still life in food and fashion: Exhibition

Today I decided to go to the Gallery of Costume which is located on the corner of Wilmslow Road and Platt Lane, in Platt Fields Park, Rusholme, South Manchester. The Gallery of Costume houses one of the largest collections of clothing and fashion accessories in Britain, containing over 20,000 items. The collection contains clothes worn by men, women and children from the 17th century to the present day.

Ossie Clark, a British fashion genius, 1967-1977

Thursday 30 January – Sunday 29 June 2014

A retrospective for one of the most influential of British designers of the later 1960s and 1970s. Renowned for his fluid lines and unsurpassed cut, Ossie Clark also used the creative and cutting edge prints of his wife, Celia Birtwell. The Gallery will showcase 25 outfits from the height of his career, many acquired very recently.

Who is Ossie Clark?

Raymond "Ossie" Clark was an English fashion designer who was a major figure in the Swinging Sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era. Clark is now renowned for his vintage designs by present-day designers. Clark is compared to the 1960s fashion great Biba and influenced many other designers, including Yves Saint Laurent, Anna Sui andTom Ford. Manolo Blahnik has said of Ossie Clark's work: "He created an incredible magic with the body and achieved what fashion should do — produce desire." Ossie Clark and Ossie Clark for Radley clothes are highly sought after, and are worn by well known models like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell.

1960s

The history of handbags

As I weaved through tourists and exhibits I came across the An Age of Accessories exhibit which included some incredible hats. Sadly most of the pieces were of unknown designers but those that were labelled boasted origin from some of the Europe’s finest: Dior, Vivienne Westwood and Balenciaga. My favourite, however, was a small straw hat decorated with smaller straw hats by London’s Stephen Jones. Call me kitsch.