14 Saville Row, London, W1
I’ve no idea whether the Queen’s designer ever created nightgowns for her Majesty, but I am sure that if he had, they would have been very stylish. Not chic you understand because Hardy Amies despised chic as being too much of the present, whereas, as we all know, style is eternal.
An intelligence office during World War II, Hardy Amies set up shop in post war Britian chosing an uninhabitable mansion in Saville Row (where else?) where Sheridan had once lived. His early financial backers included Virginia Cherrill (once married to Cary Grant) and despite the post war regulation of, for example, the number of pleats on a skirt, built a reputation which lead to him becoming designer to Princess Elizabeth, later Her Majesty the Queen. He is said to have disliked the mini skirt, so it’s difficult to imagine what he would have though of grunge.
Why do I mention this? Anyone interested in fashion will be fascinated by the Hardy Amies archive, which has been opened at 14 Saville Row in London, to celebrate what would have been Amies’ 100th birthday. Entrance is free, but by appointment only.
