Bull's Eye mini-skirt

No longer content to dress like their parents, the youth of the 1960s created and consumed radical fashions. The miniskirt became a potent symbol of a wider youth rebellion. Inevitably, it was interpreted by the establishment and society at large as something sexual. Its minimalism supposedly heralded a new sexual frankness among young women. However, in the eyes of its creators, such as the British designer Mary Quant (1930-), and arguably its wearers, its simple form was intended to maximise movement and, in a very practical sense, provide liberation from the strictures of the past. The miniskirt took many forms. In haute couture, the French designer André Courrèges (1923-2016) was credited with its introduction to France. Pierre Cardin, meanwhile, brought the miniskirt to a wider market within France and beyond when he produced a ready-to-wear line in 1959. This was one of his central innovations and brought him into direct opposition with the Parisian fashion establishment. It was also the key to his successful creation of a global fashion empire. In his miniskirt designs, Cardin reflected individual trends in the 1960s by deploying floral motifs for flower power and geometric patterns and silver tones to reflect the futurism of the space race. In 1969, Cardin was asked by NASA to design a dress inspired by a space suit, at which time he declared, ‘The dresses I prefer are those I invent for a life that does not yet exist’.

Label Pierre Cardin, Paris