She was catapulted to superstardom as the face of the swinging sixties.
And Twiggy proved she’s still got it when she strutted her stuff down the catwalk at MAC Cosmetic’s The Face Show at Outernet during London Fashion Week on Sunday.
The iconic model, 73, oozed sophistication in a chic silver suit with satin sleeves and wide-leg trousers.
Twiggy – whose real name is Dame Lesley Lawson – wore the stylish jacket over a crisp white shirt and ditched heels, opting for a pair of comfortable trainers instead.
The stunner showed off her ageless beauty and wore a glamorous makeup palette with her blonde locks in loose waves.
Back with a bang: Twiggy, 73, proved she’s still got it as she strutted her stuff down the catwalk at MAC Cosmetic’s The Face Show at Outernet during London Fashion Week on Sunday
Style: The iconic model exuded sophistication in a chic silver suit with satin sleeves and wide-leg trousers.
Twiggy, who has been dubbed ‘the first supermodel’, reminisces about moments from her life ahead of the launch of a musical about her rise.
She had a brief romance with a boy from school, which ended in rejection almost as soon as it started.
‘We only went to the cinema once, because a few days later he called me to say he wanted to buy a scooter.
Then he added, “I’m sorry, but I can’t afford a girlfriend and a scooter,” she says, laughing. “So I got dumped for a scooter.”
As the latest character to have her life story turned into a musical by Ben Elton – who has previously tackled cultural icons Shakespeare (in Upstart Crow) and Queen (the band, not the monarch, in We Will Rock You) – Twiggy is tickled by the idea that her life, which no one could have written, is getting a stage treatment. She understands why Ben, a family friend, was intrigued.
What happened to me was a fairy tale. It was amazing and it wasn’t choreographed or planned at all. And listen, I was just as shocked as everyone else. I was a schoolgirl, a funny looking kid.
”All the things you complain about – I thought I was too thin and I was desperate for a big bust – I had them. I had something wrong with my legs. I always thought they were funny legs. But they have become my fortune.’
One of the key scenes in the show will undoubtedly be the now legendary trip to the chic Mayfair salon, where 16-year-old Twiggy was presented with a new style.
Effortless: Twiggy -whose real name is Dame Lesley Lawson – teamed the stylish jacket with a crisp white shirt and ditched heels, opting for a pair of comfortable trainers instead
Strut: The stunner showed off her timeless beauty and wore a glamorous makeup palette with her blonde locks in loose waves
Beautiful: Twiggy couldn’t wipe the big smile off her face
She didn’t necessarily want a new haircut, but says she was ‘too shy’ to say no to legendary hairdresser Leonard Lewis, better known as Leonard of Mayfair. She emerged with the pixie cut that would lead to her being hailed as “The Face of 1966.”
Yet she tells me that when she came home with this now iconic hairstyle, her mother was not impressed.
‘She was quite upset. She said it looked like an elf cap on my head. “Oh dear,” she said, “they spoiled your beautiful hair.” But I just walked around in front of her and she soon agreed that it was much more me.”
Her private life was equally colorful. The relationship with Justin ended in 1973. She married American actor Michael Whitney in 1977 and their daughter Carly was born in 1978. His alcoholism virtually destroyed their marriage and he died in 1983. “As terrible as it was, you learn a lot from it,” she says. “But it was very sad for Carly to lose her father.”
She has been married to actor Leigh Lawson since 1988. What then is the secret of that relationship, which could have been complicated (he also had a child from a previous relationship)?
Model looks good: She was catapulted to superstardom as the face of the swinging Sixties (pictured in 1965)
Twiggy is the latest character to have her life story turned into a musical by Ben Elton (pictured) – who has previously tackled cultural icons Shakespeare and Queen
‘I have a beautiful husband who I adore. If someone is talented, it is very attractive. And he still makes me laugh!’
She is afraid of young people who long for the things that ended up in her lap. ‘I didn’t set out to become famous. You see kids on television and they say, “I want to be famous.”
“Not that they want to be a great writer or singer or tap dancer. That’s madness. For many famous people, fame has not been good for them. It destroyed them.”
But not her, the ultimate survivor of the sixties. Her real secret is that she isn’t obsessed with those days.
‘People always seem to think I’m always thinking about the 1960s, but I never do that overnight. Unless I’m asked, of course.’
- Close-Up: The Twiggy Musical opens at Menier Chocolate Factory in London on September 27, with previews from September 18