LCF ARCHIVES: MA FASHION CULTURES STUDENT SELECTION

The British tailors Henry Poole donated a diverse collection of bespoke suits to London College of Fashion's archives. First founded as a linen draper by James Poole in 1806 in Brunswick Square in London, this family business has arguably gone on to become Savile Row’s most famous institution. After his death, James Poole’s son, Henry Poole, inherited the family Business, and soon relocated it to Savile Row. This half-finished single breasted men’s jacket from 2009 has been selected from the London College of Fashion archives to represent the process of bespoke tailoring. It takes approximatively 70 hours to make a bespoke suit, from collating the client’s measurements to the construction of the paper pattern, followed by the creation of the bespoke pattern. Thus, the cut and the internal construction of a jacket are the backbone of the bespoke suit.

Influenced by military costume, the London based artist Penny Green designed this jacket for Percy Savage in the late 1980s. Percy Savage organised a lot of fashion shows and was well known in the fashion world from 1950s and onwards. Considered as the precursory and original instigator of celebrity fashion publicity, Percy Savage was also very much involved in the nightlife and glamorous fashion scene. Very tall and quite masculine with a deep drawling voice, the fashion icon was known for shining at parties wearing bold, idiosyncratic styles such as this blue velvet jacket. This piece was therefore selected as an important symbol of London’s social history and creativity in fashion.

Illuminatingly, this pair of shoes are still marked with their original price tag, which tells us that they were reduced from twenty-six shillings and three pence down to two shillings in 1943. They are a clog style sandal with a wooden wedge heel. Wood was often used in shoes during the Second World War due to the scarcity of other materials. They have three straps to go across the foot, held in place by nails.

Made of black silk crepe and trimmed with pink silk lace and crepe detail, this gown dates from the 1930s. The maker is unknown, but believed to be French. It was donated by Hester Borron, but it originally belonged to and was worn by her grandmother. Most of the work was done on machine, though there is evidence of hand stitching which could signify repair work. The design appears to have been inspired by the work of the French designer Vionnet, since it has a bias cut which was pioneered by the designer, as well as the work of Italian designer Elsa Schiaparelli who designed a very similar dress. Both designers were based in Paris in the 1930s.