You do not have to be a fashion guru or even have watched the latest runway looks to know the 60s are back in fashion. In fact the look is so back that I even have to wonder, are we transported back in time? Although there are slight obvious style variations to accommodate for our present time period, the glaringly striking similarities between then and now are more than just borrowed inspiration from the 60s…they are closer to an exact replica. (Left: Marc Jacobs 2011 Runway; Right: 1960s Audrey Hepburn)

 And with such a fierce comeback of a fashion so bold and brazen, I am left wondering a question perhaps those in the industry may know best: who really sets these sorts of trends? The obvious answer would be the top designers…Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Oscar de la Renta…the list goes on. They are the creators; from there knock off, cheaper brands like J.Crew, Gap, Target will emulate the most basic of trends put forth by these top designers and ta-da it will be the trend of the decade! However, even with this line of thinking you have to pause a minute….where are the designers then drawing the inspiration from? Is it from pop culture, sitcoms? If you look at the 60s trends it would seem the answer would be this simple: MAD MEN. For those that don’t know, Mad Men is a hit tv series set in the 1960s.

So which came first. The chicken or the egg? Given that Mad Men premiered in 2007 and the 60s runway look has only come to full-blown fruition in 2010/2011 , the answer is arguably written on the wall. Take a look at just how rampant the 60s look is today. (Above: Mad Men; Below Sex and the City 2). Then again, what if the answer is conversely that trends are simply recycled and retouched, albeit semi-reinvented each year and this year the 60s just happen to make its way back into the cycle…Whatever the answer the question I ponder remains: where does the inspiration from the trends come from? And what do these trends say about our culture as it stands today? .