In the 1960‘s there was a poor little rich girl named Edie Sedgwick, she was New York’s It Girl, for only one year. Known by many as Andy Warhol’s ‘Superstar’, she was much more than his disposable beauty. Edie was, and still is, a style icon who died far too young.
This photograph portrays Edie’s signature look, a black leotard, large decorative earrings, heavy eye makeup, cropped hair, her fabulous beauty spot and of course a cigarette in hand. Her style was completely original. This image could be of a model from today not back in the sixties, nothing about Edie seems dated. She is a timeless style icon and many agree.
If we look back just four years ago, in 2005, Edie’s unique look was purposely recreated by John Galliano for Dior’s Spring collection.“She may have only had 15 minutes of fame, but her style and image influenced a whole generation. Edie danced to her own tune, that is what inspired me” said Galliano.
That same year Sienna Miller stepped into Edie’s shoes to film Factory Girl, a story of Edie’s short tragic life. Sienna said that “Edie wasn’t around for a long time. But what I find fascinating is that she had an impact in such a short time. She manages to be timeless and I think she will have an energy which will last.”
Designer, Betsey Johnson, who used Edie as her first fitting model says; “Edie had not only the look, she had the head, the body, she had the screwed up background,she was gorgeous, she was one in a zillion, I was an Edie wannabe”.
Betsey also goes onto explain why Edie’s 60s style is so influential; “The style base of 60s clothes has been used constantly by designers since the 60s and they’ve never gotten better than the 60s”. Edie also inspired Johnson to name one of her dresses ‘The Edie Sedgwick Dress’, it was a dress with a crisscross back.
In August 1965 Edie was branded a Vogue ‘Youthquacker’ and in the September Life Magazine dedicated a whole fashion layout to her. By 1966 Edie’s look had taken over and girls everywhere were copying her.
Vogue described the icon as “white haired with anthracite-black eyes and legs to swoon over”, but she was never invited into ‘family at Vogue’ because eventually "she was identified in the gossip columns with the drug scene, people were really terrified by it... drugs had done so much damage to young, creative, brilliant people that we were just anti that scene as a policy" says Vogue’s senior editor, Gloria Schiff.
Celebrity milliner Stephan Jones even described Edie as the first punk.
Sadly, Edie’s style couldn’t save her from the heavy drugs and she died at just the age of 28.
“I don’t feel like trying on clothes, why do I have to try on clothes?” - Edie Sedgwick ‘Poor Little Rich Girl’
