Dandies in Kaftans

Carnaby Street, 1967

When it comes to male fashion, kaftans will always be associated with that brief period between late 1966 and early 1968. For  those several months kaftans were all the rage - an obligatory component of psychedelic dandy/peacock/hippie look. 

The term 'kaftan' is not really correct. Kaftan is a garment of Persian origin - a type of overdress usually reaching the ankles, with long sleeves. 'Kaftans' worn by fashionable men in late 1960's were in reality Nehru Jackets. It is a garment of Indian origin, named after Pandit Jewarharlal Nehru - a Prime Minister of India between 1947 and 1964. He often wore front-buttoned, knee-length jackets with mandarin collar known as ackhan or sherwani.

    Pandit Jewarharlal Nehru

 In the late 1940's, the garment based on ackhan was created in India, and it was known as Band Gale Ka coat ('Closed Neck' coat). It was considerably shorter that ackhan, usually only reaching hips rather than knees. In fact, apart from the mandarin collar, the garment closely resembled normal suit jacket. Band Gale Ka coat were popular in India as a top half of the suit for formal occasions. In early 1960's, it was popularised in western Europe in America, where it was known as 'Nehru jacket' (Even though Pandit Jewrharlal Nehru never actually wore it himself!). One of earliest examples of Nehru jacket in Western popular culture was the outfit of Dr. No -  the villain from 1962 James Bond movie.

 By the mid-1960's, the Nehru jacket became a part of late Mod/early Hippie Carnaby Street look. 

The Who's Roger Daltrey (second left) wearing a nehru jacket appropriated for late-period Mod style, 1966

From 1967 Carnaby Street Modern Man catalogue - note the incorrect use of the term 'Kaftan'.

These clothes were a little bit of hybrid - they were too short to be proper Kaftans, and often too long to be proper Nehru jackets. Nevertheless, both terms were often used (just like Peacock style was often referred to as 'Regency', even though it hardly ever resembled actual Regency-era styles - but that's a subject for a different post).  These Nehru Jackets/Kaftans ere often designed with a generous use of Paisley, Liberty prints, various kinds of embroidery or 'Eastern' patterns (Indian, Chinese, Persian, there were even elements of Russian and Central European peasant dress) - a true mish-mash of styles and influences.

Here are my favourite examples:

Probably most famous one - The Beatles in Kaftans/Nehru Jackets designed by The Fool for Magical Mystery Tour.

Paul McCartney in 1967

 Paul outside his St. John's Wood home, 1967

John Lennon, 1967 

George Harrison, 1967

Hippies at the Woburn Abbey festival in England, 1967

John's Children modelling 'kaftans' designed by John Stephen, 1967

The Flowerpot Men, 1967

 British psych band The Flies, 1967

British psych band The Onyx, 1967

Rave magazine's resident model Johnny Rave, 1967

Kaftan which Peter Daltrey wore on the cover photo of Kaleidoscope's first album, Tangerine Dream, 1967

Davy Jones wearing the same kaftan.., 1967

Jimi Hendrix also had one...1967

Strawberry Alarm Clock, 1967

 Davy Jones and Mickey Dolenz  of The Monkees, 1967

Legendary DJ John Peel, 1967

The Hollies, 1967

English hippies, 1968

 Jean Shrimpton and Paul Jones on the set of Privilege, 1967

Justin Hayward from The Moody Blues and Ian Gillian from Episode Six (who of course would soon move on to bigger things as a frontman of Deep Purple) modelling Carnaby Street 'kaftans' designed by John Stephen, 1967

Eric Burdon sporting 'kaftan' and Afghan coat - ultimate hippie combo - on the day of his wedding, 1968.

Dantalian's Chariot, 1968

British psych band The Mode outside Walthamstow Town Hall, 1968

Spanish psych band Los Kifers, 1968

Italian band I Nomadi, 1967

Italian psych band Le Orme, 1967

French pop star Johnny Hallyday, 1967

Keith Relf  of The Yardbirds, 1967

Jimmy Page, 1967

 Cliff Wade and The Roll Movement, 1968

 Actor David Hemmings with his wife Gayle Hunnicut, 1969

Ringo with Eva Aulin, 1968

Mick Jagger, 1967

Psychedelic kaftans/Nehru jackets went out of mainstream fashion around 1968. Very strongly associated with late 1960's, they are popular among revivalists. Clothing labels strongly influenced by 1960's fashions such as Art Gallery or Pretty Green, make kaftans and Nehru jackets today. 

Yours truly..

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND IMAGES
The 60's by Bill Harry
Hippie by Barry Miles
Wikipedia
Anorak Thing , Smashingbird, Away From The Numbers, Afterglow
Sea Of Joy (I Don't Like Mods)

 

More Dandie Fashions

 
Another great photo from the streets of 60's Swinging London. Time is 1967 and a place is 161 King's Road, outside Dandie Fashions boutique. I have no idea whether that lot are models wearing Dandie  Fashions clothes, or just random people trying to cross the road. Either way, they look great.Also, I've never noticed before that 'God Is Love' bit on the upper part of the mural...

While I am on the subject of Dandie Fashions (again), here's some photos of Ringo from 1968, wearing what almost certainly is a Dandie Fashions jacket..

It's difficult to tell for sure, but since The Beatles pretty much owned Dandie Fashions by 1968, it is very likely..

 

 

Binder, Edwards & Vaughn

Binder, Edwards & Vaughn were a design group specialising in psychedelic murals and paintings. They were active in London between 1965 and 1967, and during that short period they received a lot of attention from press, most notably The Sunday Times, and they attracted 'hip'  clientele - Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, London boutiques Dandie Fashions and Lord John and many others.
Their brand of psychedelia was characteristic for its rejection of Art Nouveau as an influence. They tried to make their work unique and forward-looking.
Doug Binder, Dudley Edwards and David Vaughn met in Bradford Art College where they studied in the early sixties. Binder and Edwards main designers, while Vaughn took on the role of a manager. Dudley Edwards remembers: The Input between me and Doug was 50/50. To begin with the earliest influences were the panted door fronts in the Asian ghettos near Bradford Art College. Those doorways glowed like gems in the dark. We also loved the dissonant color combinations they used. It was similar to the effect that Thelonious Monk would get on the piano. (...) There was also an influence of certain Marvel comics, like the backgrounds in Steve Ditko's "Dr. Strange" (Norman Hathaway, Dan Nadel, Electrical Banana, p 65).

Article in The Sunday Times Magazine, 1966. From left Doug Binder, David Vaughn and Dudley Edwards.

Binder, Edwards and Vaughn moved to London in the mid-1960's and set up a studio on Gloucester Avenue. They started out from painting and selling furniture. One of their earliest clients was their Gloucester Avenue neighbour, photographer David Bailey, whom they tricked into buying a painted chest of drawers by 'accidentally' displaying it right outside his front door. We thought, If we put a painted chest of drawers on David Bailey's doorstep in the middle of the night, it'll be the first thing he sees in the morning and he's bound to want it. It worked! (Hathaway, Nadal, p 65). Soon after they began exporting their painted furniture to USA, Canada and Belgium.
They also began beyond the furniture buisness. A design group Wolff Olins commissioned them to paint the facade of their studio.

 The address was number 81, so we used a combination of numbers and words, '8ONE' where the 'O' served a dual function as both a digit and a letter, all portrayed in 20th Century Fox style (Hathaway, Nadal, p 65).
They also started painting cars. They have painted a 1960 Buick convertible.

 The car have captured attention of The Kinks, who have used it for a photo on a cover of their 1966 'Sunny Aftenoon' EP.

The cover was noticed by Tara Browne, who commissioned Binder, Edwards and Vaughn to paint his AC Shelby Cobra....

...and a facade of his new boutique, Dandie Fashions

1967

Through Browne, they have met Paul McCartney , who commissioned them to paint his piano.

1967

Other famous projects by Binder, Edwards and Vaughn was a mural for Lord John boutique on Carnaby Street..

  1967

and  a mural for fashion departament of Woodlands 21 store.

1965

Binder, Edwards and Vaughn parted ways in mid-1967. Dudley Edwards, who struck a friendship with Paul McCartney, was commissioned to do some more work for a Beatle. Paul called and asked if I was free, and would I like to stay at his place and paint a mural for him. Stash (Stanislas Klossowski De Rola) was staying there as well, so it was just the three of us. A lot of the time I got the feeling Paul wasn't really bothered with me doing a mural, really. He just wanted a mate around. So every time I started painting Paul would say, 'Let's go off to a studio and lay off some tracks' or 'Let's go to a nightclub' (Hathaway, Nadal, p 66)..
Edwards also did a mural for Ringo Starr.

 Edwards' mural for Ringo, 1967.

Dudley Edwards formed a buisness partnership with Mike McInnerney, an art editor of International Times. They did a few projects together, of which the most impressive one was the mural for The Flying Dragon Cafe in King's Road.

 

1968

After that Dudley Edwards went into designing poster art. He is still a graphic designer today.

Because Binder, Edwards & Vaughn did not work  within a usual popular media, like album covers, posters or even ads, their work is not very well remembered today. But between 1965 and 1967, they were called 'The Beatles of the art world' and during their short existence , they had a tremendous impact on visual culture in Swinging London of the 1960's.

For the full story of Binder, Edwards and Vaughn (and more examples of their artwork) read 'Electrical Banana' by Norman Hathaway and Dan Nadel.