#5 Edie Sedgwick
Model. Actress. American Socialite. Andy Warhol’s Factory Regular. Edie was not only a cult icon of the 1960’s, but she had also re-defined chic with her cropped platinum hair, charcoal-lined eyes, and edgy mod glamour. She was in the forefront of the outrageous trends of the 60’s and helped pave fashion away from the conservative styles of the 50’s. Edie clenched her status as an underground fashion icon when a 1965 fashion spread in Life Magazine dubbed her “the girl with the black tights” for her tendency to wear this particular piece of clothing with T- shirts and no bottoms. Her style repertoire always included the ubiquitous black opaque tights along with metallic dresses, long T-shirts (often striped), black jeans, fishnet stockings, high heals, black leotards, chandelier earrings, heavy/dark eye make-up, pale lips, and vintage fur coats.
What made Edie such an icon was her very presence. She had such a strong individualistic sense of style and identity that even when she appeared in numerous high-end fashion magazine spreads for such publications as Vogue, she was always modeling herself. Her roles in Warhol’s underground cult films Poor Little Rich Girl and Ciao! Manhattan were characters almost identical to Edie herself: young wealthy debutantes whose life is tragically deteriorating from addiction, heavy partying, and struggling to maintain stardom in the fast lane.
Why is Edie appearing on our Top 10 list? Because she was not only an individual of her time—she was a risk taker, she was daring, and most importantly she was authentic.
#4 Brigitte Bardot
Once considered to be “every man’s idea of the girl he’d like to meet in Paris”, as stated by film critic Ivon Addams in1955, Brigitte Bardot was the epitome of the late 1950’s and 1960’s sex kitten.
Her release of the film And God Created Women in 1956 was not only an international success but it also boosted her sex goddess image. The scene in which Brigitte Bardot, a young small town amoral teenager, is dancing barefoot on a table and flashing her breasts is considered by some to be one of the most “erotic” scenes in cinema. Time Magazine had even once quoted that “She is the princess of pout, the countess of come hither. Brigitte Bardot exuded a carefree, naïve sexuality that brought a whole new audience to French films.”
One iconic move for which Brigitte has been recognized is the popularization of the bikini as well as, more interestingly, the “monokini”. This is essentially either a revealing swimsuit which covers what a bikini covers (or almost) but exists as one piece, or it is a bikini bottom without a corresponding top. (see images below)
The original design for the monokini created by Rudi Gernreich in 1964
It can literally be said that the bikini had become synonymous with Brigitte’s career. The numerous pieces that she wore in her 1952 film Woman Without a Veil helped push the film to later be re-titled as simply The Girl in the Bikini. Other cinematic titles for which she bared her flesh included En Effeuillant la Marguerite, Doctor at Sea, and A Very Private Affair.
Brigitte also had an unreserved love toward animals. After appearing in more than 50 films, recording several music albums, and modeling in numerous world-renowned magazines, she decided to use her fame toward something more important, something she valued, something for which she had an undying passion—animal rights. Thus, in 1986, she launched the Brigitte Bardot Foundation for the Welfare and Protection of Animals. And to this very day, her foundation has been persistently dedicated to heightening awareness of and pursuing the fight for the protection of animal rights.
In essence, Haute sees Brigitte as a dynamic figure. She has not only been an actress but also a model, singer, and more importantly, an advocate for animal welfare. And we love her for this. She has empowered women to be more than just a pretty face. Brigitte Bardot is the embodiment of a strong passionate woman with both beauty and brains.
#3 Grace Kelly
Timeless. Refined. The very image of elegance, beauty, and style. We find that there are not enough words to describe her. The impeccable Grace Kelly was grace itself.
Born into a prominent Philadelphia family, she went on to become a model and then a Hollywood actress before her “fairy-tale” wedding to Prince Ranier of Monaco in 1956. It can be said that her wedding was one of, if not the most, celebrated event of the century. Her dress, designed by Helen Rose, an MGM designer who often dressed Kelly, was made from hundreds of yards of silk, silk taffeta, silk tulle, and antique Valenciennes lace. In fact, her dress has been so much revered that it now remains one of the most popular collections in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
With just a mere 11 films under her name, Grace Kelly had become the ultimate icon of style and poise, both on screen and off. Costumes she wore and characters she portrayed in films were often synonymous with the “sophisticated Blonde draped in a luxurious wardrobe” look that she had so exquisitely defined. And as they say, life often imitates art. For example, in To Catch a Thief, she portrayed an American heiress adorned in gold and chiffon. And in Hitchcock’s Rear Window, Grace was an affluent women dressed in the typical Dior “New Look”, which can be defined as elegant fitted suits and tight bodice full skirt dresses which revolutionized fashion palates during the 1940’s and 1950’s. She had also been known to accessorize her famous blonde curls and porcelain skin with headscarves, usually silk, crossed under her chin and knotted at the side or nape of her neck. As a matter of fact, this look has become iconic in Hollywood and has become referred to as the “Grace Kelly”.
To this day, Grace Kelly continues to set the standard for high fashion. She has not only become the embodiment of aristocratic elegance, but also a symbol of understated ladylike luxury. In fact her name has become linked to the famous French fashion house Hermes. Their most sought after product, the “Kelly” handbag, has a wait list of up to two years, with prices starting from $5,000 and extending to over $50,000.
Simply put, Grace Kelly is fashion royalty.
#2 Katharine Hepburn
“Stockings are an invention of the Devil,” once claimed Katharine Hepburn. In an age of garters and waspies, girdles and full skirts, Katharine defied the norm and threw on some trousers. Though pants were beginning to grow in popularity anyways in her time, due to women populating the workforce—sales of pants quintupled from 1944-1945–-dresses and skirts were still standard, especially in the film industry. Resolute to the end, her dissident ways were so strong that it is said she never in her life owned a dress or skirt of her own.
With something as simple as her refusal to wear traditional feminine clothing on and off set, she made a stand for women everywhere, inspiring them to free themselves from constricted clothing and a constricted image in society. Whether it was wearing trousers on screen in the 1938 Bringing Up Baby, or walking around a set in her underwear until her purloined pair of pants were given back to her, Katharine, whether or not she meant to, changed fashion forever. In addition to influencing everyday women, her trousers became an inspiration to the fashion industry, and in the words of Calvin Klein, “They have prompted generations of fashion designers to capture her vitality and spirit.”
Katharine grew up in a liberal family, where her mother, president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association and a birth control advocate, and father, a doctor who was a strong supporter of awareness about venereal diseases, not only kept Katharine knowledgeable about these and other sociopolitical topics, but also encouraged her to have and present an open mind.
In addition to an agile mind, Katharine also kept an agile body, participating in sports such as swimming, golf, and riding. Perhaps it was her lifelong athleticism (she took frigid swims far into her 80’s) that prompted her need for comfort, or perhaps her flexible intellect called for flexible attire. All we know is that she made comfortable (even if they were then considered masculine) clothing, not only acceptable, but also beautiful within the realm of women’s style.
This artist, this feminist, this headstrong proponent of fairness and honesty, this “First Lady of Cinema” is on our list because she not only excelled in her work and inspirited the fashion world, she also inspired a whole generation of women—and beyond—to feel empowered, to speak their mind, and to feel good in their own skins. And that is more important than any old pair of trousers.
#1 Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn is to fashion as the Beatles are to music. Timeless, inimitable and absolute. Having trained to become a ballerina, Audrey possessed the stature of a dancer, with a waifish figure, elegant fluid lines, elfin features, and graceful movement to the point that her royal and aristocratic background seemed to ooze out of her. All this without a hint of pomposity - only warmth and gentleness.
A strong collaborator with designers and stylists, Audrey played a strong hand in her look on screen. Whether it was adding a simple belt and neck scarf to her blouse and skirt get-up in Roman Holiday, or devoting herself to an (accidental) partnership with Hubert de Givenchy for forty years, Audrey was a representative, if not a muse, for many a couturier and costume designer, including the likes of Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino, and Edith Head.
Widely emulated by her audience, the clothing Audrey wore on the screen (and off), had an unmistakable impact on the fashion world that can be seen to this day. So much so that at the recent December 2006 auction at Christie’s the Givenchy dress worn in the opening scene of 1961’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s went for £467,200 (~US$924,588), about seven times the reserve price, the proceeds of which, in true Audrey style, went to the City of Joy Aid charity, a nonprofit humanitarian organization dedicated to helping India’s most underprivileged children. The final price set a world record for a dress worn in a film.
The piece has become legendary and has spawned the number one rule of requirement for any woman’s wardrobe: The Little Black Dress. Paired with her big-frame black sunglasses and giant pearl necklace, the outfit set the stage for a movie that is the epitome of fashion in film and culminates her relationship with Givenchy which started years back in 1954 with Sabrina. The latter featured billowy a-line gowns as well as the creation of the “décolleté Sabrina”, a bare-shouldered evening dress specially modified to hide Audrey’s collar bones. Her black capri pants and flats from the movie that later also appeared in 1957’s Funny Face have endured for decades as simple, refined, chic casual. The bond between the actress and the designer continued into many more of her movies, such as Charade (1963), Paris when it Sizzles (1964), and How to steal a Million (1966).
The interesting thing about Audrey, however, is that even though she is the patron saint of style and one of the foremost inspirations for couture houses, she never needed any of that high fashion to showcase her exquisiteness. But perhaps that’s exactly what it was about. It was not her needing the clothes, it was the clothes needing her to become whole.
And this exquisiteness radiated out of more than just her looks and demeanor, it also came from her soul. Her desire to do good in the world was made clear by her extensive and dedicated work with UNICEF as a Goodwill Ambassador. Having grown up in the Netherlands during the German occupation of WWII and having experienced terror, loss, and hunger herself, she could not bear the thought of a child who was facing the same. And you could sense that, even without her acquired fame and fortune, she would have still helped just as much, simply because it had to be done.
In the words of her son, Sean Ferrer:
“Style is a word we use often and for a multitude of purposes. In the case of my mother, Audrey Hepburn, it was the extension of an inner beauty held up by a life of discipline, respect for the other and hope in humanity. If the lines were pure and elegant it was because she believed in the power of simplicity. If there was timelessness it was because she believed in quality and if she still is an icon of style today it is because once she found her look she stayed with it throughout her life.”
So, why is Audrey Hepburn #1 on our list? Because she just has to be.