'I hated what I looked like, so I thought everyone had gone stark raving mad,' Twiggy once admitted.īut she was a hit, suddenly in all the fashion mags, getting major fees and bringing out her own range of dresses. Her signature look made the most of her slim figure, that all-important crop and a striking dark-eyed look that was apparently achieved with three layers of false eyelashes While that short crop is what helped kick off her career, Twiggy originally had long locks inspired by her modelling idol Jean Shrimpton. Toy giant Mattel even went as far as releasing a Twiggy edition Barbie doll. She was soon on the cover of Vogue around the world, as well as other mags like Tatler, Newsweek and Harpers Bazaar and even had her own US magazine Twiggy: Her Mod Mod Teen World. The Express published a feature hailing Twiggy as 'The Face of 66', and Twiggy was an overnight superstar. Snapper Barry Lategon took a number of pictures, and they were spotted by Daily Express fashion journo Deirdre McSharry, who asked for a meeting with Twiggy and arranged for more snaps. 'He was brilliant, I went from this mouse like brown to the colour which I have kept now.'

'I was in the salon for about seven hours and they were cutting and colouring it, it was all extremely exciting for me,' Twiggy remembered. She had her breakthrough when she was just 16 after celeb hairdresser Leonard gave her an experimental short crop haircut at his Leonard of Mayfair boutique. How did Twiggy get into modelling and when did she retire?Įven before her modelling days, Twiggy had a keen interest in fashion, with her mum teaching her how to sew so she could make her own clothes. The name had its roots in Twiggy's childhood nickname 'Twigs', possibly earned by her short stature (5'6') and slight frame (just under eight stone).Īt the height of her modelling fame you could even buy a somewhat icky badge that read 'FORGET OXFAM FEED TWIGGY'.

He became her manager, gave himself the name Justin de Villeneuve, and persuaded Lesley to rename herself Twiggy. It was Twiggy's hairdresser boyfriend Nigel Davies who came up with her mononym.

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