Fashion styles of '40s and '50s

Best known for its full-skirted dresses that were sought after by women everywhere and were even worn by Queen Elizabeth II, Horrockses Fashions was the manufacturer of one of the most respected ready-to-wear labels of the 1940s and 1950s. From 9th July – 24th October 2010 the Fashion and Textile Museum will showcase Horrockses Fashions – off the peg style in the ‘40s and ‘50s.

This new exhibition draws together fashion photography, archive material, personal stories and dresses from private and public collections to tell the story of the company, its role in post-war British fashion and the link between couture and ready-to-wear clothes over these two decades. The exhibition will look to recapture the feeling of that bygone age where a post-war Britain began to feel anything was possible.

Through the wealth of materials available, this exhibition explores the links between manufacturing, design, and the emergence of ‘brands’ and how smart and targeted selling and advertising helped shape the customer relationship with Horrockses. For example, it is no accident that the photography in Horrockses adverts often echoed the photography used in up market fashion magazines to promote couture gowns.

The brand survived until 1983 but this exhibition focuses on its heyday in the ‘40s and ‘50s. It is also accompanied by a book of the same name by the curator Christine Boydell and published by V&A publishing.