Alistair Cowin photographed by John Carter for 19 Magazine, April 1969
You might not have heard of Alistair Cowin before. Like many other superbly talented designers in the 1960s and 1970s, he has rather fallen off the radar in recent years. But all it takes is a little article from a contemporary magazine, and an original garment, and I’m hooked. I’ve just listed this dress over on Vintage-a-Peel, and it’s a beauty. A vision in white chiffon, and very reminiscent of designs by his contemporaries John Bates and Gerald McCann. I only have one other piece by Cowin so far, so I think it’s safe to say his work doesn’t show up very often. And how often does a wearable collectable piece, in a non-teeny tiny size ever pop up?
Available now over at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Alistair Cowin 1960s chiffon mini dress at Vintage-a-Peel
Liz Eggleston 
Hi, Maybe you already know this ,the mannequin used in this post is called Willy [ I think she was of Dutch nationality] and was made by Barway Mannequins
Hello Deirdre, Wow! I never thought I’d find that out. Do you know much about Barway Mannequins? Did they base mannequins on real models? Thanks!
Hi,
Willy was a model, but I don’t remember the rest of her name, I was sometime Art director for Barway, they did make some great mannequins, I was with the company between
about 1969 until 1972. I do have some images somewhere. I originally trained as a costume designer. I now design headpieces my website is deirdrehawken.com
I really enjoy your blog.