Jaeger 125
Fashion Space Gallery
London College of Fashion
22 April - 29 May 2009

1884 - 2009

Today Jaeger is an international lifestyle brand that shows directional collections at London Fashion Week. When the company was founded in 1884, as Dr Jaeger's Sanitary Woollen System, its product was - using today's terminology - anti-fashion.

Originally, Jaeger provided clothing that adhered to the principles of Dr Gustav Jaeger, a German professor of zoology, who extolled the health-giving properties of wearing fabrics made from animal fibres.

From the outset, dedicated staff selected and safeguarded company documents for future eyes. Now consolidated to form an Archive comprising several thousand documents and images, this now reveals multiple histories and narratives. Amongst these, is the sustained commitment to identify and commission modern architects, designers and fashion specialists to construct and consolidate Jaeger's identity as a progressive and quintessentially British company.

This exhibition, and the book Jaeger 125, explore Jaeger's shifting ethos and brand identity over the last 125 years.

Today, London College of Fashion Alumnus Harold Tillman is Chairman of Jaeger (and Chairman of the British Fashion Council) and Belinda Earl is Group Chief Executive. The book and exhibition have been created by Judith Clark and Amy de la Haye, Readers and MA Course Directors at London College of Fashion.

THIS WAS!

The year Jaeger launched its product was timely. It coincided with the opening of the International Health Exhibition in London, which condemned the exploitation and ill-health inherent in the production and consumption of fashionable dress. Exhibitors, including Jaeger, who was awarded a medal, presented `healthy' clothing alternatives.

In the early years, the ethos of Jaeger's utilitarian wool garments attracted a literary and artistic clientele, including George Bernard Shaw. The utility of its product was endorsed by Antarctic explorers such as Ernest Shackleton.

During the 1900s the product range was expanded to include special clothing for popular outdoor sports like tennis, golf and croquet.

THIS IS JAEGER

In the 1920s and '30s, Jaeger successfully re-positioned itself as a leading, top-level, ready-to-wear fashion company. Addressing the 1920s vogue for sportif styles in everyday dress, Jaeger's jersey costumes (matching sweaters and skirts), with modern geometric patterning, were a huge success.

By the 1930s stylish knitwear and sophisticated tailoring had become core Jaeger products. Illustrations and photographs reveal elegant and imaginative designs for wear in urban and rural spaces and fashionable seaside and ski resorts. The emphasis upon fine wool was retained. Modernist architect Frederick Etchells was commissioned to design the interior of the Oxford Street store (see opposite).

JAEGER TODAY

In 2003 Harold Tillman bought Jaeger and became Chairman: he had 35 years of experience, working worldwide, in fashion manufacturing, design and retail. In 2004 Tillman appointed Belinda Earl as Group Chief Executive. (In her former position as Chief Executive of Debenhams she had been pivotal in implementing the highly successful Designers at Debenhams strategy).

In just a few years Belinda Earl has developed Jaeger to become an international fashion label comprising a portfolio of collections. Jaeger has 139 UK and European shops and operates in Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Dubai, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, Lithuania, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand and the USA.

In 2009 the company retains its commitment to quality, fashion and style; its inherent Britishness; loyalty to staff; and commitment to ensuring the best possible client experience.

Jaeger draws upon its inspirational history to re-present fashion's future.