This site requires Javascript to be turned on. Please enable Javascript and reload the page.

Museum of Resistance and Resilience

The Sexual Revolution

The Sexual Revolution of the 1960s was a large movement of the youth against the strict conformity of the ‘50s and their parent’s generation. This movement encouraged the act of sexual expression in rebellion against the heterosexual married model and austere gender roles (the housewife and the working husband) of suburbia emphasized in the previous decade. Fashion experienced a “Youthquake” and became an important part of expressing nonconformity. Feminists pushed against the patriarchal traditions by wearing more empowering clothing like high heels, bikinis, and pants. Designers like Mary Quant, who in 1965 raised the hemline of her skirts to invent the miniskirt, created more provocative outfits which became more mainstream. This change in proportion also allowed for more scandalous accessories like "gogo" boots and stockings. This era forever changed the expression of sexuality and gender in fashion, the boundaries of which were pushed even further in the next decade.

Contents of this annotation:

This photograph is of Yves Saint Laurent’s “Le Smoking” tuxedo jacket, introduced in 1966. Although not the first tuxedo to be worn by a woman, this piece was one of YSL's most iconic designs and it had a massive impact on the fashion world. Saint Laurent not only put women in the masculine wear, but he also designed the pieces so that they were better shaped for the female body. At the time, the prospect of women wearing menswear was scandalous. YSL, among other designers, greatly contributed to the transformation of gender expression through fashion.