Edie Sedgwick was an American heiress, thrust into the spotlight as a socialite, model and actress, as well as closely linked with Andy Warhol during the 1960’s. Most of all, she was an ‘it’ girl; the face of 1960’s effortless, edgy mod glamour.
In March 1965, Edie first met Andy Warhol, soon becoming a regular at ‘The Factory’- Warhol’s amazingly weird and wonderful studio. This is where her status really rocketed. She appeared in many of his films. Firstly with cameo’s in ‘Vinyl’ and ‘Horse’, both of which generated so much interest, Warhol decided to focus on Edie altogether. Her famous (and very interesting) short films included ‘Poor Little Rich Girl’ and ‘Kitchen’.
Personally, I love Edie Sedgwick, my opinion of which was mostly and primarily derived from ‘Factory Girl’:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dofdqP8CaU0]
….but also from posters I had stuck up on the wall years ago of a fashion spread from a magazine headed by the title of ‘Factory Girl’ (it finally clicked after I had watched the film), with a similar model.
I find her ‘underground’ persona much more appealing than other mainstream icons of the time, which compliments her fashion-sense perfectly. Not only this but she is free-spirited and fun-loving- an extrovert. Clearly shown in this origonal footage which documents the turbulent lifestyle of New York socialites at this time:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-lnz2MbPkw]
As interesting as her socialities are, Edie Sedgwick not only had a vibrant and brilliant personality, but she was a fashion idol, making her such a rare character by any standards. The famous photograph below of her and Andy Warhol perfectly encapsulates her style: effortless, graceful, glamourous. It almost seems as if there is a mirror between her character and style, as if it is tailor made for her.
Edie coined basic mini shift dresses teamed with black tights, short, dyed-blonde hair and huge chandelier earrings. She mostly wore plain, dark clothing (quite unusual, in my regard, for her character). Her look was basic; yet striking and clearly had an enormous impact on the scene in the 60’s. Yet I cannot help but think her fame would not have been possible without her temperament and quality of personality.
However, as expected of many superstars or starlets, Edie’s life deteriorated following the break-out from Warhol’s social circle. In April 1967 she began shooting her last film ‘Ciao! Manhattan’, a time marked by frequent returns to psychiatric care. In July 1971 she married Michael Brett Post, a former fellow patient at hospital. On November 15, 1971 she took perscribed medication, dying in her sleep. Her death determined as undetermined/accident/sucide. She was 28.
However, Edie seems to live on in Bob Dylan’s ‘Just Like a Woman’, ‘Leopard-Skin, Pill-Box Hat’ and purportedly ‘Like a Rolling Stone’- two of which are favourite songs of mine which, more positively, ends the topic quite nicely.
-Sophie Horwood.
