With the Selvedge Fair in Bath on the horizon we asked Elaine Uttley, Collection Manager at the Fashion Museum, Bath to select a folk-inspired garment from their collection. Here Elaine tells us about an ensemble designed by Bill Gibb and chosen by Beatrix Miller of Vogue Magazine as the Fashion Museum’s (formerly the Museum of Costume) Dress of the Year for 1970.

The ensemble is a bellsleeved flower print blouse and knitted waistcoat teamed with a floor-length sweeping sunray pleated tartan skirt with a wide stripe of contrasting floral printed denim inserted a few inches above the hem. The hand-knitted Fair Isle style waistcoat is by American born designer and life-long friend and collaborator of Gibb, Kaffe Fassett. Gibb himself was Scottish – from the furthest north-eastern reaches of Scotland – and Fassett had taken up knitting following a visit to a local woollen mill with Gibb.

Bill Gibb’s unique vision and hallmark combination

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of bold prints and textures made him one of the most important influences on British fashion during the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was hugely excited by the dressing-up box appearance of the emerging hippie generation and inspired by his travels. A fascination since boyhood with costume and the historical past created his own ground-breaking designs that continue to resonate today.

I love this quote by Beatrix Miller, Editor of British Vogue Magazine from 19641985, ‘Bill Gibb captures the essence of change with his blending of pattern, print and texture. The folkloric feeling is strong, fabrics used have deep association; tartan and Fair Isle and the long sweeping pleats and laced sleeveless waistcoat have early origins,’. It sums up the complete break with the modish fashions of the 1960s and the cultural shift that signified the birth of the 1970s. Selvedge Fair, Bath, UK, The Tea Room, The Assembly Rooms, Bennett Street, Bath, BA1 2QH, Saturday 30 March 2019, 11-5PM, www.selvedge.org