Friday 20 November 2009

Foale and Tuffin - Made in England

Ok, I've been very lazy lately and haven't posted anything for days but the good news is that in the meantime I've secured a new job and I'm back into publishing, yayyyyyy!!!

To redeem myself, I'll talk to you about a fantastic exhibition I went to last weekend, Foale and Tuffin - Made in England. As I had to write an article for Luxsure, I peeled myself off the couch and braved the storm to walk to the Fashion and Textile Museum, based in Bermondsey.

Just a short digression about Bermondsey, I was quite amazed about how it's changed. Last time I went there, more than a year ago, it was to view a flat... Within 5 minutes, while I was waiting for the estate agent, a car crash and a spectacular arrest involving a dozen of police vans - those two events not being related - occurred. Right there, just before my eyes. After a little real estate humour moment, thanks to the agent - "well, at least, you can't say the place is not lively!" - I texted a friend who replied straightaway "What the hell are you doing in Bermondsey?? Run away for your life!". No need for him to say it twice! Well, I must say that Bermondsey street, where the museum is based, with its trendy shops and restaurants is now a place I definitely could see myself living in.

Anyway, back to the exhibition. The FTM is holding a retrospective of the work of Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin, two key British designers in the sixties. They graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1961, when the winds of change started to blow across the fashion industry. For ten years, they were it! Their shop on Malborough Court, just off Carnaby Street, the heart of the 'Swinging London', sold the full range of their line, colourful, pop inspired mini dresses, corduroy trousers suits, lace garments, etc. and established them as the 'Queens of Carnaby'.

The exhibition not only recreates the shop, but also Foale and Tuffin's showroom and workroom, with the original cutting tables, sewing machines and sample books. The whole experience is a very pleasant ballade down memory lane, surrounded by great tunes from the sixties.

Sixties nostalgics, Austin Powers' fans or simply fashion lovers, you don't want to miss this exhibition!

For the article on Luxsure, it's here.
Otherwise, for more information about the Fashion and Textile Museum and the exhibition, it's there.

CREDIT image reproduced from Foale & Tuffin - The Sixties. A Decade in Fashion published by ACC Publishing Group.

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