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A unique visitors book kept by a prominent boutique, filled with the iconic names of the era, from Mick Jagger to Queen Elizabeth II to Donovan to Twiggy?With thousands of signatures, the most complete such collection we have seenSwinging London: Its very name conjures up images of style, culture, excitement and romance. Presided over by a young Queen Elizabeth, London transformed itself from a bleak, conservative, colorless city, only just beginning to forget the troubles of the Second World War, into the focus of all the world?s attention, bursting into bloom with color, freedom, optimism and promise. It represented a fundamental and explosive change in attitude, values, and art. And all classes took part, from the Queen?s own sister, Margaret, to a hairdresser?s daughter, Cilla Black. London was the center of all the action; the city where everything was happening and where anything was possible.London captured the imagination of the world?s media, and soon had the full attention of youth everywhere. And when Time Magazine in its April 15, 1966 issue dubbed London: the Swinging City, it cemented the association between London and all things hip and fashionable that had been growing in the popular imagination throughout the decade. London seemed like the capital of the world and all eyes were on it.The importance of London in the making of the Sixties cannot be exaggerated. There, in that one place, at that one time, was the center so many revolutions. There was the fashion revolution, with clothes becoming more playful, colorful, and youthful. This was exemplified by the shops on Carnegie Street and in Chelsea, and the eclectic I Was Lord Kitchener?s Valet on Piccadilly. The sartorial splendor of these fashions was exhibited by models like Twiggy and rock stars like Mick Jagger. There was the art and design revolution, which filled London with galleries and studios. There was the music revolution, exemplified by the Beatles and Rolling Stones. In the U.S., all talk was of the British invasion. It?s hard to overestimate the impact British music had on the lifestyles and aspirations of the youth of America. Looking back, we can almost close our eyes and see Donovan singing Catch the Wind for Bob Dylan or 73 million Americans watching The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. And then of course there was the recreational drug revolution, with these drugs being normative by the end of the Sixties; and the sexual revolution and the shattering of gender roles.Americans flocked to London to participate in it all. You?d find Bob Dylan and Judy Garland there, the Byrds and Beach Boys were there, and so many others. And not everyone was famous. There was the boy at the New Jersey shore looking out over the ocean and thinking London was just on the other side, and he would go there (and did). And Americans weren't the only ones. People from all over the world came to London.Many of London's most fashionable boutiques of the late 1960's and early 70's were on Fulham Road, which runs through Chelsea, and one of these was owned by Neil Zarach. Zarach partnered with the designer David Hicks (who also happened to be Lord Mountbatten's son in law) in this iconic enterprise. In the ?70s Hicks left the business and Zarach took over full ownership.?Zarach's client list?included fashionable London society, as well as many of the world's rulers, mega movie stars, rock stars, tycoons, and others of note in Swinging London. The shop was famous for its?parties, like the "Red Opening" on November 7, 1968.The shop kept a guestbook, which in time became two volumes (one labeled ?Visitors), altogether 225?pages, with over 1,000 signatures. The first volume covers 1967-1971, the second volume?1971-1974, with additional entries for an event on June 7, 1984. The six pages for the ?Red Opening? are memorialized here with the names in red pen. These books are a virtual compendium of the people who made Swinging London. Not only the famous names, though there are.
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