Leslie twiggy Hornby

"At 17 Leslie Hornby took hold of the world. At 21 she let it go, she was the original waif, a 60’s phenomenon a superstar. She was Twiggy" (Vogue). Leslie Hornby was the revolutionary woman who changed the idea of beauty in the eyes of the fashion industry and the entire world.

Twiggy exemplified the androgynous mod look that swept America as it had Britain and much of Europe in the 1960’s. She healthily maintained a 5 ft 6 1/2 inch 90 lb body. Based on her thin figure, a nickname of "Twiggy" was derived. Twiggy’s popularity not only produced many people who tried to look like her but also drastically increased the hourly wages of models.

She paved the way for current top models like Kate Moss, Elle MacPherson, and Linda Evangelista.Twiggy was major trendsetter in America during the sixties even though she was born in England. She was found by Nigel Davies in a salon, while working as a shampoo girl. He saw her potential and immediately took her to get a haircut at a Mr. Leonard’s trendy salon in London. Mr. Leonard put her picture in his shop window, and a short time later that picture was featured in the London Daily Express with a caption that read "This is the face of 1966" (Wilson).

Davies, who preferred to be called Justin De Villeneuve, was quite an interesting character with his past resume containing ex-model, ex-antique dealer, and ex-hairdresser. After he discovered her, he (age 25) became Twiggy’s (age 15) agent and boyfriend. He took her to Paris and a short while after her popularity grew, she was put on the cover of Elle Magazine, as well as Paris Match and the British edition of Vogue. During Twiggy’s peak success in Europe, De Villeneuve set up Twiggy Enterprises Ltd. where he gathered a line of clothes, false eyelashes, cosmetics, dolls, and posters all endorsed by Twiggy. The business brought in millions.

Since Twiggy was so young, Justin ran the entire business. She only had to agree to what she liked and put her name on it. The thought of a Model taking advantage of her success to start an enterprise was completely revolutionary. Once again Twiggy paved the way for models like Cindy Crawford, Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, and Naomi Campbell all of which opened highly successful restaurants, and made exercise tapes, clothes, calendars, posters, and many other products.

The enterprising aspect of be...

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If these models are exemplars of ideal beauty, then the measure for women is that to be beautiful, starvation level is required. It appears that the media and the fashion industry would have the public believe that ultra thinness symbolizes beauty when in reality, the standard represents infertility, and premature death. The public has to realize that Twiggy was different. Her slenderness was natural, and everyone should not set their physical goals to that of hers, because it is physically impossible.Twiggy is revolutionary. She is the pivotal woman who changed the image of the ideal woman, and the face and body of fashion models. Her popularity allowed her to drastically increase a models income.

She showed the world that models no longer were just a pretty face but also shrewd businesswomen with enterprises of their own. Twiggy paved the way for the top models of today, and will always be remembered. Her body matched Diana Vreeland's description of the perfect contemporary woman: "the straightest legs, knees like little peaches, tiny narrow supple feet, rounded arms, and beautiful wrists and throat. She was both modern and romantic. She was perfect." (Vogue).