"That's so 60's": Swinging London

Swinging London is a catchall term applied to dynamic cultural trends in the UK, centred in London, in the second half of the 1960s.

It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasized the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the British economy after post- World War II austerity and rationing which lasted through much of the 1950s. Journalist Christopher Booker, a founder of the satirical magazine, Private Eye, recalled the "bewitching" character of the swinging sixties: "There seemed to be no one standing outside the bubble, and observing just how odd and shallow and egocentric and even rather horrible it was."

In Fashion, Mary Quant surprised the world by lauching the mini-skirt, while the main stores of Carnaby Street and King's Road, the new fashion center,like Biba, setted what young people should wear, as they were worshiped by magazine editorials from both sides of the Atlantic.

Twiggy (called "the Queen of mod"), Jean Shrimpton and Veruschka where super models, all photographed by the influente David Baley. Fashion centers in the heart of London got wild with mod sounds, with people coming from every corner of the earth.

Satiric publications like Private Eye made fun of the status of the traditional clothes of the Royal Family.

After England won the World Cup 1966, the British flag, the "Union Jack", turned into fashion between England's youth, becoming part of their outfits as coats, dresses, skirts and even underwear, with the trend setted by Carnaby Street.

It was the boom of Mini-Cooper's, that from then on were used as mini-cab taxis highlighted by advertising that covered their paintwork, quite a scandal for the british tradition.

Twiggy

Jean Shrimpton

Veruschka