Women’s Tailoring: Genesis and Evolution
After all the time spent planning, the day arrived to give my presentation at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Regular readers of the TfW blog will know that this was something originally put forward as a proposal almost eight months ago, so it was a super feeling to be standing in front of a packed and appreciative audience. Fortunately I had the presence of mind to have it filmed.
My task was to open the seminar, which was beautifully hosted by the V&A’s Head of Adult Education, Jo Banham. Following this was an intriguing presentation by Jaeger. This year is their 125th anniversary and it was wonderful to see some of the pieces and pictures from their archive. I have a couple of vintage Jaeger pieces myself dating from the time Jean Muir was their designer and I treasure them.
Following this, Alan Cannon Jones, Senior Lecturer at the London College of Fashion talked about some of the new trends in tailored fashion, and some of the techniques that are used to support them.
The video attached to this post gives an edited version of my own contribution. There were also a number of Q&A points throughout the seminar and I plan to include some of the issues that were raised in future posts.
The topics I covered ranged from a whistle-stop tour of the history of women’s tailoring to an exploration of the practical skills that support it. This included the consideration of the physiological aspects, hand-crafting techniques, and the complex psychology that underlies the relationship with one’s client. I concluded with some thoughts around the future of women’s tailoring with reference to a statement I had compiled from the opinions of my clients.
“Women should have same the opportunities for investing in their wardrobes in the same way that they invest in their careers”
I hope that you don’t have too many problems with the download.
Tags: bespoke, fashion, suit, tailoring, women, womens suits, womens tailoring
I really enjoy your site and wanted to thank you for posting this video. Just lovely. - Jenny
Fabulous talk at the V&A. I feel like I have just sat through a Masters Class! Thanks so much and continued success in your business and in life.
It was a delight to see how deeply you care about your craft.
You touch the clothes so respectfully, as though they are your dear friends. Truly you are a master at what you do! I hope you achieve the success you deserve!