designer Oleg Cassini significantly shaped the look of the 1960s, and to Swinging London, which later in the decade became the new fashion capital of the world.

Fashion changed from the very feminine and elegant style of the 1950s to sleeker, less restrictive cuts that were more suited for everyday wear. With the sexual liberation - the break of social taboos, the emergence of oral contraception, the increased acceptance of tampons - skirts became shorter and shorter. The Space Age showed itself in geometric cuts and futuristic materials and accessories. Flashy colors and large-scale op-art and psychedelic patterns were all the rage, and by the end of the decade, with the emergence of the hippie movement, as a feminist counter to the formerly feminist miniskirt, the move to the maxi skirt came, as well as the rise of bohemian fashion with an ethnic and folklore vibe. The most significant beauty trends of the 1960s include bold and expressive eyes (highlighted by an incredible range of false eyelashes), pale lips, and voluminous statement hair, enhanced by hair rollers, teasing combs, and tons of hairspray, as well as the widespread use of hairpieces and wigs. Among the most emblematic fashion designers of the 1960s are Mary Quant, who pioneered the miniskirt, Yves Saint Laurent, who challenged traditional gender norms and redefined women's clothing (think Le Smoking), "metalworker" Paco Rabanne, Pierre Cardin and André Courrèges, who were at the forefront of futuristic space-age fashion, and British bohemian Ossie Clark.