The Englishness of English Dress
Judith Clark Costume Gallery
4 - 30 May 2000

Two exhibitions open in May at the London College of Fashion and the Judith Clark Costume Gallery on the subject of conservative middle class taste and style in post -war England. They are linked by an extraordinary collection of garments belonging to one London woman, a newly acquired study collection at the London College of Fashion.

The Korner collection ranges from the late 1940's to the 1980's and contains immaculate suits and formal dresses by Hardy Amies, Norman Hartnell and Victor Stiebel, as well as off-the-peg fashions from London boutiques and Department Stores. Neat velvet frocks carefully made by Kensington dressmakers are displayed alongside home-made items, showing the diversity to be found in a single woman's wardrobe.

The London College of Fashion exhibition shows what can be learned from such a collection; looking at how a personal history can be traced through clothes, in addition to studying construction and fashion design. It explores the occasion-specific nature of dress for a certain type of woman in the 50's and 60's; relaxed items for the home, chic suits for a day out in town, glamour for the evenings. The exhibition is contextualised with a range of fashion illustrations, women's magazines, dress and knitting patterns and photographs from the Korner collection and other college archives.

The exhibition at Judith Clark Costume looks at specific details from the collection and their resonance within current fashion design. Pieces from the Spring/Summer 2000 catwalk collections will be displayed alongside those from the Korner archive.

An associated conference will be held on 12 and 13 May at the London College of Fashion, with speakers including leading curators and historians of dress and cultural studies. Further details on the conference from Anna Fenn 0171 514 7690.

The exhibition is supported by Laura Ashley, Pasold Research Fund and the Korner Family.