What was the relationship between the counterculture aesthetic and mainstream fashion for women in the 1960s?
Aubrey Phu
Fritch Block 6
04/18/23
In the 1960s America entered a decade of great cultural change leading to the birth of counterculture. Popular culture revolved around youth rebellion and individualism which liberated many of the conservative cultural norms of the previous decade. The counterculture influenced all types of American culture and presented an era of change in self-identity. A primary target was the fashion industry. The 1960s social changes heavily influenced fashion as society broke loose from social traditions, while the fashion industry mirrored by liberating previous restrictions. Liberation through
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Termed by Vogue magazine, the Youthquake represented American social changes dominated by the growing importance of the youth and their consumerism. Social changes included revolt against the ideal image of femininity that was heavily imprinted on women of the post-war society. The Youthquake styles were for the first time directed at teens and took on a more spirited and youthful look, rebelling against high fashion, although soon taken on by couture and the mass market. Boutiques with this style became immensely popular and designers began to cater to these powerful consumers. In 1964, Mary Quant, an English fashion designer, invented the mini skirt. This represented a new fashion liberation and design shift inspired by the youth counterculture. The previous decades' restrictive clothing had been rebelled against with shorter hemlines of skirts and the idea of freedom shown through clothes. Celebrities such as Twiggy embodied this look and became known figures that popularized this movement. Youthquake fashion introduced the 60s to the beginning of the young generation's street styles and the development of a distinguished way of life that shaped fashion. This paved the way for other countercultural subcultures such as the hippies, who similarly used clothing as a self-expression to show their individuality and freedom that was a shifted