1960's: The Mod Monochrome Movement

Every decade has its own palette of colours. Whether it be the 1920's, renowned for dusty pinks and jade greens that showed off beading, embroidery and ribbon decorations, or the 1980's, where neon colours electrified the way people wore leg warmers and mini skirts. 

However, one question that is continuously asked. Is colour really that necessary? Coco Chanel famously said "black has it all. White too. Their beauty is absolute. It is the perfect harmony.”  She courageously states that there is in fact no need for colour to allow an individual's style to be so communicative and awe-inspiring.

 During the 1960’s, an era associated with bright, hot and crisp colours, a revamped trend hit society. A one painted with bold statement geometrics, famously promoted by designer Mary Quant, stripes, square prints and dog tooth patterns. This trend was the revival of monochrome, which highly influenced the birth of the mod sub-culture, at a time where society allowed youths to run free with their fashion tastes and identities. Therefore, these colours linked to events of the period, refining an image of a distinction and rebellion against colour.

 The 60’s saw style icons such as Twiggy and Jane Birkin publicize this monochrome mania throughout society with the use of press coverage, media, television and the industry itself. These supermodels arguably changed the perception of women’s fashion, by representing a new woman, who had authority and strength visually, and who said goodbye to the role of a stereotypical feminine housewife, and hello to a new sharp and sleek mid-20th century woman. Further influences such as the Opt Art fashion movement, photography, a new rage for pop music and fashion filmography all signified a new expressive fashion craze. This created a decadent revolution within politics and economics at a time where women and men’s fashion was beginning to blur and there was no turning back.

                                                      

                                                  

                                            

                                                   

Monochrome has been revived again during the past decade, seeing a rejuvenation of the black and white hue trend by designers Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs.  
                                     

                                      

                                                          
                                       Marc Jacobs Spring 2013 Finale, New York Fashion Week

  Ralph Lauren Spring 2014 collection

                                                
                                             The 1960's fashion revisited by Christian Dior in 2013