The Design department works in fashion because, being popular, prolifically illustrated in all kinds of media, and deeply associated with human emotions, it communicates its messages rapidly and vividly to a wide public. The richness and vitality of British fashion is a fairly recent phenomenon. Britain’s reputation in fashion before the 20th century was as the site of manufacturing and production – principally tailoring, textiles and footwear – and as the warehouse of the world, a significant importer of textiles from around the globe. Although Charles Frederick Worth, an Englishman, is credited with the development of Parisian haute couture as we know it today, Britain’s place at the heart of the international fashion community was only won after the explosion of British sub-cultural style after World War II. The boutiques of Carnaby Street and the King’s Road, the markets in Camden and Portobello and the high fashion of Bill Gibb, Mary Quant and Ossie Clark put the UK on the international sartorial map as a centre for street style, trend forecasting, photography, art direction and fashion design at it’s most expressive and poetic. Read more |
