Sir Hardy Amies
(1909 - March 2003) U.K.
Fashion designer
Although he seemed the archetypal English gentleman, Edwin Hardy Amies did not come from aristocratic stock. His father was an architect-surveyor and his mother a saleswoman at a Court-dressmaking establishment in Bond Street. Born in 1909 in Maida Vale, West London. Having left Brentwood School in Essex in 1927 and failed to win an open scholarship to Cambridge University, after the editor of the Daily Telegraph advised his father to send him abroad, he spent a few years in Germany and France.
Once back in the UK, his mother, who had inspired his early fashion interest with her passion for sewing and who had long worked as a salesclerk for a Court dressmaking establishment, introduced him to London couturier Lachasse where he landed his first job in 1934. His time at Lachasse was short-lived since the onset of WWII meant he left to serve in the British Intelligence and later with the Special Operations Executive.
 Hardy Amies set up own couture house in 1946. In 1950, he launched a ready-to-wear line and in 1959, menswear became part of his esteemed repertoire. His name was soon known around the world, with ties, belts and umbrellas being bought in Korea, Canada and Australia. He grew up to become of the most important names of British fashion, most notably remembered for dressing the Queen Elizabeth II for half a century.
Over his expansive career, Amies won numerous accolades and awards including the Harper's Bazaar Award in 1962, The Sunday Times Special Award in 1965, Haute Coutures Personality of the Year in Paris in 1986 and a Knighthood, as well as a place in the British Fashion Council Hall of Fame, in 1989. He wrote four books and also collaborated with rock star-turned-photographer Bryan Adams to create a photographic portfolio of his autumn/winter 2002 haute couture collection. Amies died at home at the age of 93.
|
