1960s Fashion - Exhibit at the V&A Museum London

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Dress, Mary Quant (1934-), 1967. Museum no. T.353-1974.

Dress
Mary Quant (1934-)
1967
Wool jersey
Museum no. T.353-1974
Given by Mary Quant

The fluid cut, pliable fabric and functional front zip of this 'skater' dress suggest the speed and grace of the ice-rink. Its dropped waist and rounded collar also hint nostalgically at the 'garçon' styles of the 1920s.

 

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Dress and Knickerbockers, Mary Quant(1934), 1958-9. Museum no. T.103&B-1976

© Photograph by Duffy

Dress and Knickerbockers
Mary Quant (1934-)
1958-9
Wool and cotton
Remade 1973
Museum no. T.103&B-1976
Given by Mary Quant

Some of Mary Quant's early designs combined historic garments and traditional men's suitings, such as pin stripes and grey flannel, in subversive ways. In this design she re-works knickerbockers taken from Victorian underwear into a quirky daytime ensemble.

 

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Skirt and Jumper, Mary Quant (1934-), 1965. Museum no. T.110&A-1976.

Skirt and Jumper
Mary Quant (1934-)
1965
Natural hessian and synthetic fibres
Remade 1973
Museum no. T.110&A-1976
Given by Mary Quant

This outfit, with its belt adapted to become a halter-neck fastening, is a good example of Quant's practical ingenuity and surreal vision. It suggests school uniform, beatnik bohemianism and futuristic chic - all elements of Quant's creative repertoire.
View a rotating image of this dress.

 

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Retail Innovation
Knightsbridge 1961–1967

'A whole new world of retail sprang up.' Felicity Green
In the 1950s Knightsbridge was dominated by the stuffy department stores frequented by debutantes and their mothers. The first traditional store to cater specifically for the youth market was Woollands. In 1961, inspired by Mary Quant, it opened the '21 Shop' as an in-store boutique for young working women.
21 Shop sold clothes that were 'simple, zany, not for squares'. The buyer, 22-year-old Vanessa Denza, sought out new talent in the Royal College of Art and worked closely with young designers. Brilliant at turnover, she could get an order of 1000 dresses delivered within a week and sold a week later.
'Like a dam bursting' (to use Denza's phrase) other retailers soon followed her lead, with Young Jaeger, Harrods' Way In and Miss Selfridge establishing themselves as household names.

 

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Dress, Sylvia Ayton (1937-) and Zandra Rhodes (1940-), 1966.

Dress
Sylvia Ayton (1937-) and Zandra Rhodes (1940-)
1966
Paper
Lent by Sylvia Ayton MBE

Sylvia Ayton and Zandra Rhodes's innovative designs were taken up by boutiques and some of the more commercial stores. When Miss Selfridge opened in 1966, the buyer stocked their distinctive printed paper dresses. Customers loved them, but kept tearing the hems to see if they really were made out of paper - they were!

 

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Dress, John Bates (1938-), 1967.

Dress
John Bates (1938-)
1967
PVC (polyvinyl chloride)
Lent by Elizabeth Eggleston

John Bates was the designer of Diana Rigg's wardrobe for the television series The Avengers in 1965. His striking use of metallic, plastic and transparent fabrics, plus the eroticism of some of his work, attracted press attention and looked good on the screen. But trading under his company name Jean Varon, Bates also produced more commercial products for the key department stores.

 

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'Dress of the Year' Ensemble, Coat: Michele Vivier, Dress: Young Jaeger, Helmet: Simone Mirman, Tights: John Bates for Echo, Boots: Elliott, 1966, © Museum of Costume, Bath

'Dress of the Year' Ensemble
1966
Coat: Michele Vivier for V de V at Young Jaeger, PVC
Dress: Young Jaeger, rayon linen
Helmet: Simone Mirman, leather and plastic
Tights: John Bates for Echo, nylon
Boots: Elliott, PVC and leather
© Museum of Costume, Bath
Lent by the Museum of Costume, Bath

This futuristic outfit attracted much excitement from the press in 1966, the year that plastic became 'all the rage'. It shows the British ready-to-wear brand Jaeger interpreting the extreme ideas of avant-garde designers for a wider market. Shortly afterwards, softer retrospective styles became more dominant.
Selected by Ernestine Carter, fashion editor of the Sunday Times, for the Museum of Costume, Bath

 

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Dress, Gerald McCann (1931-), 1965.

Dress
Gerald McCann (1931-)
1965
Silk, cotton and linen
Lent by Elizabeth Eggleston

Gerald McCann studied at the Royal College of Art and, like other RCA graduates, played an influential role in the development of the UK fashion industry. He designed a dress similar to this one as a paper pattern for Butterick. Paper patterns meant that anyone could wear the latest fashions for the price of a couple of yards of fabric.

 

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Dress, Georgie of Group 30, 1967 © Museum of London


Dress
Georgie of Group 30
1967
Printed cotton
Retailed at Way In, Harrods, Knightsbridge (8 guineas)
Lent by the Museum of London
Worn and given by Julia Parker
© Museum of London

Harrods launched its Way In department in 1967, the year this vibrant cotton dress was designed. Other established shops, including Selfridges, also responded to the youth market by opening boutiques. These outlets - a store within a store - were informal and intimate, but they had the commercial advantages of a much bigger shop.

 

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Dress, Jeff Banks (1943-), About 1968. Museum no. T.95-1981

Dress
Jeff Banks (1943-)
About 1968
Synthetic jersey
Museum no. T.95-1981
Worn and given by Sandie Shaw
Photograph of Sandie Shaw


Jeff Banks trained at Camberwell School of Art and St Martin's College before opening his shop Clobber in Blackheath in 1964. The business grew rapidly and Banks retailed his designs in department stores across the UK and in New York. This dress was worn by his wife, singer Sandie Shaw. It combines a hippy Native American feel with a modern, short hemline.

 

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Dress, Jean Muir (1933-95), 1966. Museum no. T.250-1978.

Dress
Jean Muir (1933-95)
1966
Suede
Museum no. T.250-1978
Given by Mrs Ernestine Carter

Unlike her art school peers, Jean Muir learned her trade in the fashion industry. Celebrated as a gifted dressmaker, she worked for Liberty, Jaeger and Jane and Jane during the 1950s and '60s. Her clothes were always a subtle demonstration of the sculptural qualities of fabric, with suede a particular favourite.

 

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Suit, Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin, 1964.

Black and white check suit, Foale & Tuffin, Photograph by Duffy. Vogue, 1 September 1964, Duffy/Vogue © The Condé Nast Publications Ltd

Suit
Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin
1964
Wool
Retailed at Woollands 21 shop (16 guineas)

Inspired by Mary Quant's example, Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin set up their own shop in 1962, straight after leaving the Royal College of Art. They became known for finely tailored suits, like this dazzling two-piece with its new long, lean jacket. Later they made clothes for several films, including the exquisitely cut coats and suits for Susannah York in Kaleidoscope of 1966.

 

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Dress, Caroline Charles(1942), 1964

Dress
Caroline Charles(1942)
1964
Cotton
Lent by Cilla Black
Fashion and pop music were hand in hand in the 1960s. Cilla Black wore this elegant dress for a performance of her second number 1, 'You are my World', on the cult TV show 'Ready Steady Go'. Viewers tuned in to see what the presenter, Cathy McGowan, and her guests were wearing each week, as much as for the music. Would they be wearing Biba, Foale & Tuffin, or something from a new boutique? Caroline Charles was a favourite with many performers including Cilla Black, Lulu, and Barbra Streisand.

 

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Menswear Revolution
Piccadilly 1964–1970

'I remember going to Turnbull & Asser and having a bright pink shirt made, then being asked to leave the Cavalry Club for wearing it. This happened again in about 1966. I was wearing a white suit made by Blades.... I was asked to leave Annabel's Nightclub for having a white suit on!' David Mlinaric, interior designer.
Fashion-conscious young men set out to challenge the staid rules of masculine etiquette that had prevailed since Victorian times. Circulating in the overlapping worlds of fashion, the media and high society, they forged new styles of dress and deportment. The result was the modern dandy, a flamboyant figure in frills and velvet, whose adventurous wardrobe perfectly suited the creative atmosphere of the time.
A new group of entrepreneurs, often from aristocratic backgrounds, spotted this shift in taste. They moved into the area around Piccadilly Circus, long famous for dressing the British gentleman, and opened shops whose peacock products combined traditional tailoring with the design flair of fashion graduates. Many of the new designers had emerged from the first menswear courses, recently set up at the Royal College of Art and London College of Fashion. The results were spectacular, a new 'man about town'.

 

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Suit, Mr Fish, About 1967. Museum no. T.310&A-1979

Suit
Mr Fish
About 1967
Printed velvet
Museum no. T.310&A-1979
Given by David Mlinaric
Michael Fish opened his Clifford Street tailor's shop in 1966, having built up his reputation as the designer who brought traditional hosier Turnbull & Asser up to date with fitted shirts and kipper ties.
The interior designer David Mlinaric was the owner of this flamboyant suit. He acquired the cloth from American furniture fabric manufacturer Hexter.
View a rotating image of this suit.

 

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Suit, Blades, 1968. Museum no. T.353-1980

Suit
Blades
1968
Jacquard-woven silk, designed in 1953
Museum no. T.353-1980
Worn and given by Rupert Lycett-Green
Blades was one of the first companies to challenge the boundaries of Savile Row tailoring. It was opened in 1963 by Rupert Lycett-Green and Charley Hornby, with the help of two expert cutters, under the slogan 'For today rather than a memory of yesterday'. The company attracted a varied clientele, including the Beatles. This suit combines a resolutely modern cut with a jacquard-woven silk in a Victorian pattern.

 

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Suit, Tom Gilbey (1939-), About 1968. Museum nos. T.642:1, 2-1995; T.643-1995

Suit
Tom Gilbey (1939-)
About 1968
Suit: wool tweed
Shirt: Huntsman, silk
Museum nos. T.642:1, 2-1995; T.643-1995
Given by Kenneth Swift
Tom Gilbey opened his couture house and design consultancy in Sackville Street in 1968. He was one of the young generation of designers who had trained at art school and were interested in new style combinations. Here he has given the traditional lounge suit jacket a futuristic accent by adding zips to the front and pocket fastenings. A black silk roll-neck from Savile Row tailor Huntsman replaces the usual collared shirt.

 

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The Rise of the Boutique
King’s Road 1965–1970

A couple window shopping in King's Road, Chelsea. 1966. © Getty Images

'The King's Road is a wilderness of stoned harlequins.' Christopher Gibbs, antique dealer
Mary Quant's Bazaar, 'the grandmother of all the little shops', provided a new way of shopping. Until then, mature women had bought their clothes in department stores or gone to dressmakers, while many young women created their own outfits.
Young graduates and enthusiastic amateurs sensed the new spirit in fashion and plunged in. Taking advantage of cheap rents on the King's Road, they opened their own boutiques among the fish shops and greengrocers, attracting customers with their outlandish names and anarchic window displays.
A visit to the King's Road became a journey towards self-expression. On a Saturday afternoon the Rolling Stones and the new pop aristocracy would mix with the crowds, and shoppers emerged transformed, as suede-clad American Indians or romantic heroines in satin and lace.

 

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Dress and Coat, Ossie Clark (1942-96) and Celia Birtwell (1941-), 1970-1, Museum no. T.148&A-1983

Dress and Coat
Ossie Clark (1942-96) and Celia Birtwell (1941-)
1970-1
Printed rayon crepe with chiffon inserts
Museum no. T.148&A-1983
Worn and given by Mrs Pauline Vogelpoel
Here we see the perfect partnership of Celia Birtwell's joyful textile prints with Ossie Clark's unparalleled talent for cutting fluid, sensuous dresses. A husband-and-wife team, they worked together, with Ossie translating Celia's fantasy fashion drawings into three dimensions. Very soon, inherent tensions between creative freedom and the pressures of mass production led to the business's decline.

 

[TheKiwi]

I love 60's fashion... Wish I was in London right now!