Front row left to right: Jean Muir, Alice Pollock, Thea Porter. Second row: John Bates, Tim Gardner, Gina Fratini. Third row: Bill Gibb, Zandra Rhodes. Top: Mary Quant, Ossie Clark.
So many egos, so little space… I’m placing bets that Quant and Bates didn’t speak to each other for the duration. But it’s also nice to see Bates sitting with his friend Bill Gibb, and now I like to think that Alice Pollock and Thea Porter must have been quite pally as well.
Photo by Peccinotti. Flair Magazine, October 1972.
Photo by Richard Imrie. Cosmopolitan. Cosmo Tells All. July, 1972
Ika Hindley is the twenty-three year old temporarily red-haired model who out-acts Bernhardt or Garbo on the catwalk. Give her a dress and she gives it soul. When wearing Bill Gibb’s vamp dress at his headline-making launch collection, BBC cameramen filmed a three-minute take of Ika doing her number. “I’m hoping it will get me into films. Underneath all this pink paint there’s a frustrated actress,” says Ika who takes voice, dancing and singing lessons. All of which give her catwalk appearance extra oomph. And oomph is what Bill Gibb’s clothes have in plenty. Film star Twiggy and actress Irene Worth are favourite customers of the shy Scottish lad with the special fashion flair.
The shape is mediaeval, trumpet sleeved and tiny bodiced there’s a matching kepi with five-foot leather streamers. Bill Gibb designed this; it’s made to order at Baccarat. Lady Anne Tree’s patchwork tablecloth is a giant circle of hexagons in a thousand and one rose, red and pink prints—bandanas, polka dots, checks and cherries—made in traditional manner with paper cut to the hexagons, stitched, then the basting removed to release the paper. Lined and edged with a heavy woollen fringe. The multitudes of patchwork crochet cushions are in multitudes of sun and chrysanthemum colours, some knit or enormous needles. 3½ gns each, at Women’s Home Industries
Photo by Tessa Traeger.
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, “Fashions in Living”, January 1970.
It’s oh so quiet…
…over here, isn’t it? I haven’t turned to ice, or been out enjoying the snow too much to blog. No, I’m back in the West End, with my latest one-woman show….. ahhh, just joking! I’m back at the ballet, dressing the newest version of The Nutcracker and the schedule is a bit punishing for all involved. So I’m grabbing moments when I can, to post out my wares and try to keep on top of things. But sadly, it means that I’m barely able to keep up with all you lovely bloggers and get half of the things done before Christmas that I needed and wanted to do. Argh! Anyway, to keep you going until I have time/energy to blog again, here is one of my all-time favourite Vogue shoots from December 1975. Beauty and grace personified…
Apologies to any coulrophobes out there!
By John Bates
By Gina Fratini
By Jorn Langberg
By Bill Gibb
By Thea Porter
By Zandra Rhodes
Main dress by Hanae Mori
By Nettie Vogues
Karl Lagerfeld for Chloe
Just to let you know, I can still post out before Christmas although I wouldn’t recommend relying too heavily on the postal service, given current weather issues and Christmas rush. But even if it doesn’t get there in time, remember, a vintage piece is not just for Christmas…
Dress by John Bates at Jean Varon
An amazing Guy Bourdin photoshoot from Nova, December 1972.
I’m missing a precious Annacat/Ossie page (don’t even get me started on magazine sellers again…) but what’s left is still pretty amazing. Honestly, modern fashion photographers can only hope to come close to such works of art created by innovators like Bourdin.
Top: Sheilagh Brown for Coopers, Bottom and below: Janice Wainwright
Janice Wainwright
Dress by Bill Gibb
Top: Sheilagh Brown for Coopers, Bottom: John Bates for Jean Varon
Dress by Gillian Richard
I love collecting old press agency photos whenever I can, and frequently forget that I have them. One day I will have all the wallspace in the world upon which to display them. Until then, I must remember to scan the odd one for your delectation.
Cindy Présente Une Robe d’Automne
Voici déjà desmodèles de la mode d’automne etd’hiver. Il s’agit d’ici, d’un des modèles de la collection de Bill Gibb, de Londres, une robe au style “pré-raphael”, ample, à plis et brodée de fleurs, que CINDY présente avec grace.
4 Mai 1974 AGIP
I’m not quite sure how much grace Cindy is demonstrating in her modelling of a beautiful Bill Gibb dress, but it makes me giggle every time I look at it.
One of my favourite Telegraph magazine spreads (May 25th, 1973) featuring some of my favourite designers (and, for a few, their partners) with their favourite models, wearing favourite pieces from that season.
Thierry Mugler
Bill Gibb
Ossie Clark
Jean Paul Gaultier
Carven
Schiaparelli
Lucille
Jacques Fath
Pierre Balmain
It seems a bit strange to be relaunching the site after yesterday’s terrible news about McQueen. He was one of the few modern designers I had any respect for, because he was original and strived to be different. I never had the money or occasion to buy any of his work, but I do vividly recall gasping in delight at his work in Harrods (when I was 18 and used to go around there for kicks, and sneer at the finishing on certain other designers’ garments) and toddling off down the road to buy a very, very McQueen-y rip-off in Miss Selfridge. He had that kind of effect on you; his clothes (after you stripped away the spectacular catwalk shows) were pure genius and extremely womanly. May he rest in peaches (see my previous post about YSL).
Designers like him are what inspires people like me into our little niches in the fashion world, and I thank him profusely for that.
So…yeah…the website is back up. It’s been a bit Remade/Remodelled…..and definitely restocked. There’s Ossie, Biba, Janice, JohnB, Billy, Lee Bender; basically you need to go and have a look, don’t you? Go on, you know you want to…..
Liz Eggleston 