14/10/2005, By
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For the first time at the British Library, Fashion Lives, a new exhibition, has brought together a collection of post-war fashion leaders who have defined their profession and played a unique role in shaping the fashion industry as we know it today.
The exhibition, curated by Alistair O'Neill from London College of Fashion (LCF), features exhibition design by Central St Martin's graduate William Hall. It includes a specially commissioned repeatable design by fashion duo Eley Kishimoto that will form the backdrop to the exhibition and a series of commissioned portraits by the photographer Gareth McConnell.
London College of Fashion has an international reputation as a leading provider of fashion education, research and consultancy. The unique portfolio of specialist courses range in level, from Foundation to Postgraduate. The subject range corresponds to the process of the creation, production and promotion of fashion and the management and marketing of those activities. Many of the College's courses are unique to the UK and offer students an experience unmatched by even a handful of specialist colleges worldwide.
The exhibition draws on the Oral History of British Fashion collection of oral history interviews from the National Life Story Collection at the British Library's Sound Archive. This new collaborative initiative between London College of Fashion and the British Library documents fashion and its related industries within living memory.
It contains interviews with Percy Savage, the man who was the first 'fashion PR' and was the name behind Christian Dior's Eau Sauvage scent; Lily Silberberg, a former pupil of Barrett Street Trade School and a teacher at London College of Fashion; Leslie Russell the 'Smile' hairdresser who, in the 1960s, cut the hair of Cathy McGowan (of 'Ready Steady Go' fame) and Peter Sellers; Savile Row tailor Angus Cundey of Henry Poole & Co.
Also with Marit Allen, former Young Idea at Vogue Fashion Editor from 1963 - 1973 and now an award winning costume designer for films such as Eyes Wide Shut and Mrs Doubtfire; Tommy Roberts, the owner of the King's Road boutique 'Mr Freedom' in the 1970s and 'two columbia road' today; John Church, of Church's Shoes, Northampton; and Michael Southgate of Adel Rootstein mannequins in London.
The fascinating reflections of each of the contributors highlights the importance of recording the craft skills and business techniques of the ever-changing British fashion industries. The exhibition stresses the continuing importance and relevance of ways of working that have been lost through the process of modernisation, by inviting a number of contemporary practitioners such as bespoke tailor Timothy Everest, womenswear designer Shelley Fox, fashion illustrator and designer Julie Verhoeven, and milliner Dai Rees to talk about the influence and importance of the work of each of the interviewees on their work today.
As well as oral testimonies, the exhibition will include a selection of printed ephemera, personal papers, clothing and textiles, newspapers and magazines, sketches, samplers and tools.
Alistair O'Neill, curator of Fashion Lives said: "This is the first time that the British Library has staged an exhibition about fashion and it confirms how the discipline is now defined not only by the fast pace of change in the industry, but also by the slower rigours of academic enquiry.
Fashion is a burgeoning area of research and London College of Fashion and Central Saint Martins (both University of the Arts London) have played a central part in shaping it. Fashion Lives demonstrates how these testimonies can be used to enrich our understanding of this unique industry, helping define a trade history that has often been thought unworthy of attention."
"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street; fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening" - Coco Chanel.
Fashion Lives - at the British Library from 11th November 2005 to 7th February 2006.
Images - copyright Gareth McConnell