The Last Couture House of Britain

Whenever I hear the word ‘couture’, I immediately think of Dior, Chanel, Lacroix – an age-old artform stemming from Paris.  But this year marks the 60th anniversary of Hardy Amies who opened his couture house on the famed Savile Row in London in 1946 and remains the last true couture house in Britian.  He was responsible for bringing Dior’s ‘New Look’ and became the dresser for the then Princess Elizabeth.  The house received its Royal Warrant in 1955.  This is not couture in that flamboyant, unwearable form but rather, it’s about elegant tailoring of the highest quality to suit the specificiation and needs of the wearer whilst retaining a firm artistic rein on the outcome of the piece.

These pictures showing Hardy Amies ‘now and then’ couture pieces illustrates the timelessness of their pieces:

Sir Hardy passed away in 2003 but left his couture house in the hands of his protege Ian Garlant who has updated the direction of the house as shown by their spring summer 2006 ready-to-wear collection – most of which I absolutely adore and would wear!  It seems to incorporate the modern, the classic and the elegant very well.  It also shows a range that I wouldn’t expect from a supposedly stiff and stuffy Savile Row couturier.

Hardy Amies’ sprit lives on not only in his couture house and his clothes but also in his very quotable quips on fashion:

‘A uniform will help you, as it did us in wartime, to feel a lot braver.’

‘In couture as in love, a good contrast is better than a bad match.’

‘Luxury lies not in riches, but in the absence of vulgarity.’

‘It is the most flamboyant clothes that should be worn with the greatest nochalence.’