Susan Small (fashion)

Last updated

Susan Small was a British ready-to-wear fashion label, best known for their party dresses and evening wear. Their colourful printed evening dresses often combined "contrasting elements of exotic prints on simple shapes or traditional fabrics". [1]

Susan Small was founded by Leslie Carr Jones in the early 1940s. In 1943, Maureen Baker joined as head designer, and stayed in that role until the company closed and she started Maureen Baker Designs in 1978. [2]

In 1947, Susan Small joined forces with other fashion design companies including Horrockses and Polly Peck to form the Model House Group, in order to be able to attract more buyers to larger shows. In 1950, their advertising featured the slogan, "To the smaller smart woman ... it's a Susan Small world!" [1] In 1953, Brian Duffy, later to find fame as a photographer and film producer, joined as an assistant designer, having studied dress design at Saint Martin's School of Art. [3]

In 1958, Model House Group became the Fashion House Group in 1958, headed by Carr Jones. [2] In the 1970s they were bought by Courtaulds. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dior</span> French fashion company

Christian Dior SE, commonly known as Dior, is a French multinational luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. Dior holds 42.36% shares and 59.01% of voting rights within LVMH.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Williamson</span> English fashion and interior designer

Matthew Williamson is an interior designer known for his use of bold, colourful and carefully constructed designs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claire McCardell</span> American fashion designer (1905-1958)

Claire McCardell was an American fashion designer of ready-to-wear clothing in the twentieth century. She is credited with the creation of American sportswear.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Trigère</span> American fashion designer

Pauline Trigère was a Franco-American couturière. Her award-winning styles reached their height of popularity in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s. Recognized early in her career as an innovator of cut and construction, Trigère brought to women of all ages all over the world such novelties as the jumpsuit, the sleeveless coat, the reversible cape and the embroidered sheer bodice. She reinvented ready-to-wear fashion, matching form to function with bold prints and architectural silhouettes to create a distinctly modern female aesthetic. Trigère's loyal clients included Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Kay Wiebrecht, and Evelyn Lauder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1930–1945 in Western fashion</span> Costume and fashion from the 1930s to the end of World War II

The most characteristic North American fashion trend from the 1930s to 1945 was attention at the shoulder, with butterfly sleeves and banjo sleeves, and exaggerated shoulder pads for both men and women by the 1940s. The period also saw the first widespread use of man-made fibers, especially rayon for dresses and viscose for linings and lingerie, and synthetic nylon stockings. The zipper became widely used. These essentially U.S. developments were echoed, in varying degrees, in Britain and Europe. Suntans became fashionable in the early 1930s, along with travel to the resorts along the Mediterranean, in the Bahamas, and on the east coast of Florida where one can acquire a tan, leading to new categories of clothes: white dinner jackets for men and beach pajamas, halter tops, and bare midriffs for women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fashion design</span> Art of applying design and aesthetics to clothing and accessories

Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates clothing, including dresses, suits, pants, and skirts, and accessories like shoes and handbags, for consumers. He or she can specialize in clothing, accessory, or jewelry design, or may work in more than one of these areas."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Kane</span> Scottish fashion designer

Christopher John Kane is a Scottish fashion designer based in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise Chéruit</span> French fashion designer

Louise Chéruit, also known as Madame Chéruit and often erroneously called Madeleine Chéruit, was a French fashion designer. She was among the foremost couturiers of her generation, and one of the first women to control a major French fashion house. Her salon operated at Place Vendôme in Paris under the name Chéruit from 1906 to 1935. She is best remembered today as the subject of a number of portraits by Paul César Helleu and for the appearance of her name in two celebrated works of literature, Marcel Proust's Remembrance of Things Past (1910) and Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies (1930). Her name is also frequently associated with the fashion photography of Edward Steichen, whose favorite model, Marion Morehouse, often wore gowns from the house of Chéruit for Vogue magazine in the 1920s. One particular Steichen image has become iconic – Morehouse in a jet-beaded black net Chéruit dress, first published in 1927.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yves Saint Laurent (fashion house)</span> French fashion house

Yves Saint Laurent SAS, also known as Saint Laurent and YSL, is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1962 by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The company specializes in haute couture, ready-to-wear, leather accessories, and footwear. Its cosmetics line, YSL Beauty, is owned by L'Oréal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Som</span> Chinese American fashion designer (born 1970)

Peter Som is a Chinese American fashion designer. He was creative director for Bill Blass and creative consultant for Tommy Hilfiger, where he designed the women’s wear collection, prior to founding his eponymous label. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Peter Som graduated from Connecticut College in 1993 with a degree in art history. He continued his studies at the Parsons School of Design where he apprenticed with American designers, Michael Kors and Calvin Klein. At Parsons, his talent was recognized through competitions; he won and was presented with the Parsons Gold Thimble Award by Isaac Mizrahi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giles Deacon</span> British fashion designer

Giles David Deacon is a British fashion designer, Creative Director and Founder of Giles Deacon group, a fashion enterprise. Deacon joined the Paris Fashion Week in 2016. Deacon has been known to challenge the traditional ideas of womenswear and often uses wild prints and pop culture references in his designs. Deacon was employed by the fashion houses Bottega Veneta and Gucci, before founding his own label, GILES, in 2003. He launched his first collection for GILES at the 2004 London Fashion Week and was named "Best New Designer" at the British Fashion Awards.

Basso & Brooke is a fashion label formed by Bruno Basso and Christopher Brooke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Flora</span>

House of Flora is an established British fashion label and design house founded by designer Flora McLean.

Princess Anne has been married twice, in 1973 and 1992:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Fogarty</span> American fashion designer (1919–1980)

Anne Fogarty was an American fashion designer, active 1940–1980, who was noted for her understated, ladylike designs that were accessible to American women on a limited income. She started out as a model in New York in 1939, working for Harvey Berin on Seventh Avenue, before studying fashion design. She eventually secured a full-time design job in 1948, and became well-known for full-skirted designs with fitted bodices, inspired by Dior's New Look.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maureen Baker (fashion designer)</span> British fashion designer

Evelyn Maureen Baker was a British fashion designer. She was the chief designer for the Susan Small label for many years, before working for her own label. She is perhaps best known as the designer of the first wedding dress of Princess Anne.

Maison Margiela, formerly Maison Martin Margiela, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Belgian designer Martin Margiela and Jenny Meirens in 1988 and headquartered in Paris. The house produces both haute couture-inspired artisanal collections and ready-to-wear collections, with the former influencing the designs of the latter. Product lines include womenswear, menswear, fine jewelry, footwear, accessories, leather goods, objects, fragrance, and home goods, among others. Known for deconstructive and avant-garde designs with unconventional materials, Maison Margiela has traditionally held live shows in unusual settings, for example empty metro stations and street corners. Models' faces are often obscured by fabric or long hair to direct attention to the clothes and design. Margiela resigned as creative designer in 2009 and John Galliano was appointed to the role in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Opening Ceremony (brand)</span> American clothing brand

Opening Ceremony is a fashion brand founded in 2002 by Carol Lim and Humberto Leon. The brand designs and creates its own products and also retails other emerging fashion labels, and is known for exotic runway shows and advocating global issues. During the COVID-19 pandemic the company announced it would close all its physical stores. Opening Ceremony was one of the first retail shops to carry Havaianas and Topshop products, and has carried Alexander Wang, Comme Des Garcons, Proenza Schouler and Rodarte.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heidi Weisel</span> American fashion designer (c.1961-2021)

Heidi Weisel was an American fashion designer. She was the founder and head of design for Heidi Weisel, a New York City-based women's luxury brand. Weisel's signature was creating modern, timeless evening wear with the simplicity and ease of sportswear. She was known for her unexpected mix of fabrics, often incorporating knitted cashmere, silk chiffon, silk satin, lace, tulle, and leather. A Heidi Weisel chiffon and lace design is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Weisel was a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Estévez</span> American fashion designer

Luis Estévez was a Cuban-born American fashion designer and costume designer, active between 1951 until 1997. According to the New York Times, "Luis Estevez always did make a lady look like a vamp", known for his high slits, slinky dresses and dramatic necklines.

References

  1. 1 2 gracesguide.co.uk: Susan Small, accessdate: 17/08/2014
  2. 1 2 3
    Vintage Fashion Guild : Label Resource : Small, Susan, accessdate: 17/08/2014
  3. duffyphotographer.com: Biography, accessdate: 17/08/2014