The Mod subculture emerged in London during the early 1960s. Mods created a vibrant, underground youth scene through a set of select nightclubs and boutiques throughout the city, with many located in the West End’s Soho district. In this post-war, post-rationing, and post-national-conscription era, teenage Mods had more disposable income and leisure time than previous generations and made the most of both. Through a sharp, tailored clothing style and energetic, danceable music from the United States and Jamaica, they sought to reinvent what it meant to be young, modern and British. A leading London Mod, Pete Meaden, described the subculture as “clean living under difficult circumstances” because it was a lifestyle that motivated working-class youth to dedicate what money they had to cultivating a smart, turned-out appearance.

The Mod subculture’s origins can be traced back to the late 1950s. A group of young Londoners took to calling themselves “Modernists” due to their love of Modern Jazz and the streamlined style and cool sophistication of the African-American musicians who were its stars. By the early 1960s, a new generation of this image-obsessed cohort shortened the name, now calling themselves “Mods.” This evolution was also punctuated by a change in musical preferences, as Modern Jazz was soon replaced with other genres of music from across the Atlantic – whether American rhythm and blues, soul or Jamaican bluebeat.

An obsession with hard-to-find music from abroad was complemented with an equally fervent preoccupation with continental style. Mod boys wanted to outpace the moneyed classes by wearing sharp, tailored suits resembling those worn in Italy or France. Similarly, their hairstyles mirrored European trends. Though longer than the traditional “short back-and-sides” sported by the older generations, the “French Crew,” for example, was still a neat and clean look. Girls were also drawn to the subculture early on, attracted as they were to the energetic music and the scene’s focus on style. While the boys wore sharp, tasteful suits – which were covered by parkas when riding their Italian Vespa or Lambretta brand scooters – the girls also adopted clean lines whether in matching tops and skirts or fitted dresses – all of which favoured hemlines at or above the knee.  Female Mods sometimes had hairstyles not dissimilar to those of the boys, while others sported chin- or shoulder-length bobs. Carnaby Street, in London’s West End, became the preferred shopping district for male Mods who began frequenting shops such as John Stephen’s Mod Male, His Clothes, and John Michael. As the subcultural style soon influenced local, female designers, Mod girls gravitated to Mary Quant’s boutique Bazaar in the King’s Road, Chelsea, and Barbara Hulanicki’s Biba in Kensington.