CROWNING THE RUNWAYS - FALL 1965

From mod to sophisticated, hair in the mid-sixties swung from the innovative sculptured styling of international hairdressers'  Alexandre of Paris and Kenneth Battelle, to the new creations carved and shaped in the 'London Look' making headlines for new salon star, Vidal Sassoon.

The heights to which hairdressers have gone to make the Paris Collections' hair something extraordinaire.

Right Up There

Coiffure and three-tiered postiche by Alexandre of Paris

Earrings by Jean Pierre

Focused on the pure curve of the forehead. Hair pulled back to bare the brow. Good bones and a good coiffure. The biggest fashion in fashion 1965 is the individual. You'll know her when you see her...

Small-skulled hair designed for the Givenchy Collections by Alexandre known as the "Geo.Washington Givenchy."  Neat and small with loops of braid tucked into the nape.

The Blunt-cut Burro's Tail by Alexandre - most important single hair-detail out of Paris.

Clinging to his theory that "Hair must be easy to live with, it must move well." Vidal Sassoon created what came to be known as "The Sassoon." The eponymous hairstyle premiered on the Paris runway of Ungaro's fall collections. His revolutionary cut is reported to have found most of young Paris at his knees. Young America would soon follow, with "The Sassoon" emanating from his New York Salon

Points Made By Vidal Sassoon

Beauty Bulletin

Vogue October 1965

Photography:

Irving Penn

Herbert Matter

Vidal Sassoon at devodotcom...

RUDI GERNREICH - EXPOSED 1974

Topping the topless of a decade before, Gernreich countered in 1974 with yet another extension of the maxim "less is more" - A breach creation he called "The Thong."

A unisex garment which nonetheless enhanced the difference between sexes, The Thong was designed to provide the "undeniable comfort and pleasure human beings take in nakedness."

 Thong Haircut created in 1974 by Vidal Sassoon

A compromise between liberty and legality, it offered the freedom of nudism without breaking the law on public shores.

The Thong's effect can be seen today in any aerobics class as bodies are covered and uncovered in Thong-evolved leotards.


Rudi Gernreich
A Retrospective
1922-1985

RUDI GERNREICH - DOUBLE EXPOSED

EXPO '70

DOUBLE EXPOSURE

wild beasts - the devil's crayon

The first week of 1970 Rudi Gernreich amused and amazed the world of fashion. Asked to preview the forthcoming decade for Life magazine, Gernreich invented the notion of unisex fashion and pronounced a complete theory not only on the equality of men and women and the clothes they wear, but on the seasons of life. His sketches for Life were then turned into reality and traveled on to Japan's Expo '70

Hip-length boots are worn over leotards with pollution-proof turtle necks. Matching wigs by Vidal Sassoon.

"Age is a natural thing and will emerge in clothes. Youth is a time for physical display and should be revealed. Age is a time for other things." Rudi Gernreich

In the unisex world projected by Gernreich, women and men go topless in hip-hugging trousers or belted mini-skirts or wear abbreviated tank tops at the beach.

"When people are young," Gernreich said, "it is the time to perfect their bodies and wear clothes to show off their forms."

In this future of his own inventing, Rudi shaved the bodies of men and women to free the mind of the simple vanities and allow each person to concentrate on his body as a whole.

Unisex became the catch word for the day while the public howled and hooted at the rest of it. Men in Skirts? Never! At least, not until other designers show the idea again - in 1985.

"As they age and the realities of the body change, they should wear comfortable robes or caftans and concentrate on the head and face."
-Rudi Gernreich 

Rudi Gernreich

A Retrospective

1922-1985

Photographs Pat Faure