Luxury British Heritage Brands

Hello all,
 
Here is a link to a questionnaire for my univeristy project:
 
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6VB8JG2
 
I have decided on a project the title of:
 
‘Best of British:The Relaunch of Norman Hartnell’

I would really appreciate it if you would be able to fill in this quick questionnaire on luxury British heritage brands. There are 10 multiple choice questions and it will take just a few mintutes. Every single response will help me a lot in my final degree project.

Thanks!

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An Image a Day

Today’s image…

This image is fabulous and so strong. The structured lines of the skirt are offset by the drapery of the coat.

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Horrockses Fashions – Fashion and Textile Museum

Horrockses fashion, for those of you who are thinking ‘who?!’ were pioneers of off the peg fashion in the 1940s and 1950s. Fot those of you who love popping into shops on the high street, you owe them a lot.

They were the manufacturer of one of the most well respected ready-to-wear labels of their time. Among their staple items were the typical 1950s full skirted dresses, which were at the height of fashion. They managed to balance the idea of manufacturing large quantities of goods, whilst still remainging exclusivity for the brand. They prided themselves on using good quality fabrics (most noteably cotton) with custom designed patters. they styling of the clothes had a slight Parisian feel to them.

The key to the success of Horrockses was the way they printed onto cotton, which was the most popular fabric of the time, although newer man made fabrics were starting to creep in. Not only did they create the printed patterns in house, but they commisioned artists such as Eduardo Paolozzi and Graham Sutherland to design for them too. These were applied onto the high quality cotton sheeting, reserved exclusively for Horrockses Fashions. A bit like when high end designers collaborate with high street brands now.

The exhibition will run at the Fashion and Textile museum from 9th July to 24th October 2010.  Something on display that I am very intrigued to see is the way they will show the the life cycle of the garments, from initial fabric design through to production and consumption. As someone interested in ethcial fashion, this will be incredibly interesting to compare to modern day techniques. Of course, it could be said that they are at the forefront of consumerism, with customers demanding increasingly more for their money, and faster fashion turnarounds.

For more information on the Fashion and Textile Museum and for more information on the exhibition – http://www.ftmlondon.org/

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Goodwood Revival – style

I attended Goodwood Revival way back in September 2009, and got some great shots while I was there. I am a big fan of fashion and style from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s…

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Claire Coles Greetings Cards

Claire Coles is one of my favourite designers, she creates the most beautiful pieces of art using vintage wallpaper and freehand embroidery. She manages to fuse fashion images with what can sometimes be deemed as ‘stuffy’ old wallpaper in a way that brings it right up to date, and very covetable. I wish I had an original piece of hers to hang on my wall, for now I will have to do with her stunning greetings cards, available at Paperchase. Availble at a margin of the cost of an original, the cards are fabulous to give to anyone who is into crafty cards, or to do as I do, and stick it up on your wall, waiting for the day when you can afford the real thing.

Her ceramics and woodwork pieces are breathtaking, the intricacy and detail is beautiful.

Visit her website to take a deeper look at this fabulous British designer – http://www.clairecolesdesign.co.uk/ It’s enough to get anyone feeling crafty…now where is my embroidery hoop…?

(P.S. I love her work so much she is the designer behind the banner at the top of my blog).

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