Mod styles of swingin' '60s circle back for spring

Designers use psychedelic patterns and dramatic colors to recreate the retro look.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
A movie about fashion model Edie Sedgwick, a tragic figure in the Andy Warhol-heyday New York club scene, debuted at a time when trends in female models and women's fashion are much like those she helped to popularize in the '60s.
"Factory Girl," which opened in limited release in late December, is about the turbulent and short life of heiress-cum-model Edie Sedgwick (played in the film by Sienna Miller).
A moneyed descendant of a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, the wispy, wide-eyed, California-born beauty appeared in Vogue and Life in the mid-'60s -- around the same time the similarly short-haired, doe-eyed Twiggy emerged out of London as the world's first supermodel.
Sedgwick became the muse and bosom buddy of Andy Warhol, then an up-and-coming pop artist. They often dressed alike to go out, frequenting New York's fast-paced club scene, and she starred in several of his short films until they angrily parted ways in 1966.
With a long history of drug abuse, Sedgwick died of a painkiller overdose -- determined an accidental suicide -- in 1971 at age 28.
As "Factory Girl" seeks to recount her life and times, the mod styles and short hairstyles she helped popularize have cycled back around as style trends for this spring and summer: trapeze-style dresses in graphic prints and zany colors with leggings and knee-high boots.
Strong trend
"This is establishing itself as a very strong trend going into spring," said Joanne Stoner, chief executive officer of eDressMe.com, a Web site that specializes in fashion-forward dresses.
"Fashion is an endless cycle," added Stoner, a former buyer for Saks Fifth Avenue. "It always circles back to prior times, and this time we're being circled back to the swinging '60s."
Many American and European designers have created themes of the simple yet bold mini-dresses that characterized the mod (short for "modern") look of the '60s. They've souped up the options, from wide sleeves or no sleeves to loud colors, bold patterns, jazzy embellishments and loose, swingy silhouettes.
Gucci played it up major for spring and summer with girly minis and short shifts in black or white accented with purple, lavender, red and orange. When the designs were previewed in September, the models' hair was pulled back from the face and large, round sunglasses completed oh-so-retro looks.
Then there are Emilio Pucci's funky interpretations in psychedelic patterns that looked updated and sophisticated in shimmering colored and black-white-silver fabrics.
"The chemise, the baby-doll dress, the spring frock story is strong and vibrant," said fashion tracker Tom Julian, strategic director of trends for McCann Erickson in New York.
"The dress silhouette is very reminiscent of Twiggy and London pop days. There's a strong visual story, too, with floral prints, geometric and op-art designs on many of the dresses. Since we have seen so much volume and layers, the spring season transitions well for that Edie-Twiggy style sense. It's not boho -- it's more au courant from a vibrant decade."
Being thin is asset
The styles were popularized by and heralded the advent of the ultra-thin, short-haired, big-eyed model, with Twiggy's name becoming synonymous with the waif look then and even today. There's a trend toward that look again, even while international criticism of sickly thin models becomes an ever-louder chorus.
"Although I'm not seeing a current demand in this region, I see the trend for the skinny Edie-esque girls," said Tim Watson of The Talent Group in Pittsburgh. He noted that New York model Gemma Ward, who shares that look, has gotten a lot more work at New York fashion weeks.
"Funny how some designers are adamantly not using any underweight models and others are," Watson added. "It looks to me like the battle lines are being drawn, and we won't see the end any time soon."