Esme Young

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Esme Young
Born
Esme A. Young

(1949-02-19) 19 February 1949 (age 76) [1]
Bedford, Bedfordshire
NationalityBritish
Education Central St Martins
OccupationFashion designer
Label Swanky Modes
Parent(s)Brian Pashley Young CB CBE , Patricia Cole

Esme Young (born 19 February 1949) is an English fashion designer and television presenter. [2] [3] Since 2016, she has been a judge on the BBC reality series The Great British Sewing Bee . [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Esme Young was born at Bedford Hospital, [1] the second of five children. [5] [3] Her father, Air Vice Marshal Brian Pashley Young CB CBE (1918–1992), was born in Natal, South Africa, [6] and was a career officer in the RAF. [5] He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1944, [7] a Commander of the same order in 1960, [8] and a Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1972. [9] In Series 8 of The Great British Sewing Bee , Young revealed that her father was captain of Wasps RFC in the 1950/51 season. Her mother, Patricia Josephine Cole, was a secretary who worked as a nurse during the Second World War. [3] [10]

Young attended the Convent of the Holy Ghost, Bedford, where she learnt to draw and to sew. [11] She went on to Saint Martins School of Art. [11] [3]

Career

Swanky Modes

In 1972, Young, along with fellow fashion designers Judy Dewsbury, Melanie Herberfield, and Willie Walters, founded a shop in Camden Town called Swanky Modes. [12] [13] [2] Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Swanky Modes clothing appeared in Vogue, Nova, Honey and The Face. [4] Their clothing was also photographed by Helmut Newton, David Bailey, Nick Knight, and John Swannell. [4]

Film and television

Young has made costumes for many films including The Beach, Bridget Jones' Diary, Romeo & Juliet and Trainspotting. [11] [14]

Since 2016, Young has been a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee . [4] One of Young's most famous designs was the 'Amorphous Dress' worn by Linda Kozlowski in the 1986 movie Crocodile Dundee ; a dress that is now in the V&A Collection. [15]

In December 2022, she was a contestant on Richard Osman’s House of Games . [16]

Academic career

She teaches at Central Saint Martins and is involved in a project called "Exploding Fashion" which highlights the importance of pattern cutting. [14] [17]

Writing

Young published her autobiography in 2022: Behind the Seams: My Life in Creativity, Friendship and Adventure from the star of the Great British Sewing Bee. [18] [19]

References

  1. 1 2 "Births" . Bedfordshire Times and Independent. 25 February 1949. p. 8. On 19 February 1949, at the Nursing Home, 34 Kimbolton Road, Bedford, to Patricia (née Cole), wife of Wing-Commander B. P. Young, a daughter
  2. 1 2 "The Great British Sewing Bee is back with a new judge – the woman who made Bridget Jones' bunny costume". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Young, Esme (2022). Behind the seams : my life in creativity, friendship and adventure. London. ISBN   978-1-78870-462-5. OCLC   1294284520.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Great British Sewing Bee: Judges". BBC. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  5. 1 2 "Obituaries". The Daily Telegraph . 29 July 1992. p. 18.
  6. ↑ "Up and Down the World" . Nottingham Guardian. 16 March 1961. p. 2.
  7. ↑ "No. 36544". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1944. p. 2582.
  8. ↑ "No. 42051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 3 June 1960. p. 3981.
  9. ↑ "No. 45678". The London Gazette (Supplement). 23 May 1972. p. 6257.
  10. ↑ "Flight Lieutenant Married" . Bedfordshire Times and Independent. 13 February 1942. p. 6.
  11. 1 2 3 Dunn, Karen. "Meet The Great British Sewing Bee's Esme Young". Gathered. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "Amorphous". V&A. 18 August 1977. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  13. ↑ "History". Swanky Modes Archive. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  14. 1 2 "Esme Young". United Agents. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  15. ↑ "Meet the Great British Sewing Bee's Esme Young".
  16. ↑ "BBC Two - Richard Osman's House of Games, Series 6, Week 14: Thursday". BBC. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "Team". Exploding Fashion. Central St Martins. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  18. ↑ Stephenson, Hannah (23 April 2022). "The Great British Sewing Bee's Esme Young on partying with David Bowie". The Herald Scotland. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  19. ↑ Christie, Janet (11 June 2022). "Esme Young, star of The Great British Sewing Bee goes behind the seams with her new book". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
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