“Fashion was so much connected to what was going on culturally. It was a new youth movement that was really challenging authority. Fashion was at the heart of new ideas.”
There once was a time when fashion followed protocol. Women dressed as the models did and men wore suits.
Then, in the late 1960s, a countercultural movement turned fashion into art.
Hippies fought back against the mainstream through their use of drugs, music, and organized protest. While protesting high fashion by creating their own clothes, they ended up influencing haute couture.
The Museum of Fine Arts is honoring this revolution with their exhibition Hippie Chic. It will feature about 53 different looks complete with accessories, hairstyles, and decor popular in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
“The reason we’re doing the show is because it’s such an interesting era,” said curator Lauren Whitley. “Fashion was so much connected to what was going on culturally. It was a new youth movement that was really challenging authority. Fashion was at the heart of new ideas.
Young people didn’t want to be told how to dress, and they rejected the very elite world of haute couture.”
High-end designers were inspired by the free-flowing, colorful looks. As a result, an everlasting trend emerged that influenced other styles, like grunge and bohemian.
Brigitte Bardot, sex icon of the ’50s and ’60s, once said, “Couture is for grannies.” Teenagers and young rebellious adults everywhere seemed to agree: the traditional look was lacking the hippies’ convivially festive spirit.
“It will be really fun,” said Whitley. “I think it resonates for everyone. It’s about exuberance and the fun of fashion. We should all embrace and enjoy colors and the fun of it all. Maybe men will start wearing purple crushed-velvet suits again. Who knows?”
Resurrecting purple crushed-velvet? Sure, why not?
HIPPIE CHIC
TUE 7.16.13–MON 11.11.13
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS
465 HUNTINGTON AVE.
BOSTON
HOURS VARY/ALL AGES/PRICES VARY
@MFABOSTON
MFA.ORG