Feb
Fashion Drawings are the basis for any designer’s success and, in time for London’s Fashion Week (18-23 February), we are paying homage to Betty Jones and Sir Norman Hartnell. The former worked as a fashion illustrator for the latter in the late 1960s and together they produced glorious sketches for fashion designs from London’s swinging 60s .
The leading British fashion designer Sir Norman Hartnell (knighted in 1977) was instrumental in putting London’s fashion scene on the map between the wars and it is safe to assume that his longstanding appointment as dressmaker to the Royal Household had a great deal to do with this. His various designs for royal gowns perhaps most notably included Princess Elizabeth’s Wedding Dress of 1947 as well as her Coronation Dress of 1953.
For his other clients, Hartnell’s designs of the 60s were short, yet simple, elegant and modest in their own unique way. His links with great names, from theatre and film, such as Marlene Dietrich, Vivian Leigh and Noel Coward ensured his fame and popularity.
This collection of fashion drawings from Sir Norman Hartnell’s studio demonstrates beautifully the groundbreaking designs of the 1960’s. Never before had fashion been so revealing and liberating for women. The drawings are decorative, but more importantly inspiring as well as a piece of history that helped pave the way for designers’ creations on the catwalk today.
