70 A s the Seventies dawned, the naive exuberance of Sixties fashion transformed into a “designer†scene. Teenagers who had fuelled the style revolution were a little older, wiser and more sophisticated in their choices. Rock stars such as David Bowie and Marc Bolan sported flamboyant get-ups with a hippyish flavour. Such stars usually sourced clothes from top London boutiques and independent designers, and what they wore was hugely influential. Designers such as Laura Ashley and Bill Gibb continued to build on the romanticism that had previously been the hallmark of Ossie Clark’s designs. Their floaty creations had a distinct bohemian flavour, born out of the growing Western fascination with Eastern philosophy and culture. And, in a small former sex shop on London’s King’s Road, a new movement was germinating: British fashion was about to take a distinctly darker turn...
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH FASHION
In a league of their own While known for her own highly individual appearance — not least her bright-pink hair — Zandra Rhodes’ similarly bold designs made her a household name in the Seventies. Textiles were her mainstay, and Rhodes’ feel for colour gave her designs a particularly artful flourish. Having collaborated with Sylvia Ayton in the late Sixties — with whom she opened a shop on London’s Fulham Road — Rhodes went on to set up her own label. She specialised in one-off occasion pieces, marking a Zandra Rhodes design out as truly special — and those wealthy women who commissioned them, as being equally so. Like Bill Gibb, Rhodes was attracted to ethereal, romantic fabrics, such as silk and chiffon. Many of her designs were uniquely cut, some as though pieced together using myriad scarves — hence the “handkerchief†hem, which became a fashion hit. Art influences, such as paintings by Matisse and Picasso, were evident in her prints. History and travel also inspired much of Rhodes’ work, and her collections often referenced cultural motifs from places as far apart as Japan, Mexico and New York. Like many key British designers of the past few decades, Zandra Rhodes’ designs have also enjoyed a recent renaissance,
Bill Gibb fulfils all of his fantasies Like Ossie Clark before him, Scot Bill Gibb studied at Central Saint Martins College in the midSixties before graduating from the Royal College of Art. By 1970, he was voted Vogue’s Designer of the Year. His fashion vision was steeped in fantasy and history, and incorporated elements from ethnic cultures and exotic places, such as Morocco and India. Gibb’s love of sensuous fabrics led to his ethereal designs in chiffons and silks, and set a new high-fashion precedent for British style. But, like some other designers, business acumen was in short supply. So, while starting out with his own label, he was soon designing for others, such as Baccarat and for a US lingerie brand. In 1974 he opened a boutique in Bond Street and his fashion shows,
A clever use of ethereal fabric by Zandra Rhodes, inset driven by the enthusiasm of collectors who include Steven Phillip of Rellik, the influential London vintage boutique. Rhodes recently produced a clothing range in association with Topshop and a make-up line with MAC. She has also been hailed as an opera designer and was commissioned to design the costumes for San Diego Opera’s production of The Magic Flute.
Westwood’s design disorder As a designer, Vivienne Westwood didn’t so much cut a swathe through the fading romanticism of the midSeventies, as slash it to pieces. While other designers perfected their skills in venerable art institutions, Westwood took her lead from the subculture that fermented as a result of unemployment and increasing disenchantment with the political system. Boredom and anger became creative catalysts and a fervent anti-establishment mood emerged. Westwood’s husband, Malcolm McLaren, had opened a shop on King’s Road, Let It Rock, which eventually became Sex in 1974. At first, the shop stocked the kind of rubber, fetish and bondage gear commonly sold through specialist catalogues to those with specialist tastes. But McLaren and Westwood threw into the mix some subversive rocker styles — Teddy Boy jackets, leather trousers and the like — and Sex soon attracted art students and social misfits, for whom it was a social outlet. Over the next few years Sex mutated into a whole movement of its own, and the shop, which had become a boutique of sorts, was renamed Seditionaries. By this time, McLaren, who was heavily influenced by the styles and sounds of US art-school bands such as the New York Dolls, had decided to form a group of his own, The Sex Pistols. Westwood, who had begun to focus on a line of original designs, worked with McLaren to create the band’s image. Their signature style — ripped Tshirts, often held together with safety pins and emblazoned with shockingly offensive images; heavily studded belts and tight leather trousers — created a social genre of its own: punk. The designer and the other women who worked in the shops had also developed a deviant style: short leather skirts, stilettos, fishnet stockings and suspenders, dog collars and oversized jackets. Severe “cat’s eye†make-up, striped dyed hair, black lipstick, and safety pins hooked through lips or noses heightened the shock factor. Parents despaired. But while Westwood was one of the architects of the punk scene — and looking back at images of the Sex Pistols wearing her early designs now, her credentials as a designer of note are obvious — it wasn’t until the early Eighties, when she finally broke away from the punk label, that Westwood’s standing as one of the most important designers of our time was secured.
Vivienne Westwood, far right, and friends at Sex
which often featured dancers and musicians, became the hot ticket. His collaborator, Kaffe Fassett, suggested introducing knitwear to his collections, with clashing textures brilliantly woven into the mix. Multi-layering set his designs apart — and is the core of many designer looks today. While Gibb’s name is not one that commonly springs to mind when revisiting fashions of the Seventies, he is, arguably, the father of the British boho style that is so popular today.
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH The Daily Telegraph Saturday, November 1, 2008 telegraph.co.uk /gordonsgin In association with
The tapestry of our lives W hat we wear reflects the society in which we live. Hence, the British style and pop explosions that shook the world in the Sixties mirrored a new, carefree and affluent post-war era. Young people no longer looked to their elders for sartorial guidance but had the freedo
60 W hether it’s superlashed Twiggy in Mary Quant’s PVC creations, or kids streaming up and down Carnaby Street, pick any image from the Sixties and you will see in it the essence of British fashion: the point where popular culture, street style and creative vision collide. The post-war economic
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH FASHION Twiggy Michael Fish and, from top right, Carnaby Street and Granny Takes A Trip The march of the mods The “mod†or “modernist†style of the Sixties was adopted by newly fashion-obsessed young men who wanted to emulate stylish Europeans, such
70 A s the Seventies dawned, the naive exuberance of Sixties fashion transformed into a “designer†scene. Teenagers who had fuelled the style revolution were a little older, wiser and more sophisticated in their choices. Rock stars such as David Bowie and Marc Bolan sported flamboyant get-ups wi
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH FASHION Happy hippies at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival; right, Tommy Nutter Suited and booted The hippy style of US bands such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, The Mamas & the Papas, Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane had made its mark on British fashio
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80 T he Eighties was the decade in which we discovered designer labels and power dressing – big shoulders, huge hair and sexy skirt suits. Women’s Lib paid off for a generation of young women who began to tap, in some cases thrust, a stiletto through the glass ceiling. An upturn in economic grow
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH FASHION Naomi sashays in New British fashions required a fresh face. Along came Naomi Campbell from Streatham, south London, who began modelling as a teenager and is still going rather too strong two decades later. Beautiful, British and black, with a great bo
90 W ith interest rates about to reach eye-watering levels, recession creeping in and a Gulf War on the horizon, the glam, opulent fashions of the Eighties seemed to date overnight. As if keen to separate itself from the “loadsamoney†excesses of the previous decade, the fashion world entered a
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH FASHION Sartorial shock and awe Born in the East End and trained in Savile Row, Alexander McQueen heralded a new era of Cool Britannia with his tough-edged tailoring style, which made fashion headlines in the Nineties. Beginning where Vivienne Westwood’s ear
00 M ilan, Paris and New York may still be the key commercial centres of the global fashion industry but, when it comes to new ideas and visionary thinking, British design talent is, as ever, in pole position. Currently at the helm are the two Scottish designers, Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunde
THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE TO MODERN BRITISH FASHION Christopher Kane Kane is most able At 26, Christopher Kane is the undoubted current star of British fashion. The Motherwellborn, Central Saint Martinstrained fashion designer rates everything from Tippex to Crocodile Dundee as inspiration. His designs
