A Radical Chic.

Early in the decade the unisex protest look was considered high fashion. The youth made antifashion fashionable by taking control of their own designs, and American designers followed suit. For instance, the androgynous look was stylized by Rudi Gernreich in his line of unisex clothing that envisioned a world without gender distinctions. American designers such as Halston rejected the vestiges of formal dressmaking in the spirit of innovation. His designs did without zippers, pockets, ruffles, or notched lapels.

Designer Jeans.

Nothing captures the irony of "radical chic" more than designer blue jeans. In the 1960s and early 1970s blue jeans were the universal language of people under twenty-five. Dirty, ragged, and adorned with political slogans, jeans were the quintessential antifashion statement of a generation. Fashion moguls nonetheless decided to capitalize on the jeans phenomenon. Designers such as Calvin Klein redesigned and...