Research:

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Woman's Fashion:

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The style of 1960s America was strongly influenced by the previous decade. In regard to women's fashion, full skirts, pencil skirts and nipped waists were still in fashion and merged with new trends such as box pleats, which had a significant influence on the fashion of the decade. 

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Box pleats were strongly exhibited in both women's and children's clothing in the use of both skirts and shirts. The political status of the country changed how a woman dressed during the 1960s, as clothing developed to become more significantly masculine to accommodate women in the workplace. Traditionally, women's clothing utilised curves to make women appear more seductive and as lustful objects for men. However, as women began to enter the workplace industry their clothing began to accommodate this through making them more appropriate for professional practice in comparison to the fashion designs worn by luxurious house-wives.

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Below you can see an example of casual 1950s fashion:

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You can see how this changed from clothing which showed off curves, to straight, angular and more covered clothing:

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Regardless of these changes, there were also three main trends of the century which were seen often:

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1) Women continued to wear luxury and elegant clothing influenced by the previous decade.

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In regard to the first style, this was popularised by women in power, such as Jacqueline Kennedy, who was often seen supporting her husband's campaigns and presidency. As a figure, she promoted a more reserved style for women to look up to. This style can be seen below:

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2) A causal and young design which originated from London designers, titled Swinging London.

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This style was targeted at young women and promoted clothing such as mini skirts and the minidress. This trend was spearheaded by designer Mary Quant whos work crossed the pond from Chelsea, London all the way to America. Although this trend began in the mid-1950s, it really picked up and grew at the turn of the 60s. It appealed to young women as it was a simple, shocking and reasonably priced. You can find examples below:

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3) The hippie free-spirited patterns and designs which originated in the latter part of the 60s.

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Towards the end of the period, fashion trends moved away from mini-skirts and box-shaped dresses, towards more futuristic, space-age clothing, inspired by the styles of Art Nouveau. Non-western clothing such as beads and headbands accompanied by materials such as suede began to grow popular and develop into a flowing, free-spirited fashion trend.

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https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1960-1969/

 

Men's fashion:

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Similarly to women's fashion, men began the decade with strong influences from the 50s. The style continued with very conservative, and formal attire. Professionally, men would go to work in full suits which could be designed in numerous ways. Suits could be cut in a sleek Italian design or a classic American style which would come with a single-breasted jacket.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Besides formal work attire, there was middle-class mainstream fashion. This style was known as the Ivy League style and was popular during the 50s and into the 60s. The style was casual but sophisticated and was a nice casual way of staying formal. In comparison to work attire, ivy league clothing was typically more colourful and comfortable. Just as Jacqueline Kennedy was a fashion icon of the time, her husband JFK was also trendsetter with the ivy league style he wore. Seeing the president in casual attire prompted many Americans to dress down and relax as well.

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Finally, besides these two trends, the final biggest style which emerged in the 60s was the Hippy style as a response to the war in Vietnam. The style reflected the views of those wearing it and was vibrant, colourful and anything was allowed to go against the strict rules of society and the political establishment of the time. Clothing and hairstyles got longer and were baggier, and bizarre and colourful patterns were used to draw attention to the outfit and to stand out. The style was influenced by patterns and outfits found outside of western society, Indian prints and other fashion from around the world was utilised to show the wearers connection and love for the non-traditional. 

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Case Study: Mad Men​

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Mad Men is a perfect case study for the fashion of the 1960s. The show starts at the beginning of the decade and the finale is set at the end of the decade. During this time new characters are introduced, the interior design of buildings becomes more updated and more importantly the fashion of characters changes. At the start of the show, both men and women wear formal attire lacking in colour mostly. However, at the end of the show the measurements of clothes change, colour is introduced more, patterns are used and the overall style is widely different especially for younger characters of the show. You can see this change below. The first images are promotion photos for the first season, and the last images are promotion photos for the seventh season.

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First Season Promotion Photos

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Season Seven Promotion Photos

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Mood Boards:

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Below you will find coloured mood boards for both Men and Women's fashion. These photos have come from movies and shows set in this period, illustrations and advertisements and colour photos from the time.

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You can see different styles for different groups of society in the mood board above. Towards the top is formal and wealthy clothing, and in the middle/bottom you can see casual and young clothing.

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Men's clothing was a lot more formal but transitioned to become more casual and colourful towards the end of the decade.

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Below you will find black and white photos from the period. Although they do not show the colour of the time, it does express styles from all groups of society as well as the shape and patterns of the trends of the time:

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Concept Art:

 

Based off of the research I found, I produced concept art for the sort of style which will be found in the game. On the Jazz side of the wall, characters of different ethnicities will strut around confidently wearing expensive vibrant clothing as seen below:

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These concepts quickly showed the different styles of outfits and colours which may be visible. The top left illustration shows the Jasmine one of the protagonists in different outfits of the era. One of these will hopefully be the foundation for what the final result will look like. The other three concept pieces show how adults will dress. The bottom picture of the gentleman in the green suit shows what the art style of the game may be. Although we are determined it will be a low poly game, the texturing of the game could be done in a more loose, handpainted style like this.

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Below you can find a few concepts for the Blues side of the game.

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The left concept art shows Azul, the protagonist for the Blues side of the game. His clothing will reflect the atmosphere of this side of the world and will be dark and moody. The other two concepts also show that the world will be darker here, and hopefully, with the use of shading every aspect of the environment will be dreary. 

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