Ballgowns to bumsters: Women's Fashion History

The British often don’t get their fair share of attention in fashion histories, so we aim to help you understand how much British dressmakers and designers have influenced women’s fashion from the Victorian period right up to the present day. You will look at a multitude of exciting contemporary fashions and see how they are related to the styles, designers and influencers of previous eras.

You will visit many designer shops, and, along the way, we’ll consider the power of women’s suits and their origin that – decades before Coco Chanel -- heralded a new freedom of movement and gave rise to a perfect costume for the working woman. You’ll also find about how rebellious women dressed in the nineteenth century, when the arts & crafts movement took off and fabulous fabrics inspired by trade with India and Japan were introduced in London. We talk about London’s many dressmakers – the most proper ones who dressed the debutantes, and the improper ones who shocked and thrilled London society.

You will hear lost stories of London couture houses before, during and after World War II, including those of Norman Hartnell, Hardy Amies, Charles James and Jean Muir. That glamour faded away with the swinging sixties, and we will have fun remembering the massive shockwaves begun by London street fashion and spread by the likes of Mary Quant and Foale & Tuffin. You’ll find out how Vivienne Westwood gave Punk its outlandish style and discover the ongoing influence of Alexander McQueen.