HIPPIES

ABOVE: Early-Hippie-Irving-Penn-1967

ABOVE: Matthew Williamson (far left), Diane von Furstenberg (center), Anna Sui (right).

Sp 09

ABOVE: Woodstock-Mural-Alain-Bertrand

Hippies are by and far, the most talked about and celebrated era of fashion and living. These group of young Americans were spawned from the increasing distaste with the U.S involvement in the Vietnam War. Hippies were mainly white teenagers and young adults yet still shared the common hatred towards what they thought were traditional middle class values. They embraced Eastern religions, particularly Buddhism. Many hippies also saw hallucinogenic drugs, such as marijuana and LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), as the key to escaping the ties of society and expanding their individual consciousness. Hippies were notorious for being nude and barefoot. But when they were clothed they wore moccassins, suede, bell bottoms, tie-dye and went for the naturally "unkept" look.