Edie Sedgwick was the essence of 1960s style; an era encapsulated in fashion and attitude.

She is said to have been the inspiration behind Bob Dylan’s songs Just like a Woman and Like a Rolling Stone, as well as The Velvet Underground’s 1967 song Femme Fatale. 

A New York actress, model and socialite, she was most famously known as Andy Warhol’s muse. As the subject of his infatuation she starred in several of his films, and was highly regarded for her style in the ‘scene’. 

Fashion Designer Betsey Johnson describes the Sixties siren as being the embodiment of that whole era with her “five pair of lashes, lip gloss, heavy black make-up and that Vidal Sassoon hair cut.”

Edie Sedgwick was a fashion phenomenon whose spirit continues to captivate and inspire designers’ collections seasonally.

There’s no doubt there is a revolutionary Sixties feel around for 2013, as the key Spring Summer catwalk trend gives a nostalgic nod to the colour, silhouette and  youth of the ‘swinging sixties’. 

It was a decade where women were undoubtedly empowered by fashion with liberating mini-skirts, A-line short dresses, cropped boxy jackets and delicate daisy motifs.  This season celebrates pop pieces with a strong focus on a clean, bold look.  Monochrome is a key story as seen in graphic stripes, checkerboards or squares featuring in long, fitted or short, cropped silhouettes.

We take a step back in time with Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Moschino who all paid tribute to Sixties ‘it’ girls like Edie, Mary Quant, Twiggy and Jane Birkin.  

At the forefront was Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton with his highly influential Spring Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week, which impacted this 1960s sleek and simple feeling as only a major Fashion House could.  A conveyor belt of models styled with beehives literally descended on candy striped escalators, showcasing clean lines and graphic references in micro minis, swing coats and monochrome chequered playsuits - all worn with chic kitten heels.

On the New York catwalk, Marc Jacob’s models were styled to look like Edie Sedgwick, his muse for his own Spring Summer collection. Jacob’s light, youthful collection edited everything down to the most essential. It was a complete contrast to last season’s layered, textured and embellished collection. A simple colour palette and an expert use of graphics prevailed in a well crafted and cleverly simplified collection. This was 1960s modernism with attitude, mini dresses, black and white t-shirts worn with knicker-shorts, slinky striped maxi dresses and crop-tops worn with low slung skirts, and presented to his loyal front row A-list fans such as Alexa Chung and Kelly Osborne.

Moschino’s fun, fresh monochromatic styling was evident in everything from harlequin prints to piped contrast detailing. Milan’s Sixties Sirens adorned cute little princess coats, super short skirt suits, broderie anglaise button-up collared dresses and macs with striped detailing on collars and pockets. Moschino’s sassy collection gave a girly glimmer of ‘flower power’ as seen at Prada.

We could be heading for the next summer of love inspired by the spirit of 60s youth and updated with a modern, minimalistic edge.  It’s as Edie Sedgwick as it is Alexa Chung...

Wear it well: my must-haves

A Sixties inspired ‘Mod’ style is back for spring, and the High street’s cool  take on this trend has strong focus on monochrome and a sprinkle of rock ‘n’ roll.

See my key finds to put together your own catwalk looks.