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In Conversation With Pat Albeck

‘There was a crusade to get rid of bouquets and chintzy prints on beige or fawn backgrounds.’ Pat Albeck

What a lucky girl I was to be able to attend the Fashion and Textile Museum when they had an evening with Pat Albeck. A small group of us got to listen to her talk intimately about her life in textile design, a real treat indeed. I had an awareness of Pat’s work, most notably her designs for Horrockses dresses in the 1950’s, I adore Horrockses and their iconic printed dresses so I was fascinated from the start. Her informal chattiness was lovely, now in her 80’s, Pat was dressed in her favourite bright orange and was really keen to dig into her memories for us all….

Pat Albeck, British textile designer, born in 1930, grew up with a love of design and decor. She was unsure what direction to take in life and went to study at art school in Hull where her family were based, she said she felt that all the other students were much better illustrators than her, she preferred to work with patterns and colour. She then got into the Royal College of Art, London. Her Father, luckily, had known the Principle there, she clearly felt she was not worthy of this place at the college as she remembered a critic once saying ‘even the Royal College makes mistakes’. One of her predecossors being the now iconic designer Lucienne Day, Pat’s time at RCA was around that of the Festival of Britain and designers wanted to revolutionize textile design. She said that she now believes she was at the college at the best possible time. Pat and her contemporaries wanted a new look to design, to move onwards from the floral cutesy and safe prints of earlier pre-war years. ‘I was very influenced by the new ideas in furnishing textiles from Scandinavia and the fashion fabrics from France and Italy’. This modern approach was an extremely exciting and pivotal movement in the design ideas of the 1950’s.

Pat loves flowers, she felt other designers could deconstruct flowers and strip them of their petals, making for abstract designs, she prefered to draw them more realistically whilst still in a new way. I got the impression from her talking that she felt inferior to some of the other designers at the time, ‘I think poeople thought, she’s ok but very commercial‘ she said. I think her work was as relevant and as new, but came from a slightly different and possibly more feminine angle than the likes of Lucienne Day and Marian Mahler.

In 1952, Horrockses designer James Cleveland Belle was visiting the RCA looking for talented students to work with him, he discovered Pat. Pat had been focusing her studies on furnishing fabrics, since fashion fabrics had been considered somewhat ephemeral at the time. Pat said she never thought of clothes as fashion, ‘I just thought of it as a new dress’. Pat recalled owning a Horrockses dress when she was 16, designed by Alastair Morton. I think every girl then probably dreamt of owning a Horrockses dress. Horrockses had previously been known mainly as a brand that sold quality cotton household goods; sheets, towels and bed linen, with the tag line ‘The Greatest Name in Cotton’. The company eventually concieved ‘Horrockses Fashions’ and it was for the fashion line that Pat sold her first design. She was one of the lucky few students to sell designs whilst still at college. This ‘Stripes and Roses’ was the first design she sold and it was also in her final RCA show. Horrockses were well known for their use of stripes on dresses, ‘It was exactly what he wanted’ Pat said, the design was used to make a housecoat designed by Betty Newmarch, this picture of it, Pat said, is still her favourite image of her time at Horrockses.

And so after graduating, Pat was offered a salaried position at Horrockses. From this point on in her career she said she pretty much always ‘designed with specific pieces in mind’ there was always a brief that she would work to. She clearly adored her time with the brand, during it she worked from home as they had no space at the head offices, but she was always present at design meetings and gatherings. She beamed as she referred to her team there as the ‘formidable four’; that four being designers John Tullis, James ‘Jimmy’ Cleveland-Belle (who she said is a great friend and genius), Marta Pirn and Betty Newmarch. These designers came up with the dresses while Pat designed the printed fabric…a formidable gang for sure!

Whilst being asked to design for specific garments, Pat told us about the time when Tullis asked her to draw a lobster for a beach skirt, she bought the lobster, put it through expenses and labouriously drew it but felt it looked odd on its own, so added her signature flowers and some butterflies. When the accountant saw her receipt for the lobster he joked ‘I hope you ate it after’ to which she replied ‘it took me three days to draw!’

In the late 1950’s British fashion manufacturing took a blow as far East countries began to mass produce man made fibres. To keep up with the increased competition, Horrockses parent company had to cut costs and needed to lessen the quality of their cotton. During this time James Cleveland Belle left, shortly followed by Pat in 1958. She said she still considers her work for Horrockses to be one of the most important times of her career.

Pat said that her favourite things to draw have always been ‘all things natural; fish, flowers, fruit and vegetables’ and she would often put a rose in there somewhere to ‘soften the motif’. I love the simplicity of her drawings and the casual element of humour too. After leaving Horrockses Pat went on to work for lots of different companies including Sanderson, John Lewis, fashion label Dolly Rockers and also The National Trust. It is with the National Trust that Pat famously designed many tea towels, the job perfectly combined her love of British historical houses and design. It evolved so that Pat was designing kitchen ceramics, table cloths and linens too, each for specific National Trust locations. Pat also did a lot of work in the 1970’s with a lady called Maxine Magan who started a cottage industry called Cuckoobird. This team were responsible for making lots of kitchen ware and home ware including the well loved cottage shaped tea cosy!

I especially like how Pat’s work in each era is totally characteristic of that decade and the style of the time, in vintage fashion, most pieces are clearly definitive of their time, and with Pat’s work you can see how the style and process of design has changed. Pat now lives in Norfolk, ooh same as me, she adores cats, same as me too, and still draws every day. She has a local exhibition later this year at Verandah, an independent artists shop here in Norwich which I shall take a peep at for sure. A funny fact about Pat is that her only son is married to another well known British designer, Emma Bridgewater, an eye for style is a quality that her son must love in his ladies. A gorgeous evening in the company of an utterly fascinating woman, she had nothing but good to say about her time working for Horrockses and all the other brands.

‘All the people I have worked with became my friends.’ Pat Albeck

For more information on Pat visit www.pat–albeck.co.uk

For details on Pat’s Norwich exhibition visit www.verandah–norwich.co.uk/

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The Vintage Dresses of Miss Marilyn Monroe

“I don’t mind being burdened with being glamorous and sexual. Beauty and femininity are ageless and can’t be contrived, and glamour, although the manufacturers won’t like this, cannot be manufactured. Not real glamour; it’s based on femininity.”
– Marilyn Monroe

Oh Miss Monroe! It kinda goes without saying that few women get anywhere near Marilyn’s status when it comes to icons in modern history, her face is as familiar as a Coca-Cola can, her image as imitated as the ‘I HEART NY’ logo….what a gloomy World we would be in if Marilyn had never lived! I think most people find her fascinating, I sure do, it amazes me how one person can be catapulted to a status way higher than others, how she can still be so unbelievably prevalent in modern culture…..just one lady on her own!

Gosh she was beautiful, yes, that’s a given according to most people, but lest not forget it’s generally believed that she had both a nose and chin job at the beginning of her career, thus her beauty wasn’t entirely all natural…I think regardless of her facial features, well, not regardless, but aside to that, it was her charisma that made people adore her, she carried herself with such sensuality and enjoyment, I’m guessing she literally shone just by her presence, and beautiful features alone couldn’t create this enchantment.

I was jumping up and down with glee at the mere thought of being in the vicinity of some of Marilyn’s clothing…vintage fashion just does not get better than this. Ever. The Getty Images Gallery, on Eastcastle Street in London currently has the exhibition, ‘Marilyn’, to commemorate 50 years since she died. The exhibition showcases some of the most beautiful photographs, black and white and colour, before and during her fame, on screen and off….. most gorgeous to gaze at! But, hey, not only are there heaps of amazing photos, the exhibition has 12 of Marilyn’s outfits on display, loaned to the gallery by David Gainsborough Roberts who is quite possibly the biggest collector of Marilyn memorabilia in the World. Oh. My. Goodness.

Ok, so vintage fashion is what I do, it’s my thing, it’s what I know and it’s what I love. I love the stories and history that items of clothing hold and when a collection with such provenance is in front of me, well, I just outright thought I might explode with excitement! These clothes were how I like clothes to be, old and with a story. You could clearly see marks, wear and a life in them, heck, I was even in awe of the sweat stains on the underarms……the clothes were eye popping-ly beautiful and in pretty amazing condition, but you could see she had worn and worked in them.

People are always celebrating her womanly curves and larger size, but, her waist is teeny, rumoured to have been, and I would agree from looking at the dresses, 23-24 inches, which is a modern UK6,  she wasn’t a fuller figured lady, she just had these amazing hourglass proportions with a teeny waist and petite frame, an ideal female form, a perfect shape to fulfill the dresses of her era.

This is the negligee from the film ‘Niagara’ (1952). Black silk with appliqued pink rose detail on the bust.

This green satin costume from ‘Bus Stop’ (1956) is probably my favourite, it’s so recognizable and has a real frivolity to it, I could really picture her in this, playing the character Cherie and I love the fact that you can clearly see the marks from her sweat. Corset boning and hand-sewn sequins, it was designed by Hollywood Designer William Travilla for whom Marilyn was a huge inspiration, he also designed her iconic subway dress for ‘The Seven Year Itch’ (1955).

This amazing black silk leotard from ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1953) is beautifully detailed. Intricate black appliqued sequins with lace-up and flower features, it also has a matching black sequinned harlequin hat.

This flamboyant dress is a stage costume from the musical ‘There’s No Business Like Show Business’ (1954), it is a beautiful full length gown in a nude colour with extensive flower and leaf beading on the net overlay, using white and silver bugle beads. A pleated panel was inserted to the costume to cover Marilyn’s leg whilst shooting alternate footage for countries where such nudity was banned.

There's No Business Like Showbusiness costume

This floor length white silk and chiffon dress is from ‘The Prince and The Showgirl’ (1957). Gorgeous and effortlessley feminine, with hand crafted beading. Made even more familiar by the recent movie ‘My Week with Marilyn’ (2011) which focused on her during the shooting of this gorgeous film. Once again, I adore the fact that it has marks and tears and signs of Marilyn having worked in it.

This decadent flapper style beaded cocktail dress is iconic, from ‘Some Like It Hot’ (1959). The collector reportedly bought this dress in 1993 for $28,500 which is quite a steal!! The black and sheer lining of the dress was pretty controversial, and the dress was so provocatively tight that Marilyn had to be lifted up onto the piano in the famous singing scene! This dress was designed by Orry Kelly who was a prolific designer for Hollywood studios, he won an Oscar for his costumes in this film.

Red sequinned gown from ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ (1953) in which Marilyn starred with Jane Russell and they wore matching dresses. Wowzers!!

This gorgeous pink linen dress from ‘Niagara’ (1952) was another favourite of mine, it is the type of dress we often sell in our shop, very classic of it’s era but also so wearable in modern times, this style translates so perfectly through the decades. All of Marilyn’s costumes in this movie were designed to accentuate her hourglass curves as they competed for the viewers attention against the magnificent backdrop of Niagara Falls. Much of the publicity for this movie focused on Marilyn’s swinging hips as she famously walked toward the Falls.

Such beeeeautiful dresses, I am so very happy that I got to see them up close, you can really feel her presence, these costumes twinned with the photographs are an utterly gorgeous way to spend a few hours. Marilyn, glamour and fashion kinda go hand in hand, she sure knew how to wear a dress and as she said, glamour couldn’t be manufactured, it is about the woman who wears the dress, the femininity. Marilyn always said that she wanted to be buried in Pucci, and on August the 8th 1962, she was buried in her favourite green Pucci dress and a green chiffon scarf around her neck, in her hands was a posy of pink teacup roses from first husband Joe DiMaggio. This Pucci dress was plain and simple but Marilyn brought it to life and filled it perfectly, showing off her beautiful curves, it was one of her favourite dresses, she had previously worn it to a conference in Mexico and quipped to reporters ‘You should see it on the hanger!’

The exhibition ‘Marilyn’ is at the Getty Images Gallery until 23rd May 2012.

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Dotty by Design: Yayoi Kusama at Tate Modern

Polka dots are just bloody great. Great because of their simplicity, timelessness, universal appeal, and the fact they can represent both space and clusters. It was polka dots that I chose as my branding for my shop Prim Vintage Fashion, I just LOVE them and it is my love of these dots that made my eyes pull toward the work of a certain Miss Yayoi Kusama. A contemporary of the Avant Garde art movement with the likes of Georgia O’Keefe and Andy Warhol, Kusama has been dubbed ‘The High Priestess of Polka Dots’…I was intrigued and so off I merrily skipped to see the Kusama exhibition at Tate Modern.

Being one of Japans most prolific artists with 60 years worth of work in her portfolio, this exhibition is a great representative of her career so far, showing her drawings, paintings, photographic work, sculptures, collages and stunning full scale room installations, a totally magical way to spend some time out in London.

Inflated polka dots at the entrance

Many see her as a kooky and rather loopy lady, but hey, if we all spent our time creating images, sculptures and room installations to represent what went on in our heads, no doubt we would all come across as a little crazy, her work just howls of honesty. Born to a wealthy family in Japan in 1929, Kusama grew up ‘exhausted and insecure’ due to a troubled relationship with her strict and violent Mother, she became an obsessive girl whose regular hallucinogenic episodes led her to paint and draw her way through her youth. Her family’s business was wholesaling seeds from their farm and she spent many days intricately and repetitively drawing budding flowers.

Kusama’s work, even from the earliest days, exhibits beautifully her mental state; intricate, repetitive, compulsive, densely packed, meditative and with a real sense of infinity. The visuals appear to cradle her insecurities and compulsions.

Stifled by the conventional art scene in Japan, Kusama immersed herself in the learnings of European and American art world. In the late 1950’s she fled to America and settled in New York City, feeling her art required more ‘unlimited freedom’ and a ‘wider world’. Her signature polka dot theme was now a recurring element suggesting both chaos and liberation.

She continued with her paintings but also began again to use sculpture. Her sculptures were abstract and again, repetitive, everyday objects obsessively covered with stuffed phallic shapes and clothing covered in dried pasta. I rather love these works, I like the ‘built-up’ texture and the consistency to detail, it’s great that she takes such familiar everyday items and distorts them with a patient but stubborn approach.

In her full scale room installation ‘Aggregation: One Thousand Boats Show’ you really feel submerged in her head space. Eery and with a masculine aura, this sculpture felt to me as a little regretful and haunting…her repetitive motif all over the walls and ceiling, as written about in the Tate Modern guide, anticipated Andy Warhol’s Cow Wallpaper by three years, which shows how revolutionary her works were at the time.

The compulsive repetition continued in her collage work in the early 1960’s, these works are really handsome and look as modern as any current artwork, particularly these two;

I would have a smile upon my face if any of these were to grace my walls…

In the late 1960’s, Kusama took her polka dot theme even farther and her work evolved into ‘The Happenings’. Taking place in public places around New York City, the artist and groups of men and women, danced naked in the streets covered in body paint polka dots….beauuuutiful idea!

In 1973, Kusama admitted herself to a mental institute in Japan, where she still resides and works from to this day, using the hospital as a studio base. In the late 1990’s Kusama began to do more full scale room installations which, I now think are my absolute favorite works of hers. The very last two room installations in the Tate exhibition are stunning. Simply gorgeous, I could have sat and stayed in either for hours….

The installation called ‘I’m here, but Nothing’ is amazing, a 1950’s style domestic interior covered obsessively in neon glow-in-the-dark polka dot stickers, the lights are off with just one ultra violet bulb making all the dots glow, it brings her hallucinations to life perfectly.

The final room, ‘Infinity Mirrored Room-Filled with the Brilliance of Life’ was beautiful indeed, a small mirrored room sparkling with hundreds of colour changing smalll lights….superb!

This exhibition of Kusama’s work at Tate Modern is divine and takes your eyes and mind to another little dotty place for an hour or two, which is always a good thing I believe!

The gift shop had lots of yummies too, incuding this book that she has illustrated which was super cute! This off-beat lady has ace style and her rather wonderful work makes me all the more curiouser and curiouser…

This exhibition is on at Tate Modern until 5th June 2012 

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