Fashion on a TRIP

Fashion on a TRIP

 

We are about to go through an acid trip and psychedelic high involving Neon colours, swirls and twirls and Sixties silhouettes.  Prepare yourself for a ‘far out’ summer.  The totally groovy Kyrsty Hazell gives you the low down.

 

We  have had the Oriental chic, Wild West cowgirl look, African Tribal Queen and even Bauhaus barmy, now people, prepare yourself for the latest trend about to hit our wardrobes-Psychedelic groove.  Think naked girls diving into a raspberry, fish with tuxedos and bow ties and over sized fluorescent flowers with faces…These are just some of the motifs coming our way from the latest Basso&Brooke’s prints for the summer. Sound c-razy? Well lucky for us, summer is about to brighten and lighten up as they aren’t the only ones embracing Sixties psychedelia.

 

 

Designers are taking inspiration from the era’s vibrant, hippy-dippy look and loving it.  John Galliano swimwear for Dior this season sparkles with its neon acid coloured patterns and Day-Glo tangerine and pinks.  Etro follows suit with its voluminous frocks, which are a dedication to Ossie Clark’s gypsy –chic dresses and paisley patterned wonders.

 

Psychedelia is making an impression on the fashion savvy because of what it symbolises- freedom, imagination, fun and hedonism. Some say that it has a deeper meaning which links to child like, naïve ideas which created a source of nostalgic comfort. It is giving an open message and letting fashion and ideas run free. A very liberated and laid back approach, but where is the inspiration coming from?

 

 

Jonathan Saunders, with his amazing kaleidoscope and jewel-bright panels have clearly been inspired by the Beatles’ film ‘Yellow Submarine or as the man says himself, “Ralph Steadman’s animation for Pink Floyd.” However, it was today’s drug culture that inspired Mark Eley of Eley Kishomoto, whose collection consisted of a hallucinogenic cacophony of swirly patterns and zigzags.

 

 

Giles Deacon has also joined in with the hysteria, by creating spiral patterned pieces with a selection of dogs, geometric stripes and eye catching colours.

 

Galleries are also celebrating the psychedelia’s second coming, allowing us to take ourselves back into the Sixties.  Tate Liverpool’s new exhibition, Summer of Love: Art of the Psychedelic Era (May 27 to Sept 25), which includes footage of Andy Warhol’s light shows for the Velvet Underground, the rainbow-hued, low level seating of Verner Panton, graphics by Nigel Waymouth (who decorated the 60’s boutique GrannyTakesATrip).

 

 

 

The reason the gallery director, Christoph Grunenberg, put up this show was due to the great interest of psychedelia from artists and designers.

Psychedelia originally exploded on to the London and San Francisco scenes around 1965, climaxing in 1967.  The movement was originated by Timothy Leary and Ken Kesey, who were both LSD enthusiasts who discovered that the drug intensifies colour.

 

 

It began as a graphic style on posters for clubs and events, from San Francisco to London’s top club spots, like the UFO Club. The new form of poster was a combination of Art Noveau, fairytales, UFO’s, pop art, surrealism and Eastern mysticism. Sexual imagery was also another fixation, with images of the male genitals and butterflies (which was the symbol of psychedelia).

 

Music – the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles, Pink Floyd – were integral to the style.  Psychedelia was usually upbeat with floaty anti-gravitational forms, but it had a dark side: provoking bad trips.

 

Although psychedelia has always been considered a low art form as it has always been purely decorative, it shows how persuasive the era can be due to all of the interest it has attracted from established artists, broadcasters (The recent Honda TV ads break with the slick car campaign: animated film with Technicolor skies, bubble writing and flying cars), and fashion designers.

 

 

One reason everyone has feel in lust with psychedelia is the free spirit it represents.  Everyone craves individuality and this trend reflects the rejection against homogeneity you often see in fashion. You can mix patterns together, be bright, bold, and brassy and fall into the realm of bad taste without having to excuse it!

 

However, the only difference between psychedelia now is that the patterns are created using technology, whereas before patterns used to be screen printed. 

Nevertheless, whether it be hand drawn or simply created on a computer screen, the psychedelia moment is fun, playful, ‘out of this world’ crazy and a chance to liven up your summer ahead.  Groove on!

 

Krysty Hazell