1960's Fashion Trends

"I defy anyone to design a hat, coat or dress that hasn't been done before...The only new frontier left in fashion is the finding of new materials" - Paco Rabanne 1966.

The 1960’s was a decade of great change, inviting new ideas and fashion trends which still have a noticeable influence today. The beginning of the era showed fashion aimed at a wealthy mature audience, quality of material was important and mainly natural fabrics were used, and trends were largely dictated by high profile designers, and the price often reflected the work gone into producing these. However throughout the 1960’s style influence evolved and began to be lead by the domination of youth culture. This steered designers to be more daring and liberal, stepping out with
The wave began in 1966 when first mass- produced by Scott Paper Company as a marketing stunt, offering a coupon for a paper dress as a gimmick to sell their newly introduced disposable plates and napkins. However, the novelty fashion items captivated young, trendy ‘Mods’ across America, throw away clothing evoked a futuristic world of convenience and fast changing fashion.
One of the main unique selling points of these dresses were the fact they were disposable. This came at a time when society was adopting a ‘throw away’ attitude, disposable cutlery, cigarette lighters.. it almost seemed the next natural step, disposable clothing. The dresses were not made to be practical, they were spontaneous fun pieces, with eye catching patterns and prints. They were affordable for the mass market and allowed creativity to the wearer with easy customisation in terms of length and colour. The paper dresses addressed a more rebellious era, tapping into sex appeal, being able to be cut as short as one dared, flimsy appearance and the connotations of paper being ripped and unwrapped, portraying shifts in cultural and social life. Writer Jonathan Walford stated in his book, ‘Sixties Fashion From 'Less is More' to Youthquake': “In the self-consciously modern mid-1960s, the quest for a space-age future had created a progress-minded society ready
They did not want to over exaggerate its qualities and underrate its possibilities. In 1965, engineer Robert Bayer, working with Scott Paper asked his wife to design a simple A-Line dress, as he felt there was commercial potential in paper fashion. Constructed from nonwoven cellulose tissue reinforced with rayon or nylon, the dress created little interest, so the item was just made as a promotional garment as a sponsor for Junior Miss Pageant in 1966. However, this caught the attention of the mass market and the dress was launched in April across Canada and America for $1.25 with two designs (a black