Fashion takes enormous strides forward in 20th century Britain.
From the Tudor court to the Georgian dandy, Britain has long cultivated a passion for fashion, but the late 20th century saw things step up a gear. New generations of talent emerged, whose idiosyncratic style democratised fashion for a younger crowd and helped sell ‘Cool Britannia’ to the world - long before that term was coined. In the 1960s, progress was catalysed by the ‘Swinging London’ of Biba and Mary Quant, followed by the Punk movement a decade later. Designers drew inspiration not just from contemporary subcultures but also from established craft traditions across the UK – in some cases helping to revive cottage industries at risk of dying out. The dawn of the 1980s saw the rise of avant-garde pioneers (Zandra Rhodes, Vivienne Westwood), reimagined Savile Row tailoring (Tommy Nutter) and the upscale yet quintessentially British chic of Jean Muir and Bruce Oldfield – a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales, who gifted British fashion a truly global platform.
