In this page you will find: Youth Culture, Mod, Hippie, Disco, Punk, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana, Politics, Relationships in Fashion
Fashion is one of the most easily-identifiable markers of time. For instance, when we think of the 1960's, we think of miniskirts, Beatles-esque bowl-cuts and beehives, and the 80’s conjures up images of shoulder-pads and tight perms. But what exactly influences these trends? Here we take a look at the British woman’s sartorial responses to times of political change, and will examine 3 different fashion eras and their relationship to political events & government policy through the late 20th century.
60’s - Movers, Shakers & Youthquakers
In the 1960’s youth culture began to have its moment, especially for young women and girls. This primarily came down to a huge increase in opportunities for young women in work and education, with 40% of girls aged 15-17 holding clerical jobs by 1964 [1]. This meant that teenage girls became a huge part of the market for consumer goods due to increased spending money, and clothing stores began to open with clothes designed specifically for these young girls, such as Biba, opened by Barbara Hulanicki in 1964.
Not only did their workplace prospects increase, but from the late 1950s, government attitudes changed over sexuality, laws changed over abortion and access to contraception. This meant some young women now had a chance to take charge over their own sexuality, and this showed through dress. Miniskirts and heavy makeup, considered racy or vulgar by their mothers’ generation, became hugely popular. Models such as Twiggy, or Edie Sedgewick in the US, were the poster-girls for this look, and the modern, or Mod style, as it became known, took teenagers and young adults by storm. Accompanied by late-night parties and the explosion of rock music out of London meant the sixties were truly in full swing.
Educational opportunities began to increase too, and in 1962, 30% of students in higher education were women. [1] This education, and the independence that came with it, gave more opportunities for political activism. This increased political activism, particularly in left-wing circles, meant that there was an explosion of protest movements, including the anti-Vietnam war protests that peaked in Hyde Park in 1968. Anti-war, anti establishment, pro-peace movements spread across the US and eventually the UK, and what were known as Hippies in America became known as the Underground movement in London. [2] Along with it, a new kind of dress: No makeup, no bras, sometimes even no shoes, hippie women rejected the ideals of their mothers’ generations and the glamour of the Mod girls. Instead, their look was reminiscent of a simpler, natural state, aligning with their nonviolent, anti-capitalist politics. ‘Flower power’, as it became known, placed an emphasis on the beauty in nature. Long dresses, often made from natural fibres such as hemp, long hair, beads, trinkets and sunglasses all made up a look that promised a kind of holistic beauty in the face of an increasingly ugly political landscape.
70’s - From Disco to Punk: Opposite Ends of an Anti-Establishment Spectrum
With oil crises after oil crises, the Vietnam war raging on and the eventual Winter of Discontent in 1978-79, the 1970s were fraught with economic and political problems, though for some, attitudes were changing for the better.
Though the hippie style was still hugely popular, many women were still interested in the
more glamorous look [3]. This was further pushed by the emergence of disco, a hard-partying dance movement influenced in part by the Northern Soul dance halls of the late 1960s, founded upon the culture of queer and black communities in the US. Increasing acceptance of some homosexual people (but not the full LGBT+ community that we know today), as well as the short-lived allowance of same-sex couples to dance together in disco clubs [4], meant that through disco, gay people began to influence fashion more openly. The long hair of the hippie movement made way for the big hair found in disco clubs, bell-bottomed jeans became shimmering flared jumpsuits, and towering platform heels elongated the athletic frames made thinner by ingesting party drugs and dancing all weekend. Opposed by conservative politicians of the time, who lauded disco as ‘degeneracy’, for the people who attended, the opulent extravagance of disco represented authenticity.
On the other end of the fashion and musical spectrum, a new movement began to take hold in the underground clubs of the UK: Punk. Loud, brash and fervently anti-establishment, punk began subverting both the mainstream ideals of the time and the elegance of disco through leather, loud music and facial piercings. These outrageous styles and shocking politics spoke to an increasingly disenfranchised youth.
Punk style began to influence designers, and Malcolm McLaren’s boutique Sex on the King’s Road in London began selling what was labelled as ‘anti-fashion’, though for most punks, their looks were achieved through DIY. Distressed, blood-stained clothing held together with safety pins, hair sprayed or gelled into the most unnatural shapes possible and a pair of trusty Doctor Martens became staples for youths who were determined to get into trouble.
These opposite styles reflected the conflicts and turbulence of the 1970, and a desperate need to subvert increasingly conservative values that were pushed onto already-marginalised communities.
80’s - Thatcher, Lady Di & The Power of Iconography
Clad in a razor-sharp suit the true-blue colour of the Conservatives, in 1979 Margaret Thatcher was the first woman to be elected prime minister. With the purpose of implementing some extreme economic reforms following the economic crises of the 1970s, this new leadership promised a more prosperous United Kingdom. Setting herself apart from previous Conservative leaders and prime ministers not only with her sweeping policy changes, the bright blue suits that she was frequently pictured in contrasted her against the wall of black-and-grey suits her counterparts wore. Having a sophisticated, at-times severe look cemented Thatcher’s ruthless image, and through these carefully-constructed outfits, she was able to ‘create different identities, some of which became iconic symbols of herself and her politics’ [5].
Lady Diana Spencer, or Diana, Princess of Wales as she became in July of 1981, is known as one of the biggest fashion icons of the 1980s. She remains so today, in part due to the latest season of the Netflix show The Crown, depicting her and turbulent marriage. Royal fashion had always been hugely influential to the British public, but this new, young, vibrant royal pushed this further than ever before. What she symbolised, a fairy-tale, spoke to people, many of whom were living anything but. Her style was also a way for her to express herself through dress. An example of this, her now-iconic ‘black sheep’ sweater, spoke volumes about her position within the royal family.
The way these two women, in different positions of perceived power, used their dress to communicate to the public paved the way for communication through dress that continues to be ever-present today.
In closing, the way women in the UK are influenced by politics, and vice versa, can almost always be linked with fashion. Whether it’s sexuality, political power or the almost universally-understood feeling of being trapped somewhere you’re not sure you belong, women are able to express their feelings and communicate through clothing. For as long as politicians provide the framework for our society, politics will continue to influence which clothing is worn and marketed to and by women in the UK and across the world.
References:
[1] August, A., (2009) Gender and 1960s Youth Culture: The Rolling Stones & The New Woman. Contemporary British Culture, Vol. 23 No. 1 p79-100
[2] Miles, M. (2011) Spirit of the Underground: The 60s Rebel. The Guardian. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2011/jan/30/underground-arts-60s-rebel-counterculture
[3] RetroWaste. (2021) 1970s Fashion. [Online] Available at: https://www.retrowaste.com/1970s/fashion-in-the-1970s/
[4] Johnston-Ramirez, M. (2020) Disco and Gay Culture in the 1970s. [Online] Available at:
[5] Conway, D. (2016) Margaret Thatcher, Dress and the Politics of
Fashion’, in Behnke, A., The Global Politics of Fashion: Being Fab in a Dangerous World. New York: Routledge
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