Aug 8, 1999 / FW/ --- Female figures during the 1960s vacillated between extremes.

Mary Brosnan had developed a self-assertive Katherine Hepburn-type who posed on one knee to show sports clothes. This figure was viewed as a transition piece, representing women coming into their own.

Female identity was being reconstructed from all angles. The acceptability of wearing pants and panty hose brought a new sense of body freedom. A book called In Vogue claims that the nipple returned as a recognized portion of the anatomy.

The braless look followed, giving another notch of body freedom to women. Within a few years their body action evolved from space age, angular and geometric poses to casual stances with a touch of slouch.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was the aloof female with hair-sprayed bouffant who dreamed of marrying the man-in-the-gray-flannel-suit. This lady eventually stepped aside for the "Barbie" dolls who would date the "Ken" dolls.

Telltale signs of another trend began to make an appearance in the '60s as well -- the "English Mods." Kings Road, Chelsea, Mary Quant and Zandra Rhodes became symbols of the new era. English boutiques brought the importance of the individual back to fashion.

Adel Rootstein of London also played a major role in bringing the importance of the individual back to fashion and mannequins. Rootstein's long-legged, long-fingered mannequin of the black fashion model, Luna, peered out upon the new horizon.

At the same time the mannequin, Twiggy, arrived on the scene with her dash of awkwardness and teenaged, doe-eyed shyness. Rootstein mannequins began to affect the body language of mannequins worldwide, with collections that catered to a variety of fashions as we as people.