The sale in Bermondsey is offering pieces not only designed by two of the leading fashion and textile designers of the 20th century, but taken from Birtwell's own personal archive.
Some of them are one-offs made for her alone. At the age of just 13, she qualified for Salford Art School. She first met her husband-to-be Ossie Clark, who was studying fashion at the Regional College of Art, in Manchester in 1959. Birtwell moved to London in 1961 and Clark followed her to study fashion at the Royal College of Art in 1962.
Their first commercial design collaboration began in 1965 at 'Quorum' - Alice Pollock's trendy boutique in Chelsea. Clark joined Quorum as designer and partner and Pollock commissioned Birtwell to design a fabric range for the shop. Birtwell became his muse as well as colleague and in 1969 they were married.
Pictured here is an early Ossie Clark 'Hoopla' jersey mini-dress, c.1965, estimated at £400-600.
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