Jean Shrimpton - Role Model.
Sometimes a 'muse' can be as important as the artists they inspire. Jean Shrimpton was one of the first 'supermodels'. She modeled clothes and appeared in magazines - but broke out of convention and role-modeled an attitude of freedom and independence for young women.
Jean Shrimpton wasn't just a product of her time - the 'swinging 60's' - she also helped to shape it. She was 'discovered' by fashion photographer David Bailey and worked with the leading image makers of the day like Duffy and Donovan to upend ideas about glamour and style. She was reportedly the highest paid model of her time and at her peak was called the 'The Face of The 60's' and 'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World'.
In an era when women didn't leave the house without wearing a hat, Shrimpton created a scandal during a visit to Australia when she appeared in a mini-skirt. The outfit scandalized the nation and sparked a fashion revolution which would define the Swinging Sixties. "There she was, the world's highest-paid model, snubbing the iron-clad conventions at fashionable Flemington in a dress five inches above the knee, NO hat, NO gloves, and NO stockings!" reported Melbourne newspaper The Sun.
It all might seem trivial but Shrimpton not only liberated young women around the world from conventions that kept people 'in their place' on the social ladder. Before the likes of Bailey and Shrimpton breaking free of one's class was unheard of. Fashion, music and the arts created a classless freedom and a new way of thinking that spread around the world in a cultural 'youthquake' that caused a tsunami whose effect is still felt.
What Jean Shrimpton teaches us.
It helps to be in the right place at the right time - and good genes help too. But having the courage to break away from convention - especially in a culture that still regarded women as subservient was an important characteristic. It's easy to imagine it was straightforward with the benefit of hindsight and it's easy to dismiss Shrimpton's success as a form of exploitation - but the cultural flow-on was important.
Jean Shrimpton also showed that you can walk away when a part of your life is done. She withdrew from modeling and the glare of adoring media to run a small hotel on England's coast with her family. She has even said that she never really cared much for fashion, was happy to wear the clothes and still enjoys admiring the creativity of the industry - but it wasn't modeling what defined her as a person.
In an era when women didn't leave the house without wearing a hat, Shrimpton created a scandal during a visit to Australia when she appeared in a mini-skirt. The outfit scandalized the nation and sparked a fashion revolution which would define the Swinging Sixties. "There she was, the world's highest-paid model, snubbing the iron-clad conventions at fashionable Flemington in a dress five inches above the knee, NO hat, NO gloves, and NO stockings!" reported Melbourne newspaper The Sun.
It all might seem trivial but Shrimpton not only liberated young women around the world from conventions that kept people 'in their place' on the social ladder. Before the likes of Bailey and Shrimpton breaking free of one's class was unheard of. Fashion, music and the arts created a classless freedom and a new way of thinking that spread around the world in a cultural 'youthquake' that caused a tsunami whose effect is still felt.
What Jean Shrimpton teaches us.
It helps to be in the right place at the right time - and good genes help too. But having the courage to break away from convention - especially in a culture that still regarded women as subservient was an important characteristic. It's easy to imagine it was straightforward with the benefit of hindsight and it's easy to dismiss Shrimpton's success as a form of exploitation - but the cultural flow-on was important.
Jean Shrimpton also showed that you can walk away when a part of your life is done. She withdrew from modeling and the glare of adoring media to run a small hotel on England's coast with her family. She has even said that she never really cared much for fashion, was happy to wear the clothes and still enjoys admiring the creativity of the industry - but it wasn't modeling what defined her as a person.
VIDEO CLIP:
The Melbourne Cup was a conservative bastion of polite society. Hard to imagine today, but Jean Shrimpton's appearance in a short skirt and without hat or gloves famously got more attention than the winning horse that year.
The Melbourne Cup was a conservative bastion of polite society. Hard to imagine today, but Jean Shrimpton's appearance in a short skirt and without hat or gloves famously got more attention than the winning horse that year.
You can buy a fine art print of Jean Shrimpton in the Thinking Cats gallery store. Beautifully reproduced and suitable for framing.
Limited edition prints, signed by the artist. Visit The Store Now. |
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