THE '60s CALLED IT

As we celebrate the comeback of the decade on the runway, Suzy Menkes, editor, Vogue International, and a leading voice in fashion, reflects on the time of braver hemlines and moon-inspired metallics

- Suzy Menkes

Freedom was the key that opened up the 1960s. For women especially, it was a chance to be dynamic in the workplace and, thanks to the contraceptive pill, to have a relationship with men while choosing when to have a baby. Because of these social changes, women, at least in Europe, began to reveal their bodies—they wore super-short skirts and, through their clothes, showed how women’s attitudes had transformed. This was also the beginning of the ‘teenager’ revolution, when people between the ages of 14 and 21 began to see themselves as younger or older siblings and deliberately dressed to suit this new role and imbibe a particular identity.

The leading designers of the time were André Courrèges, who captured the excitement of the moon landing; Pierre Cardin, who fixed on the future; Mary Quant, pioneer of the Youthquake era; and Paco Rabanne, who was known for his work with metal. The way they designed was all about freedom inside and out. Dresses were shaped like an upturned triangle, away from the body. Hemlines rose: first knee-high, then thigh-high, continuing to daringly rise ever upwards.