We Were There

• Fashion and Beauty in the Fifties and Sixties in New York -Working with Women in Fashion and Beauty - Coco Chanel, Helena Rubenstein, Elizabeth Arden, Mary Quant, Barbara Harnuki, China Michado, Jean Patchett, Schiaparelli, Marissa Berenson, Diana Vreeland, Carmella Snow, Grace Codington, Carita Sisters, and more – We were there.

• Eileen Ford was the undisputed best model agency in the world, searching for the most marketable fashion models on the planet. Like a fairy Godmother, she would transform their lives.  Plucked from obscurity she would send them on an unforgettable adventure.  - We were there.

• The British Invasion – All Eyes on London – We were there. Michaeljohn, a top salon in Mayfair. Vidal Sassoon, Leonard.   Clive Arrowsmith, Norman Parkinson, Barry Lategan, Norman Eales  and more.  We were there.

• Sixties Supermodel Wilhelmina leaves Ford and opens her own agency. - We were there.

• Untold stories abound about Paris in the Swinging Sixties, parodied by William Klein in Who Are You, Polly Magoo?” - We were there.

• Diana Vreeland at Vogue: We were there

• Fashion photographers became “Rock Stars” in the Sixties and Seventies. We were there.

• The Sixties went out with a bang as LIFE Magazine declares: “Black Models Take Center Stage,”  later wowing the Parisians and the world. - We were there.

• John Casablancas opens Elite Agency in Paris, changing the dynamics of the model-agent relationship. We were there.

• The emergence of the Seventies brought about revolutionary changes in design, photography, and beauty in Paris and New York -We were there.

• Zoli opens his innovative model agency in New York City. We were there.

• Young male and female models traveled long distances to work in cities whose languages they did not understand to participate in historical fashion shows and photo-shoots in Milan, Munich, Zurich, and Barcelona. - We were there.

• The Eighties- brought more changes in the Industry. Opening up of more markets, models were being sent to Paris, Milan, and Japan at very young ages.

• Beauty artists, hair stylists and make-up artists emerged as stars creating Looks. We were there

• The Supermodels of the Eighties become international celebrities. We were there.

• Working with Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and other great photographers. – We were there.

• Working with Chanel, Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St Laurent, Steven Boroughs, and other great designers. We were there.

• The Inspiration of London, Paris Milan, New York and other cities in the history of Fashion and Beauty. We were there.

• The Greatest Influences in Hair styling and Make-up - Kenneth, Vidal Sassoon, Alexandre de Paris, Leonard, more. We were there.

The above is a small overview of the topics covered in this continuing development of our Oral History.

Dina Mori

Thank you, Bonnie, for creating this new album for Dina Mori! Here are a few of her lovely photos:



1956 Judy Bond Ad


February 1957 McCall's Magazine


December 1958 Seventeen Magazine


1959 Jergens Ad

Katouschka

Sixties Highlights

Back Story Cover Photo

Dear D.D.

I am so happy you found that cover.  The story behind is that although I was starting to work with the magazines in Paris in 1967- 68, I had fallen in love with a French aristocrat,  My fiance did not want me to model in Paris. He thought Paris was much to dangerous for a young American girl. He knew the business was fraught with womanizers and worse. Anything could happen.

 I insisted on working because there was a lot of demand for my gamine type in Milan, Germany and Switzerland too.  Everyone wanted the short hair and the oddly familiar face. It was too much money to just throw away even though he wanted me to just sit around and be taken care of by him. 

 We compromised and I worked a lot on those countries.  There was no partying, no scene. no in crowd.  It was very business like. I would fly in for several days at a time.I worked constantly and never saw the pictures. By the time the pictures came out in Italy, I was in Zurich or Munich or even Vienna and Barcelona.  

I had some great times with other models and seeing the sights, learning the languages, eating the food.  Even Mlano was all business until Ricardo Gay started his agency.  His friends were all playboys and romanced the models.  Lot's of fun but not very professional. The business changed after Johnny Casablancas and Ricardo Gay took over.  It did become as dangerous as my fiance thought it would be.  But it was also so glam, so camp. I am glad, after our divorce I got to experience Paris in the 1970s. Many of the models I knew then are still active now in archiving the Model History.

Sixties Diary of a MOD MODEL

ALEXANDRE DE PARIS

Linda Morand photographed by Willy Rizzo Paris 1967 

John Sahag

John Sahag

Lauren Hutton

When I first started to work as a model, I met a very young Lauren Hutton.  We did a couple of small ads and catalog jobs.  I started to work for mademoiselle and Lauren soared to the heights when she made a big impression on Diana Vreeland.

Fashionistas

It was fun to meet Jay at a recent fashion event.

With Jolie Jones one of the very first top African American Models.  Jolie, still gorgeous after 40 years, is the daughter of famous musician Quincy Jones. Photo taken at the West Coast Models Reunion.

Linda Morand on left with Fashion Journalist, Jeffrey Felner and former Ford model Susan Brainard at Nancy and Harry's Model Reunion, 2011

Linda Morand as a brunette.