All Together Now

LEFT TO RIGHT: Yellow jacket, Stirling Cooper £13.95. Shetland polo neck, Twomax, £3.70. Scarlet wool jacket, Alexon Youngset, £17. Polo neck £3.50, from Joseph, 33b King’s Road, SW3. Fluorescent pink jacket, Stephen Marks £26 (sold as a trouser suit). Shetland polo neck, Twomax £3.50. Acid green wool flannel jacket, Mary Quant £17.90. Cable-stitched sweater, McCauls £2.40. Sunglasses by Correna. All trousers by Sujon, £9.50. Hats by Edward Mann; gloves by Dents.

Jackets are the brightest you’ve ever seen, with enormous checks and swirling swingy backs. They go with vivid sweaters and the widest possible Oxford bags, worn shorter than usual to reveal gleaming white lace-ups and tappy 46 two-tone shoes. What a way to get yourself noticed!

Second model from the left in the top image looks to be Ika Hindley.

Photographed by Peter Castellano.

Scanned from Honey, October 1972.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Bold checked wrapover jacket, Stirling Cooper, £20.95. Sunglasses from a selection by Correna; scarlet knitted gloves, Morley 80p. Lime green. royal blue and white big checked jacket, Stirling Cooper £20.95. Olive green gloves, Dents 70p; sunglasses by Correna. Sugar-pie pink, blue and white bobbly jacket, Gordon King £10. Royal blue woolly gloves, Dents 55p; Lolita glasses from Paris. Wrapover pure wool chequered jacket, Stirling Cooper £19.95. Sunglasses by Correna; gloves, Dents 80p. All skirts £3.50 from Martha Hill, 39 Marylebone High Street, Wl, mail order 25p extra. Hats £2.40 by Edward Mann; sweaters £3 by John Craig; tights 39p, Mary Quant; shoes Annello & Davide.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Brilliant green, orange, yellow and cherry-red swing jacket, Stirling Cooper £19.95. Polo neck, McCauls £2.40. King-fisher blue, white and royal blue jacket Jeff Banks £12. Button-up jacket in orange, mulberry and yellow wool. Reldan £17.75. Yellow-yoked jacket in cherry red, yellow and royal blue, Get, £20. All gloves from Dents; sunglasses by Correna; hats £2.40 by Edward Mann.

LEFT TO RIGHT: Sunshine yellow waisted flannel jacket with batwing sleeves, Stephen Marks £20. Red and white pinstripe trousers, made in woollen mixture, Mistermonte at Dolly Day £5.25. Brilliant red, yellow and pink checked woollen jacket, Dranella £13. Plain red gabardine Oxford bags, Sujon £9.50. Pillar-box red wool velour jacket with tie belt, Peter Martin £9 from all brancles of Richard Shops. Navy and while pinstriped trousers, Mistermonte at Dolly Day £5.25. Fluorescent pink, yellow and purple plaid acrylic jacket, Elgee £30. Scarlet gabardine Oxford bags, Sujon £9.50. Red woolly gloves, Morley, 80p. All hats Edward Mann, £2.40; gloves (except Morley) Dents 70p; glasses Escalade £2.95; umbrellas with imitation ivory handles Miss Selfridge £2.45.

Necking

Hollywood film star printed cotton satin shirt by John Dove and Molly White for Jasper. Pure silk herringbone tie by Turnbull and Asser.

These are the ties that go with the shirts that are all part of the big 40s revival. Floppy silky shirts with subtly embossed patterns, and ties and scarves galore; they can be tied in bows, pinned with brooches, loosely knotted or worn like the men do. In fact, as long as they trail elegantly down the front of your shirt you can wear these ties just any way you like.

As a dedicated fan of long silk scarves (and silky blouses, and novelty brooches in fact) I’m just taking this editorial as my one stop guide to getting dressed this autumn.

Photographed by Christa Peters.

Possibly modelled by Ika Hindley (it looks like her mouth).

Scanned from Honey, October 1971.

Striped embossed crepe de chine blouse by Ronnie Stirling at Stirling Cooper. Paisley silk scarf by Chester Martin. Cicada brooch from Biba.

Feathers crepe de chine blouse by Ronnie Stirling at Stirling Cooper. Long spotted silk scarf by Chester Martin.

Avocado green crepe de chine blouse with fern pattern by Ronnie Stirling at Stirling Cooper. Silk chevron kipper tie by Turnbull and Asser. Egyptian stock pin from Biba.

Wavy patterned jacquard shirt by Jeff Banks. Printed silk scarf by Chester Martin. Sea horse brooch from Biba.

Flower embossed chocolate brown jacquard shirt by Jeff Banks. Long silk art deco scarf by Jacqmar. Flying eagle brooch from Biba.

Living up to a reputation

For some years now the London fashion designers have had the edge on their Paris rivals for ideas and innovations. Tomorrow evening a film on this subject will be shown on BBC1. Today we photograph the key London designers with their favourite clothes. What do they think of the London fashion scene? Where do we go from here?

Photographed by Terence Donovan. Fashion by Cherry Twiss.

Scanned from The Telegraph Magazine, May 25th 1973.

Zandra Rhodes originally trained as a textile designer; she began designing clothes in 1968. She does not have her own retail shop; her fabulous creations are made to order and sell through the big stores. “I think fashion in London is like a sea with lots of little islands, lots of different looks. I am my own couture island,” she says. “I don’t like committing myself to any one collection. I like adding to it as my ideas come along.” Pat Cleveland, top American model, is wearing Zandra’s “off-the-shoulder lily dress” .of printed grey and cream chiffon with satin-backed bodice and embroidery. From Piero de Monzi, 70 Fulham Road, SW3.

Mary Quant, photographed with her husband Alexander Plunkett-Green, became famous in 1955 when she opened the first “Bazaar” shop in the King’s Road, Chelsea. Now her business includes linen, make-up, tights and dolls as well as clothes, all bearing the unmistakable Quant touch. Of current London fashion she says: “I think the mood is classic, and I love it.” Amanda, a model who typifies Mary’s look, wears trousers, striped pullover and co-ordinating jacket, all in an angora and polyester mixture, and a pure silk shirt. Mary chose this outfit because “it is the epitome of my new collection -the best of everything. Modern classics in the right colours, subtle soft fabrics, elegance, chic – the sort of outfit you want to live in.” From Mary Quant’s new autumn collection, available in September.

Designer Jean Muir with Harry Lockart, her husband and business manager. She started the firm which bears her name in 1966; her distinctive clothes are available at all the major stores. Says Harry Lockart: “The London fashion scene has tremendous potential and on the design side is moving marvellously. It must need organising very professionally along Paris lines, with proper collection weeks, at times that do not clash, so that buyers can see everything.” Joanna Lumley is wearing an olive green two-tiered silk jersey dress described by Jean as “one of my favourites”. About £75 from Lucienne Phillips, 69 Knightsbridge, SW3, or Brown’s, South Molton Street, W1 . Jade necklace by Jean Muir, £15. Shoes, £24, by Charles Jourdan, 47 Brompton Road, SW3. Tights, Elle.

Designer John Bates (left) with John Siggins, Director who handles Publicity, Press and External Contracts. John Bates started the firm of Jean Varon in 1959; he thinks that “fashion in London is no different from anywhere else; but it is only just recently that it has been taken seriously”. Kellie, who is one of John Bates’s favourite models, is wearing a Tricel surah dress in a print by Sally McLaughlan exclusive to John Bates. About £55 from Dickins & Jones, Regent Street, W1 ; Barkers, Kensing-ton High Street, W8; Bentalls of Kingston; Kendal Milne of Manchester. Hat made to order by Frederick Fox, 26 Brook Street, W1.

Christopher McDonnell started his career early in 1967 and now sells his designs at his famous shop in South Molton Street. He thinks London is the most exciting place for evening wear, “but until the factories learn how to cope technically with good ideas for day clothes, the rest of Europe will remain ahead of us in this field.” The model is Ika, who, says Christopher, can interpret any look. She is wearing a cream silk suit with short skirt, £33 from Christopher McDonnell, 45 South Molton Street, W1 . White silk turban £9.50 from George Malyard, 3 King Street, WI. Bangles and choker from Emeline, 45 Beauchamp Place, SW3.

Designer Bill Gibb started out on his own in 1969 and was voted “Designer of the Year” in 1970. He now has a wholesale firm, and in fashion feels that “everybody makes a different sort of contribution”. Asha Puthli, singer and actress is wearing a peach double satin jacket and halter top embroidered and edged with black leather, and Lurex pleated skirt. About £200 from Chic of Hampstead, Heath Street, NW3, or Chases, Bond Street, Wl. Shoes £14.95 by Chelsea Cobbler, 33 Sackville Street, W1 . Tights by Echo. Alice Ormsby-Gore is wearing a plain and printed grey Lurex skirt and sequin embroidered top, £128. Turban by Diane Logan to order. All from Lucienne Phillips, or ZigZag, 100 New Bond Street, Wl. Shoes £14.95 from Chelsea Cobbler. Tights by Echo.

Inspirational Illustrations: After the Act

One of the many interesting things about a steadily growing magazine collection is that you start to identify original source images for illustrations. I imagine that Mr John Storey never imagined that anyone would remember a single photo of Ika Hindley in Cosmopolitan from a year earlier, even less that someone yet-to-be-born would later scan and connect the two images.

Illustration by John Storey. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Honey, December 1974.

Ika Hindley in Cosmopolitan, 1973

From the same spread in Cosmopolitan as the Gabrielle Drake post, and eagle-eyed readers might recall that we have seen Ika Hindley before… There are still a few beauties to come, but I decided they were all worthy of their own post.

The spread was styled by Deirdre McSharry and she is really speaking my sartorial language. Dress by Annacat, shoes by Chelsea Cobbler and hat by Sarah Frearson. Make-up is by Pierre LaRoche (Bowie’s make-up artist and also for the Rocky Horror Picture Show) for Helena Rubenstein.

Cosmopolitan, June 1973. Photographed by David Montgomery. Scanned by Miss Peelpants.

“She arrived in the studio like an early Garbo, plain and drab. One hour and much make-up later she is fashion’s own superstar”.

Ouch.

Inspirational Images: The lady is a vamp

Photo by Richard Imrie. Cosmopolitan. Cosmo Tells All. July, 1972

Ika Hindley is the twenty-three year old temporarily red-haired model who out-acts Bernhardt or Garbo on the catwalk. Give her a dress and she gives it soul. When wearing Bill Gibb’s vamp dress at his headline-making launch collection, BBC cameramen filmed a three-minute take of Ika doing her number. “I’m hoping it will get me into films. Underneath all this pink paint there’s a frustrated actress,” says Ika who takes voice, dancing and singing lessons. All of which give her catwalk appearance extra oomph. And oomph is what Bill Gibb’s clothes have in plenty. Film star Twiggy and actress Irene Worth are favourite customers of the shy Scottish lad with the special fashion flair.