Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (2024)

Peggy Moffitt, the American model, who has died aged 84, joined forces with the designer Rudi Gernreich to scandalise the fashion world of the 1960s in baby-doll dresses, adult school uniforms and – most notoriously – a topless women’s bathing suit condemned by beach-area police forces from Santa Monica to St Tropez.

The image of Peggy Moffitt in Gernreich’s “monokini”, taken by her photographer husband William (Bill) Claxton, came to symbolise the sexual revolution and liberation of the era. It appeared in Women’s Wear Daily in 1964 and made headlines internationally. France issued a ban on the swimsuit; the Pope declared it immoral and the Soviet government denounced it as a sign of “barbarism” and social “decay”. Peggy Moffitt received both marriage proposals and threats.

Gernreich had conceived the monokini as a statement against American puritanism and the taboos surrounding female nudity. Only around 3,000 topless swimsuits were ever produced; one, a gift from Gernreich himself, remained in Peggy Moffitt’s wardrobe, with the garment worker’s tag still on it. She kept it as a tribute to their friendship, which endured until Gernreich’s death from lung cancer in 1985.

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (1)

Thereafter she became a guardian of his legacy, and a staunch defender against any perceived attempt to tarnish it through excessive prurience. She objected vociferously to plans by the Los Angeles Fashion Group to use a topless model as part of a Gernreich retrospective, declaring the move “exploitative”.

Throughout their 20-year partnership she never saw herself as the designer’s muse, but rather as his collaborator, with an equal say in how an image was put together and presented. To every shoot she brought her experience in ballet, theatre and mime, treating the photograph as a “piece of seamless white paper” on which to perform.

Runway shows were theatrical events, with basic dresses accessorised like stage costumes. While other models strutted in the approved manner, she would walk knock-kneed and pigeon-toed if she felt the outfit required it. “I’d look for the inner life of the dress, and when I did a whole collection, I’d figure out how to play each,” she recalled.

At times her relationship with Gernreich bordered on the symbiotic. He would devise a Pierrot-style collection and she would paint her face like a clown to match. As he was working on an Asian collection, she was in another part of the world, unaware of his plans, experimenting with Kabuki-like mask makeup. When he made a black skullcap with feathers, she bleached her eyebrows to give her face a deathly appearance. “Rudi and I turned each other on... we fed each other,” she recalled.

She continued to champion his clothes into later life, wearing them to most public appearances. They included oversized florals, windowpane checks and mini dresses inset with vinyl stripes. Teamed with her lunar pallor, heavy-fringed eye make-up and her signature Vidal Sassoon asymmetric haircut – “Sassoon is to hair, what Picasso is to painting,” she once said – they made her one of the most recognisable figures in fashion.

She became disillusioned with the industry as a whole, however, declaring it “dead” save for “dream occasions” on the red carpet. Away from the party scene she was likely to be found in her garden, clad in jeans and a sweatshirt.

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (3)

She was born Margaret Anne Moffitt in Los Angeles on May 14 1940. Her father, Jack Moffitt, was a screenwriter and film critic and she enjoyed a comfortable upbringing, attending the exclusive Marlborough School for Girls.

As a teenager she had an after-school job at Jax, an avant-garde boutique in Beverly Hills popular with the likes of Joan Collins and Audrey Hepburn. It was here that she first met Rudi Gernreich, already an established designer in his mid-thirties, and became an admirer of his clothes – though at the time he considered her too young to model for him.

Instead she went to New York for two years to study theatre and ballet at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Upon her return to Hollywood she landed a few small roles in films such as Girls Town (1959) and the Korean war movie Battle Flame (1959).

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (4)

The first of the relationships that were to define her career began when the jazz photographer Bill Claxton came to photograph her then boyfriend for a magazine called Eve. The three spent the next 16 hours together, and it was only a few months before Bill proposed. Gernreich attended the wedding, and soon after the designer collaborated with the couple on a series of fashion spreads.

Gernreich shot his defining photograph of Peggy Moffitt in the Claxton living room, with her standing on a bath mat. Initially, Life magazine refused to publish the picture, the editor reportedly telling Claxton that “naked breasts are allowed only if the woman is an aborigine”.

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (5)

The trio reshot the image with Peggy Moffitt’s arms covering her breasts, but she was unhappy with the result, since it meant “going along with the whole prudish, tease-y thing like a Playboy bunny.” In fact Playboy had offered her $17,000 (more than her year’s salary) to print the topless image, but she dismissed the proposal as “unthinkable”.

In the ensuing years she was photographed by Richard Avedon wearing Rudi Gernreich’s “no-bra bra”, an alternative to the rigidly structured contraptions of the era. She accompanied the designer to England to collect the Sunday Times’ international fashion award and stayed for a year, dividing her time between London and Paris.

She had a bit role in Michelangelo Antonioni’s cult film Blow-Up and played a model in Who Are You, Polly Magoo? (both 1966). The photographer Barry Lategan, responsible for launching the career of Twiggy, shot the two of them together, Peggy Moffitt cradling the head of the younger model.

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (6)

Upon her return to the US, Peggy Moffitt starred in a promotional film (shot by Claxton) called Basic Black (1967), for which Vidal Sassoon gave her the haircut she would keep for the rest of her life. Basic Black is now considered one of the first fashion videos ever made.

In December that year she featured with Gernreich and fellow model Leon Bing on the cover of Time magazine. The two women were both his champions and his most immediate critics, Gernreich telling one interviewer: “I work only with models I like and respect, and their reactions are extremely important to me.”

By the end of the decade, however, their fortunes were so closely intertwined that Peggy Moffitt had started to tire of the association, complaining: “I could put on a flour sack and people would think it was Gernreich.” She refused to shave her body and head for his “anti-statement” show in 1970, and in 1973 she withdrew from the fashion scene, moving back to LA for the birth of her son.

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (7)

By the time of Gernreich’s death in 1985 he had virtually stopped designing, though the fashion world still recognised him as one of its most creative talents. In 1991 Peggy Moffitt and Bill Claxton published The Rudi Gernreich Book, which included a detailed photographic record of the various looks he had created for her. She held the legal rights to his designs and drew on them for inspiration in collaborations with the Japanese designer Rei Kawakubo’s brand Comme des Garçons, which included a wool “bikini” top.

In later life Peggy Moffitt lived in the Hollywood Hills, where she furnished the white walls with photographs from her modelling career as well as images shot by her husband Bill. The wardrobe was filled with Rudi Gernreich’s creations: jumpsuits, jackets, trousers and minidresses. Ten crates of clothes lay in storage.

Bill Claxton predeceased her in 2008. They had a son, Christopher.

Peggy Moffitt, born May 14 1940, died August 10 2024

Peggy Moffitt, fashion model and muse who scandalised the 1960s with the topless ‘monokini’ – obituary (2024)

FAQs

Who is the inventor of monokini? ›

Who Invented the Monokini? The monokini was the brainchild of the avant-garde designer Rudi Gernreich. His creation was more than just swimwear; it was a revolutionary statement in the fashion world.

What important innovation in fashion was created by Rudi Gernreich in 1965? ›

His "monokini" or topless bathing suit design of 1964 made headlines, bringing his fashions into the spotlight. Following this was a series of innovations, such as the "pubikini", the thong bathing suit, and the collection of “UNISEX" garments.

Why is it called a monokini? ›

Etymology. Gernreich may have chosen his use of the word monokini (mono meaning 'single') through back-formation by interpreting the bi of bikini as the Latin prefix bi- ('two'), denoting a two-piece swimsuit.

Why do girls wear monokinies? ›

Monokini is a great option for women who aren't comfortable wearing a bikini. This is a great swimwear style to keep up with the fashion trend too. Especially for women who don't want to let it all hang out in a bikini but still want to make a striking fashion statement, Monokinis are the best choice!

Which of these was a leading fashion designer in the 1960s? ›

Inventive, opinionated and commercially minded, Mary Quant (1930 – 2023) was the most iconic fashion designer of the 1960s. A design and retail pioneer, she popularised super-high hemlines and other irreverent looks that were critical to the development of the 'Swinging Sixties' scene.

Who is the fashion designer who popularized the little black dress in the early 1900s? ›

Created by Coco Chanel in 1926, the little black dress was translated to ready-to-wear as a staple of late afternoon and co*cktail hours; American women at every level of consumption knew the importance of a practical, "well-mannered black." Black had been used for formal and semi-formal occasions in preceding decades.

What did the fashion of the 1960s show about changing attitudes? ›

Young people began wearing globally inspired styles as well as thrifted and handmade garments to protest the materialism, racism, and imperialism they saw in American society. For them, this attire demonstrated an attitude of awareness and support for causes like the antiwar and civil rights movements.

Who invented the first swimsuit? ›

The first modern two-piece suits were introduced in 1913 by the fashion designer Carl Jantzen and his team in the United States. They were designed with wool jersey fabric, a product of recent innovation that clung to the body but allowed free movement.

Did Borat invent the mankini? ›

The mankini was created by Cohen's longtime costume designer, Jason Alper, who has worked with the actor to help create the looks for Borat, Ali G and Brüno.

Who made the mankini famous? ›

A sling swimsuit worn by men is often called a mankini. It was popularized by Sacha Baron Cohen, who donned one in the 2006 film Borat.

Who invented tankini? ›

Anne Cole is an American swimwear brand most known for the invention of the tankini, a type of swimsuit. The brand's namesake founder, Anne Cole (1926–2017), was the woman who invented the tankini in 1998.

References

Top Articles
Juegos Gratis Online Poki - POKIESGHOST.NETLIFY.APP
Bonnie Dwyer Sister Wife Picture
Dainty Rascal Io
Plaza Nails Clifton
Body Rubs Austin Texas
Tj Nails Victoria Tx
Polyhaven Hdri
Watch Mashle 2nd Season Anime Free on Gogoanime
Klustron 9
Craigslist In South Carolina - Craigslist Near You
Craigslist Estate Sales Tucson
2135 Royalton Road Columbia Station Oh 44028
Reddit Wisconsin Badgers Leaked
10 Best Places to Go and Things to Know for a Trip to the Hickory M...
Transfer Credits Uncc
Classic Lotto Payout Calculator
Locate At&T Store Near Me
Clear Fork Progress Book
Csi Tv Series Wiki
Bridge.trihealth
No Hard Feelings - Stream: Jetzt Film online anschauen
Water Trends Inferno Pool Cleaner
Culver's Flavor Of The Day Taylor Dr
Today Was A Good Day With Lyrics
Happy Life 365, Kelly Weekers | 9789021569444 | Boeken | bol
Bethel Eportal
A Cup of Cozy – Podcast
Used Patio Furniture - Craigslist
CVS Health’s MinuteClinic Introduces New Virtual Care Offering
Craigslist Northern Minnesota
Criglist Miami
Puffin Asmr Leak
R/Sandiego
Craigslist Central Il
Lowell Car Accident Lawyer Kiley Law Group
Workday Latech Edu
Why The Boogeyman Is Rated PG-13
Kornerstone Funeral Tulia
Ethan Cutkosky co*ck
Busted Newspaper Mcpherson Kansas
Wordle Feb 27 Mashable
Penny Paws San Antonio Photos
Nu Carnival Scenes
Craigslist Houses For Rent Little River Sc
Iron Drop Cafe
Mytmoclaim Tracking
Mmastreams.com
Pelican Denville Nj
15:30 Est
Secondary Math 2 Module 3 Answers
Arre St Wv Srj
Honeybee: Classification, Morphology, Types, and Lifecycle
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Ouida Strosin DO

Last Updated:

Views: 6373

Rating: 4.6 / 5 (76 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Ouida Strosin DO

Birthday: 1995-04-27

Address: Suite 927 930 Kilback Radial, Candidaville, TN 87795

Phone: +8561498978366

Job: Legacy Manufacturing Specialist

Hobby: Singing, Mountain biking, Water sports, Water sports, Taxidermy, Polo, Pet

Introduction: My name is Ouida Strosin DO, I am a precious, combative, spotless, modern, spotless, beautiful, precious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.