Leslie Hornby was the revolutionary woman who changed the idea of beauty in the eyes of the fashion industry and the entire world. Twiggy exemplified the fashionable look that swept America as it had Britain and much of Europe in the 1960’s. She healthily maintained a 5 ft 6 1/2 inch 90 lb body. Based on her thin figure, a nickname of "Twiggy" was derived. Twiggy’s popularity not only produced many people who tried to look like her but also drastically increased the hourly wages of models. Twiggy was major trendsetter in America during the sixties even though she was born in England. She was found by Nigel Davies in a salon, while working as a shampoo girl. He saw her potential and immediately took her to get a haircut at a Mr. Leonard’s trendy salon in London. Mr. Leonard put her picture in his shop window, and a short time later that picture was featured in the London Daily Express with a caption that read "This is the face of 1966". Although fashionable clothes were becoming easier to come by as stores were now opening all around the country for example ‘bazaar’ and ‘biba’, appealing to all age groups and introducing new trends and styles these shops were soon enhanced and introduced as bigger and better into the capital cities of Great Britain. Fashion was no becoming shorter and more colourful and more unlike the fashion of the 1950’s were Younger men and women were wearing similar clothes to their parents, now they were given the opportunity to develop their own individual styles and tastes.
Television became more popular in the 1960’s with new shows beginning to appear; also commercial television was now being introduced for the first time. Kitchen sink dramas and television theatres began to become popular and being at a regular television slot each week were becoming part of peoples weekly routines. Other popular shows were also introduced such as:
The avengers:
Made over several series and in several
configurations, by far the most popular was the
filmed series featuring Patrick Macnee as the
suave and gentlemanly John Steed and Diana Rigg
as the sexy and liberated Mrs. Emma Peel. The
series was filmed at and around Elstree studios
in Hertfordshire by Associated British Corporation.
It was a huge international success and is screened
to this day in over a hundred countries.
Catweazle:
Catweazle was a rare TV treat. A very English, unique,
beautifully written, immaculately produced, directed and
acted, atmospheric and highly entertaining series for
children that could be equally enjoyed by adults
Ready, steady, go:
In a land with a dire shortage of radio stations
& lacking a TV outlet for the beat generation,
Ready Steady Go was a breath of fresh air.
"The weekend starts here" was the proclamation
and for most British youth this was true. Broadcast
from Rediffusion's London studio in Kingsway in the
heart of the west end between Holborn and The
Aldwych, (and just around the corner from the
London School of Economics where Mick Jagger
had studied), the show was hosted by Keith Fordyce
and Cathy McGowan. She quickly became a role model
and nominated the Queen of the Mods.
.
Commercial television was now being shown on ITV, the rival channel of the BBC, these short advertisements were broadcasted to everyone watching and would introduce him or her to appealing and new inventions, clothes and programmes.
British films were now becoming increasingly popular films such as the first bond films bringing action and excitement all around the world originated from the British spy with a license to kill that is James Bond. Carries on films were now being produced into series and being shot in various locations and settings. There had been successful films in the 1950’s but some of the most memorable films were made in the early 1960’s. The two main topics of films were memories of the war for example: ‘The bridge on the River Kwai’ telling the story of a Japanese Prison of war camp during the second world war, other examples of war films are ‘Cockleshell heroes’, ‘Dunkirk’, ‘Sink the Bismarck’ and ‘The Dambusters’. Many British films however did not portray ‘real life’. They had Story lines about middle class people living luxurious life – styles. They described a Britain that people wanted to live in, rather than the Britain that they actually did live in. The films rarely dealt with the problems that ordinary working people had to contend with such as, Unemployment and poverty, a film that shows this is ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ as flying cars and child catchers do not really exist.
The 1960’s played a vital part in the revolution of the entertainment and fashion industries, developing individualism and equal opportunity throughout Britain.
