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Couture by Royal Appointment
If you love vintage couture then this is one London exhibition not to be missed.
The Hartnell to Amies exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey is a retrospective of London couture created by Norman Hartnell, Hardy Amies and milliner Frederick Fox. It showcases a range of works by these iconic designers who stole the fashion hearts of both British Royalty and socialites and who, with the Queen’s patronage, managed to re-establish Britain as an international fashion centre after WWII.
Up until the 1920s it was the Parisian designers who reigned supreme, but Hartnell was hot on their polished heels when he opened his first London salon in 1923.
Highlights of his earlier designs on display are:
| The romantic embellished silk satin wedding dress for Oonagh Guinness in 1929 – inspired by Botticelli’s paintings. |  |
| The sparkling evening dress embroidered all over with gold pailettes – worn by H.M. Queen Mary circa 1935 |  |
| Moving on to the 1940s, the garments are less flamboyant due to wartime rationing of fabric, but both Hartnell and Amies used their skills to ensure style and design were not affected, including practical tailored suits which emphasised the feminine silhouette. On the right is the Hardy Amies Prince of Wales checked fine woollen suit worn by Hollywood actress Mildred Shay. We think of slogans/words on attire as a fairly new trend but look closely at the lapels and you will see ‘Made In England’ featured into the exposed selvedge. On the left is Norman Hartnell’s floor length dinner suit in fine wool. The décolleté jacket has embroidered details to the pockets and cuffs. |  |
| Celebrating the end of the war, the 1950s designs showed a return to the generous use of fabric and glamour. Poster copies of Norman Parkinson’s photographs adorn the exhibition’s walls and immortalise both Royal Couturiers as they pose with models wearing their 1953 spring collections. The originals were commissioned by British Vogue to celebrate the year of Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation. |  |
| The exhibition moves on to the swinging 60s with shorter cocktail dresses: Here shown is the brown silk satin short evening dress with white crystal beaded top by Norman Hartnell circa 1966. |  |
| The groovy 70s with maxi evening dresses: Leaf green paper taffeta evening dress with a deep ruffled boat neckline and skirt – Norman Hartnell circa 1972. |  |
| And the power style of the 80s.For the 1980s, Raine, Countess of Spencer lends her Hardy Aimes monochrome abstract floral silk evening dress with its enormous puffed sleeves – so on trend at the time. |  |
| Also on display is a pale blue suit with wide shoulders and deep yolk collar in white with a tie front – replicating the Aimes original worn by Lady Diana Spencer for her engagement photographs. |  |
| We must take our hats off to milliner Frederick Fox who has designed hats for the Queen, the late Queen Mother and Diana Princess of Wales. On display are over thirty of his creations plus a special recreation of the silk crepe hat worn by the Queen for her Silver Jubilee in 1977. |  |
The exhibition is on until 23 Feb 2013 so you have plenty of time to see it. More details can be found on www.ftmlondon.org/exhibitions/
Images © Norman Parkinson Limited/Courtesy Norman Parkinson Archive.
KAREN GRACE
Karen Grace studied Personal Styling at the London College of Fashion and is a registered affiliate member of the Federation of Image Professionals International. You can read more of Karen’s fashion advice at:
For personal shopping and styling services you can reach her via frumpy to funky on [email protected] and 07787 800 390.
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Allison is the Publisher of Eclipse Magazine. She loves going to the Races and is learning to bet (despite being officially the worst bettor in the History of the Universe), there’s a lot more to learn…
