"Way Out Fashion"--Life Magazine, August 1967

My gosh, I want EVERYTHING in this fashion spread!


"two skimpy knit dresses ($50) designed by Leilani Abreu and worn with Dynel wigs by Tovar"
Look out, Miss Quant. Leilani wants your job.



"Canary lips, chalk-white skin, flaming hair - is this really what's happening, baby? Not quite. The clothes are designed to be worn by young people under 21, but the colors are something else. They are the doing of an inventive photographer, himself equally young, who achieved his bizarre effect by using infrared film. As if seen under the madly shifting lights of a discoteque, reds turn to yellow, blacks to red, blues to purple and reality to fantasy. Fledgling fashionmakers, some not yet out of school, are responsible for the designs shown here. Produced by their creators on a one-of-a-kind basis, they are sold at a New York boutique called Abracadabra."


"button trimmed dress ($70) by Karen Sebiri"
It's the Pearly Queen of Soho.


"a zippered nylon suit ($90) by Barbara Hodes"
Is it just me, or does the model here look frighteningly like Liam Gallagher? Sheeeeeyine!


"Velvet (the kind that's used for upholstery) makes a formal-style knicker suit ($75). This was designed by Terry Berman, who just finished her first year at Tobe-Coburn School."
Anyone else kind of hate the Austin Powers films for ruining dandy style for future generations? I mean, honestly. You can't wear something like this now and not have at least twelve people say "Yeah, baby" or "Do I make you randy" within the first twenty minutes you've been out of the house.


"Short shift ($35) of clashing stripes with one bare shoulder has a diagonally cut-off hemline. This was made by Susanne Les, a student at Parson's School of Design"
Ronald McDonald's hipper sister. I'm Lovin' It.


"Another design from Karen Sebiri, an art student, is this star-and-stripe outfit ($40). If photographed on ordinary film, it's colors would be a patriotic red, white and blue."
This outfit reminds me of the Julie Driscoll 1968 video for Break It Up:



"Supendered overall ($70) worn with a ruffle-trimmed satin blouse and antique silver buttons was made by Paula Ayers, who graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology design school this June, after a two-year course."
How very 'Mork from Ork'. Nanu nanu.


"Mini wedding dress of white organdy ($200), was designed by Stan Weaver, who graduated this year from Parson's School. Model's flying red fall is Dynel. In real life it matches her hair, but infrared film changes it's color."
It's so quaint how they feel the need to explain everything to us like we're children. Nowadays we usually don't get any text in a spread like this and we have to search the back of the mag to find out who it's by and where to buy it!
I do love this dress though. I think if I ever take the plunge, it might be in a self designed knock-off of this dress.

As a recent Fashion Design graduate myself, I just HAD to Google the names of these fab young designers to see if any of them went on in the fashion field. I found a few matches:
One, a real estate agent that I think could be the same Karen Sebiri from the article.

I found a wedding article about Barbara Hodes marriage in 1986, in the Style section of the NY Times. It said that "The bride, who will keep her name, is a designer of women's clothing for Bonaventure USA, Inc., in New York." Mr. Gross was a fashion and style writer for the NY Times. There is also a listing for Barbara Hodes Ltd., in New York, which I assume is her.

And Paula Ayers has a blog on Blogger!!! How cool!