Return of the '60s

If there was one message from the Fall/Winter 2010 runway shows, it was that the ‘60s is back with a passion. The best of Sixties’ style and fashion came back with full force and graced the runways of Louis Vuitton, Prada, Miu Miu, Elie Saab, and Giles Deacon, to name a few. It looks like the box office also had a soft spot for this iconic era. Fashion has always been inextricably linked to cinema and this relationship couldn’t be more prominent than it was this season. Two recent award-winning movies, An Education and A Single Man, were both set in the early 1960s and displayed some of the best fashion had to offer from this time period.

The 1960s was a time for change, where youthful ideals dominated and influenced the industry like never before. Still, there were two central aspects of this decade of eccentric fashion. There was the early ‘60s, and then there was the later, swinging ‘60s. Early Sixties fashion was dominated by classic and sophisticated silhouettes with an emphasis on a woman’s curves. Boxy suits, full skirts, and close-fitting waists reigned supreme during this time. In An Education, the lovely protagonist Jenny was a classic girl who embraced the best of the trends. While her school teachers wore some amazingly constructed wool and tweed suits, Jenny sported A-line dresses in floral and metallic prints all nipped at the waist. Marc Jacobs must have diligently taken notes from this time period in order to create equally feminine shapes for the F/W 2010 Louis Vuitton collection. The show was opened with clips from 1956’s “And God Created a Woman,” and accordingly focused on femininity by showing many looks with corsets in an array of materials ranging from leather to pinstripe fabric. Elie Saab also captured the elegance and sensuality of the time. Nearly all of the dresses, which were predominantly black, were fitted to the body and accentuated the women’s curves. Suits also followed feminine contours with strong shoulders.

As can be expected from a film directed by fashion elite Tom Ford, the period-detailing in the film, A Single Man, was impeccable. Julianne Moore looked radiant playing the best friend of the troubled main character. As time moved into the mid and later years of the ‘60s, the hemlines also progressed. Skirts and dresses were short, fun, and flirty thanks to Mary Quant, who introduced the miniskirt in 1964. Miu Miu’s F/W 2010 collection further exemplified these looks by showcasing A-line silhouettes in mini-dresses and coats. From sleeveless button-front dresses to the skirt with bow details, many of the looks were decidedly kept short and flirty. The use of materials like wool, lace, and furs added a luxurious touch, while those embellished loafers were just the perfect footwear to complete the look.

It looks like the ‘60s is back, and in full swing... so, are you ready for a retro-spin?


xo,