Purple and Orange jacket with miniskirt – Biba
Single-breasted, waisted jacket with A-line miniskirt in vibrant print, cotton, 1967. Kaleidoscopic colours and mesmerising patterns became popular in the mid-to-late 1960s, inspired by the heightened and distorted perception of LSD trips.
William Morris print Jacket – Granny Takes a Trip
Single-breasted fitted jacket, cotton, 1966–67, label reads: Granny Takes A Trip; The World’s End. A number of celebrities, including George Harrison and Ossie Clark, wore a jacket with this William Morris print. The choice of a Morris fabric reflects the Counterculture’s nostalgia for a pastoral past, their rejection of mass consumerism and their yearning for an anti-technological age such as that embraced by the Arts and Crafts movement in the late 19th century.
Military Jacket – I was Lord Kitchener’s Valet
Late 19th/early 20th century grenadier guardsman drummer’s jacket with epaulettes, Fleur de Lis braid, and silver buttons, as worn by Mick Jagger for a performance on Ready Steady Go in 1966. The irreverent wearing of military clothing by the young generation became an anti-establishment statement.
Brocade Suit – Hung On You
Brocade, 1966–67, label reads: Hung On You á Londres. Single-breasted striped, jacket with wide lapels, worn with matching trousers. Rich fabrics such as brocade, popular in the early nineteenth-century Regency period, also appealed to the 1960s King’s Road dandy who wanted to wear rich tactile fabrics that reflected the heightened perception induced by the psychedelic experience.
Green Crushed Velvet Suit – Tommy Nutter
Single-breasted jacket and wide-legged trouser suit, velvet 1976. In the mid-1970s, Nutter launched a new venture, reworking classic 1930s tailoring to create modern pieces that used fabrics, patterns and scale in innovative ways. Many celebrities frequented the House of Nutter, including the Beatles, who, with the exception of George Harrison, all wore Tommy Nutter suits when crossing the Abbey Road as immortalised on the cover of the album released by Apple Records in September 1969.
Tunic – Mr Fish
Wool, 1969, label reads: Mr Fish 17 Clifford Street London W1. Swashbuckling tunic with curved panel seams, necklacing and full sleeves. Mick Jagger wore a similar style Mr Fish white tunic dress with peplum skirt and bishop sleeves when the Stones performed in Hyde Park, two days after the death of Brian Jones on 3 July 1969.
Velvet patchwork jacket and skirt – Catherine Buckley
The jacket fastens with fabric loops and buttons. The skirt is gathered to a waistband and has a frill hem. The jacket and skirt are both made from vintage fabric by designer Catherine Buckley. The discovery of a selection of old jacquard fabrics destined for curtains and wall hangings inspired her to create unique garments from surprising fabrics dating back to 1905–15 as testified by the garment labels.
Chinoiserie print trousers and jacket – Ossie Clark
1968, Satin, label reads: Ossie Clark Made in London, England, Print by Celia Birtwell. The ensemble modelled by Amanda Lear and shown at the Revolution Club show in 1968. The jacket has a plunging neckline and fastens with one single button. Celia Birtwell drew on Art Deco forms and offbeat colours such as prune, dead-rose, saffron and myriad blues to create bold, romantic and feminine prints that balanced colour and space.