Liverpool art gallery exhibits works of John Bates

13 May '14

2 min read

An exhibit celebrating the works of John Bates, the English fashion designer who was part of the boutique scene in 1960’s London, is currently going on at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

Dubbed as John Bates at Jean Varon, the display features some 12 ready-to-wear day as well as evening dresses, created sometime during the 1970s, from the designer’s Jean Varon label.

Sourced from private collectors and local people, who have been a fan of the designer, the exhibits include a 1973 printed rayon evening gown, featuring a ruffled V neckline and long sleeves, as well as a recreation of the iconic 1967 red velvet mini, which was worn by the lissom cropped haired teenage sensation in swinging sixties London, Twiggy, for Vogue’s photo shoot.

John Bates was one of the most innovative and influential young British designers of the 1960s and 1970s. Together with British fashion designers Mary Quant and Jean Muir, he produced clothes for the generation that created ‘Swinging London’.

Bates grabbed spotlight in 1965 when he designed a collection for actress Diana Rigg for her role in the television action series ‘The Avengers’. One of the major highlights of the range included a black leather catsuit.

Copies of the collection were sold in department stores across the country. By 1968, Bates was designing for other celebrities, including Cilla Black. His designs are still eagerly sought by collectors today and many remain as wearable now as when they were first created.

Swinging London was a youth-oriented fashion and cultural scene that flourished in the British capital in the 1960s.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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