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Showing posts with label Twiggy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Twiggy. Show all posts
Sunday, 6 September 2009
Some careers are born by design, others by good fortune. Agyness Deyn was not born Agyness Deyn, but through a series of events the girl from Littleborough, who once worked in a chippy, became an internationally acclaimed model.
The girl who professes herself to be ‘happier mixing with [her] small circle of friends’ than attending fashion parties, is now at the epicentre of contemporary fashion. Agyness is part of a group of friends – designers, models, collaborators – who have grabbed the reins of modern fashion. When you can count designers like Henry Holland and Gareth Pugh as personal friends, the term ‘outsider’ no longer applies.
Everything about Agyness is the result of reflection and change. Deyn was born Laura Hollins in Littleborough, 1983, and only thought of changing her name when deciding to pursue a modelling career. Consulting her mother’s friend, who specialised in numerology, she was advised to change Laura to Agnes. Laura took the advice and further altered Agnes to the more unusual (and memorable) Agyness. The strategy, while unorthodox, paid off.
Agyness’ second piece of good fortune came when she was working in a fish and chip shop in 1998. The up-and-coming designer Henry Holland was a regular, met Agyness and the two immediately bonded over their love of fashion. Agyness was even scouted by a modelling agency rep whilst out shopping with Henry in Kentish Town. She signed with Select and began runway work in September 2006, modelling for Marc Jacobs’ diffusion line, plus cutting edge designers Proenza Schouler and Zac Posen.
Her runway debut, which already had her marked as someone outside the norm (even in fashion terms) was confirmed when, in November 2006, Deyn appeared on the cover of Italian Vogue sporting a bleached, cropped pixie-cut. Making that bold decision to change her image so drastically put Agyness on the map. But as with Twiggy forty years before, a hair cut is never just a hair cut.
Deyn’s incredible new look made her unmissable: the peroxide crop was exciting and fresh, something that ran counter to the ultra-feminine, doll-like look that was in favour at the time. Harder and tougher, it was something that went perfectly with the neon bright, Eighties-influenced clothes being produced by designers such as Richard Nicoll. Deyn’s attempt to get herself noticed could not have been better timed.
Her haircut, combined with her love of British fashion, nurtured as a result of her friendship with Henry Holland, made Agyness a startling presence both on the runway and in real life. Teaming her cropped hair with boyish, urban separates and eclectic accessories made Agyness eminently watchable.
Her own personal style, something that grew organically from her radical change in image, became a regular feature in fashion magazines. Her trilby hats worn with Wayfarer sunglasses made a vital connection not just with the fashion press, but more crucially, with the British public.
Her look, merging the best of designer and high-street fashion, became an inspiration for teenagers across the country. Girls began to crop and bleach their hair to match Deyn’s. The cool yet casual look played perfectly to fashion-conscious students of both sexes who were looking for something with more personality than a hoodie and a pair of jeans. Deyn rapidly became a taste-maker: whatever she wore, however she wore it, it was profiled, studied and copied. Through her personal style, Agyness Deyn connected with an entire generation in a way that few other contemporary models have managed.
Born in the dying days of the New-Romantic movement, Deyn’s punk-inspired look owes a great debt to Vivienne Westwood’s work during the late Seventies and progression into the early Eighties. The wild excess, tempered with a very real awareness of design and fashion history, is a British tradition that has translated to street fashion across the globe.
The mix of rebellion and high fashion that is embedded in Deyn’s look has formed a whole new level of street style, quite separate from the label-led sportswear trend. Whereas many fashion watchers presumed that the age of influence ended with Kate Moss, Deyn’s unique homage to street fashion has secured a revival of interest in the industry.
Deyn forms part of a later generation than Moss who came to modelling already equipped with an awareness of how modern media works. Deyn entered the industry with an understanding of the link between the popular press (tabloids and broadsheets) and the more traditional fashion media. Once absolutely divisable, it is now commonplace to find a tabloid devoting at least a page to a fashion story on a daily basis.
Previously scorned for its ‘outlandish’ and ‘unwearable’ creations, fashion receives a kinder deal as newspapers, eager to boost their own sales, have sharpened their approach to fashion journalism. They report fashion events with the same attention once reserved for domestic politics.
Fashion now sells papers on its own intrinsic merits, rather than on a dated notion of ‘shock value’. It is taken much more seriously, because the public have made that personal connection with what they wear, and what it says about them, and that connection has been bridged by people like Deyn.
Agyness’ triumph can be summed up in terms of how she has made street icon and fashion icon one and the same. Working with the best of British avant-garde design talent such as Gareth Pugh and landing campaigns for established labels like Burberry and Hugo Boss, proves that Deyn is the ultimate chameleon.
Deyn has, within the space of three years, become an unrivalled influence in contemporary street fashion. She has successfully challenged our pre-conceptions about what constitutes everyday style. Her commitment to transforming herself into one of the fashion world’s top players shows how, even early on, Agyness was prepared to take personal responsibility for her own career. To become one of fashion’s most recognisable faces takes more than self-belief.
It took tremendous nerve, but by having the guts to change her look when it wasn’t delivering the results she wanted, Agyness became one of fashion’s elite by rebranding her own image into something more daring and fashion-forward.
It took tremendous nerve, but by having the guts to change her look when it wasn’t delivering the results she wanted, Agyness became one of fashion’s elite by rebranding her own image into something more daring and fashion-forward.
While everything from her hair to her name may be manufactured, it is important to see Deyn’s progress as something that did not happen merely as the result of wishful thinking. She took charge of her own success by turning herself (physically and emotionally) into the model she wanted to become. Marketing is as much about perusading yourself that you belong as convincing others of the fact.
In the short term, Deyn’s immediate legacy will be her extraordinary influence on street fashion.
But what will endure is her willingness and determination to craft her own future, leading us away from the notion that people who have succeeded have done so because they let success happen to them. It may not be the name on her birth certificate, but Agyness has built a name for herself in the fashion world that is synonymous with style and influence, and not being afraid to take a risk right at the moment when it counts the most.
HELEN TOPE
Sunday, 14 June 2009
Born Lesley Hornby in 1949, and discovered in 1966, Twiggy is the perfect example of how the right model at the right time can act as a catalyst to create an entirely new brand of culture.
Sixteen-year-old Twiggy’s spare frame and sharp, bird-like features meant that her ascent into modelling stardom was not an easy one. Fashion had very particular ideas about what constituted beauty, and Twiggy, in no uncertain terms, did not meet those ideals.
After the Second World War, while the fashion world took stock, Paris grabbed the reins and became the fashion capital of the world. Christian Dior created an entirely new kind of womenswear. Dubbed the ‘New Look’, the emphasis was on fiercely drawn-in waists, full skirts and exquisite tailoring. It was an intentionally lady-like look that spoke of refinement and afternoon tea at the Savoy. Its elegance was a deliberate attempt to separate Dior from the ‘make-do-and-mend’ era of the 1940’s. Luxury was key.
To go with his vision, Dior needed elegant and refined models to show off his designs to their best advantage. Many of the ‘models’ he ended up using were high-society girls and heiresses – the girls who were modelling his clothes would be on first-name terms with the women who would end up purchasing them. Never had the line between model and consumer been so thinly drawn.
Dior’s supremely poised girls were the real deal, but they were not professional models in the contemporary sense of the word. Dior was willing to sacrifice grace for good breeding.
The ‘New Look’ was a sensation – it made Paris the undisputed fashion capital, and Dior a legend. If fashion had stayed here, our perception of what fashion is, and what is does for us, would be very different – but the true constant of fashion is change. As the Sixties rolled around, the corseted Dior Look began to lose its lustre. It was time for a revolution.
Dior’s supremely poised girls were the real deal, but they were not professional models in the contemporary sense of the word. Dior was willing to sacrifice grace for good breeding.
The ‘New Look’ was a sensation – it made Paris the undisputed fashion capital, and Dior a legend. If fashion had stayed here, our perception of what fashion is, and what is does for us, would be very different – but the true constant of fashion is change. As the Sixties rolled around, the corseted Dior Look began to lose its lustre. It was time for a revolution.
Twiggy’s year was 1966. After being discovered by Nigel Davies, she was persuaded to chop off her hair and a brave new look was born. On advice, she changed her name, and chose ‘Twiggy’, her childhood nickname. She then undertook a small photo shoot with photographer Barry Lategan – an event that would not only change her life, but have an enormous impact on the world at large.
The bold, black and white images were a revelation: uncompromising, high-fashion and quirky. Twiggy’s cropped hair and drawn-on eyelashes gave her a startling, bird-like quality. Her slim, androgynous body was in absolute contrast to the Dior classic hourglass shape.
Twiggy’s thoroughly modern look swept the UK. The Sixties were an unprecedented period of transformation: people wanted to embrace change in whatever form they found it. The post-war hangover mood of the 1950’s was shaken off and in its place was a mood of possibility – anything and everything was permissible.
The most striking changes were taking place in popular culture: the end of the 1950’s brought with it the advent of rock’n’roll. Elvis Presley was the King-in-training, and the modern teenager was born.
It is now hard to imagine, but before the Fifties, the cultural concept of the teenager did not exist. The sweeping rock’n’roll movement brought with it a new identity for young people to cling to: it was rebellion, sex appeal and individuality – for the first time, teenagers had their own definitions of music and style. They no longer dressed like their parents.
Fashion in the Sixties became democratised. Along with the popularisation of casual fabrics like leather and denim (made desirable by film stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean), fashion became cheaper and more readily available. Fashion brands sprang up on the high street, but one did not need a double-barrelled surname to gain access to an atelier. Brands like ‘Biba’ produced high-fashion looks for pocket-money prices: fashion was now available to everyone.
This wave of democracy held up Twiggy as the gold standard: before her, there had never been a working-class supermodel. She was the everyday girl who became the face of the Sixties, and the class barrier (within the fashion world anyway) was broken for good.
Twiggy’s unique selling point was her youthfulness. Her body suited perfectly the A-line dresses and miniskirts created by designers such as Mary Quant. For the first time in fashion history, the teenage body was held up as the ideal. Twiggy’s strongly androgynous look paved the way for models like Linda Evangelista and Agyness Deyn – girls for whom femininity is not served straight up, but with a twist. Twiggy’s gauche, knock-kneed appeal made fashion young again, right at the point where it was in danger of retreating into permanent middle-age.
Twiggy’s most enduring legacy (in a career that has spanned four decades), is the kick-start she gave to modern fashion – models would look very different today if it were not for Twiggy. Her long-limbed, fashion-friendly body became the new ideal. Twiggy’s debut into fashion was a celebration of originality, and Dior’s ‘New Look’ made way for the new look – something that possessed major staying power.
Twiggy’s charm offensive on the fashion industry, taking it very much by surprise, brought the concept of ‘model’ centre stage. Before her arrival, fashion had been guilty of taking itself too seriously. She imbibed the colourful new fashions with personality – much debate has been centred on Twiggy’s ultra-slim figure, but the fact remains that she would not have been half as successful if she had not learned early on that a good model is more than a clothes hanger.
The difference between her and the 50’s Dior models is clear-cut. They gave the ‘New Look’ an air of sophistication, but Twiggy gave 60’s fashion her body and soul. Her wit and exuberance are what gives the Lategan images their punch. A great photographer, a great model and a great idea created a moment of magic that still, even 40 years on, has the power to charm and bewitch. It is this collaborative spirit that best sums up what the Sixties were all about, and why Twiggy’s images continue to inspire us today.
The best fashion moments arrive when they are least expected. No-one expected Twiggy’s notoriety to last beyond a month, but her impact on culture, fashion and modelling has been insurmountable. She changed the way we think about beauty and made fashion fall in love with the awkward, gangly girls. There is always room for the polished and poised, but Twiggy taught the world of fashion that the unexpected can create something truly wonderful.
If fashion equals youth, Twiggy is the answer.
HELEN TOPE
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