MARCH 6 - APRIL 7, 2012

Boutiques

Fashion, music, and youthful rebellion converged in 1960s London, the epicenter of both the youthquake fashion revolution and its burgeoning boutique culture. Boutiques functioned as incubators of groundbreaking new styles, as well as shopping destinations for their young clientele, who were part of an increasingly powerful consumer class.

Young people who wanted to dress—and shop—differently than their parents found an outlet in boutiques. These small, independently owned shops sold radical new clothing inspired by the fashion-conscious Mods: boldly patterned, colorful styles for men, and ever-shorter miniskirts and pants for women. Experimenting with unorthodox materials such as plastic and metal, designers took fashion to new heights of creativity. Youthquake boutiques soon spread to Paris and New York, taking the London Look international.

John Stephen
paraphernalia
Emmanuelle Khahn LIFE spread
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