06/08/12 - 0 Comments
Fashion Flashback: Edie Sedgwick
Welcome to Fashion Flashback! Here I’ll be exploring icons — both past and present — of the fashion industry and recognizing how their influences are present today, whether it be on the runway or on the street.
Whenever I think of the 1960′s — which, I’ll admit, is entirely too often — I immediately think of Edie Sedgwick. Sedgwick can certainly be considered one of New York’s most prominent style icons and the evidence around us proves she continues to inspire designers and everyone in the industry alike. Without further ado, we introduce to you our first fashion icon, Ms. Edie Sedgwick.
Sedgwick moved to New York City after attending art school in Cambridge in 1964. Later that year she met Andy Warhol and quickly became a notable figure in the downtown art scene, thanks to his companionship. Sedgwick and Warhol began collaborating creatively and, soon enough, they became inseparable. The combination of Sedgwick’s background as an eccentric heiress and Warhol’s involvement in the underground pop art scene made for quite the dynamic duo. Sedgwick starred in many of Warhol’s short films, her most famous of these being Poor Little Rich Girl. In 1965, after being dubbed “The Girl of the Year,” Sedgwick began modeling for Vogue and Life.
Sedgwick’s style was edgy with a hint of androgyny. She was often seen wearing a striped leotard with opaque black stockings and flats. Known for her large, chunky fur coats — specifically her leopard print one — she was never afraid of piling on the costume jewelry in addition to her exaggeratedly long, chandelier-like earrings (known in the ’60s as shoulder-dusters). Her outfits shocked socialites uptown but were trendsetting downtown — mostly on the Lower East Side (can’t say we’re surprised!).
To this day, designers are still inspired by the 1960s, specifically by Sedgwick and the trends she introduced and solidified.
For their SS 2005 Haute Couture show in Paris, Christian Dior sent down the runway an array of striped dresses, leather and crocodile bodysuits, mod dresses with black tights and funky hats — what one might consider a nod to a style unique to Sedgwick.
This doesn’t even scratch the surface regarding her effect on not only the fashion community in New York City, but also the world as well. If you want to know more about the fabulous Ms. Sedgwick, check out the book Edie: American Girl by Jean Stein. It’s an exceptional read (even after the twelfth time through, but who’s counting)!
Photo credit: WarholStars
