London Society Fashion 1905-1925: The Wardrobe of Heather Firbank - Hardcover

Lister, Jenny; Strodder-Davis, Cassie; Taylor, Lou

4.33

36 ratings by Goodreads

9781851778317: London Society Fashion 1905-1925: The Wardrobe of Heather Firbank

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1851778314 ISBN 13: 9781851778317

Publisher: V&A, 2015

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'The V&A is an invaluable resource for costume designers. I was fortunate to be able to look at some of the clothes in the Heather Firbank collection when I was researching for the first series of Downton Abbey - these were fine examples and particularly relevant.' Susannah Buxton, EMMY award-winning costume designer for Downton Abbey (Series 1 & 2) Over 80 years ago, Heather Firbank packed away her extensive collection of fine clothes, bought from London's very best dressmakers and tailors. These treasures lay undiscovered for the next 30 years, until after her death, they were given to the V&A, laying the foundations for the Museum's world-famous collection. Firbank was an enthusiastic shopper and bought her clothes from the world's leading couture houses, including Lucile, Redfern and Mascotte, as well as private dressmakers and department stores. Her collection forms an invaluable record of fashionable Edwardian taste over a period of some 15 years. Beautifully illustrated with new photography of finely crafted evening gowns, tailored suits and glamorous hats, the book also features contemporary photographs and pages from Heather's own albums of fashion cuttings. It vividly maps out the London couture scene of Edwardian Britain, and charts changes in fashion through the tumultuous first decades of the twentieth century. Through the story of Heather's own life, both joyous and troubled, this book celebrates the central role of clothing in creating a single woman's identity.

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Review:

Through Firbank's exquisitely refined wardrobe, it is possible to trace the evolution of fashion, from the ultra-feminine modes of the Edwardian era, via the increasingly slim and stream-lined silhouette of 1912 and 1913, to the flapper frocks of the emancipated Jazz Age...Part fashion history, part social history and part biography, it expertly weaves together various threads to illuminate the intriguing tale of a life of privilege and promise that ended in loneliness and frustration. --Country Life Magazine

From the Author:

Jenny Lister and Cassie Davies-Strodder are curators in the Furniture, Textiles and Fashion department at the V&A. Lou Taylor is Professor of Dress and Textile History at the University of Brighton.

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