By Condé Nast Archive
By Laird Borrelli-Persson
Models in Wool Ensembles by Courreges, Vogue (1969-03-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
Despite its teeny-weeny dimensions, the miniskirt takes up a good-sized chunk of real estate in the history of fashion.
Windsor Elliot in a Pink Ungaro Suit, Vogue (1967-09-15) by Irving PennCondé Nast Archive
Introduced in the Swinging Sixties, this abbreviated garment became a potent symbol of teenage rebellion and female liberation.
Veruschka in Gunther Jaeckel, Vogue (1966-11-15) by Horst P. HorstCondé Nast Archive
As such it elicited sharply divided opinions and and generated some dramatic, attention-grabbing headlines, like...
... “Miniskirts Dangerous” (1966); “Miniskirt Ban Stirs a Rebellion on L.I.” (1966); “Miniskirts Panic Paris Police” (1967); and “Anti-Miniskirt War Losing on All Fronts” (1969).
Katharine Cornell by Edward SteichenCondé Nast Archive
Like the flapper dress before it, the leg-baring miniskirt gave women physical freedoms that suggested other types of liberties, be they political, philosophical, or sexual.
Galya Milovskaya in a Tweed Miniskirt, Vogue (1969-08-01) by Arnaud de RosnayCondé Nast Archive
In addition, they gave women choice (as did the Pill, which arrived on the scene at around the same time). In current parlance, the miniskirt was a disruptor—and not only on the aesthetic level.
Models in Courreges Ensembles, Vogue (1969-03-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
French designer Gerard Pipart spoke of the garment causing a “violent rupture between the generations.” It’s one that was long in coming sartorially; up until about this point, most clothes for young women were watered-down versions of those designed for their mothers.
Model in a Courreges Skirt Suit, with an Assistant, Vogue (1969-03-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
Similarly, the industry operated on a top-down system, with fashion “dictators” decreeing what women should wear, which in part explains why the up-and-down movement of hemlines generated so much interest for so long.
Marisa Berenson in a Christian Dior Dress, Vogue (1968-11-01) by Arnaud de RosnayCondé Nast Archive
In 1926 they even inspired an economist, George Taylor, to float the idea of the “hemline index,” that equated shorter lengths with bull markets
Veruschka and Windsor Elliot in Courréges, Vogue (1967-09-15) by Irving PennCondé Nast Archive
Though the numbers behind his proposition might not pass scrutiny, minis certainly emerged at an “up” moment that celebrated youth and possibility.
“When I look back at the clothes I designed then, it’s fairly clear that they signaled great high spirits,” said Mary Quant in a 1995 interview with Vogue.
Model in Courreges Ensemble, Vogue (1964-10-15) by Irving PennCondé Nast Archive
Though Quant, is generally credited with popularizing the mini skirt, dubbed “the most important British import since the Beatles,” André Courrèges, the Paris-based Basque designer, showed them first.
Worn with white boots or layered over body stockings, they fit into his haute couture vision of Space Age fashion.
Non-Stop Legs, Vogue (1968-02-15) by Art KaneCondé Nast Archive
Quant’s take on the look—colorful, paired with tights—was more accessible, and in tune with the streets.
Model in a Dress by Courreges, Vogue (1969-03-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
A contemporary news report has Courrèges acknowledging that he kicked off the raised hem, but disowning Quant’s take on the trend.
“I did something,” the designer told the UPI in 1966, “but it must not fall into exaggeration.”But what is gilded youth, but a fleeting extreme?
Mods gave the youth look an identifiable, and desirable, identity. “Mods are ‘life is fabulous’ people,” explained Quant, a proponent of wearing whatever you feel like, in a 1970 interview.
Model in Andre Courreges Ensemble, Vogue (1964-10-15) by Irving PennCondé Nast Archive
“They took the snobbery out of fashion.” Looking expensive means nothing to them, nor does wearing the right thing at the right time.”
Model in a Dress by Courreges, Vogue (1969-03-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
Youthquake was a movement that started on the street, upending the industry and redistributing power and influence.
“Anything new has to start with [the youth],” Quant observed. “What they do today, the couturiers confirm tomorrow.”
Model in a Coat by Courreges, Vogue (1969-03-15) by Bert SternCondé Nast Archive
