I love the title the French awarded in the ‘70s to Jean Muir, ‘la nouvelle Reine de la Robe’, as I think it perfectly defines her.
Born in 1922 in London by Scottish parents, Muir worked for Liberty on Regent Street while attending fashion illustration evening classes at St Martins School of Art. She then joined Jaeger and started her first solo venture Jane & Jane, before launching in 1966 Jean Muir Ltd.
Defining herself as a dressmaker more than a fashion designer, she became known for producing feminine clothes characterised by great tailoring skills, vivid colours (though her signature navy blue and black were her favourites), razor-sharp detailing and a great attention to fabrics, such as her trademark matte jersey and wools, silks, suedes, leather and fine cashmere.
Championing British manufacturers, Muir designed fluid dresses for ordinary women, not for idealized women. In a way, you could argue, she wasn’t really into fashion, but into style as most of her creations are timeless and won her many famous admirers, among them also Manolo Blahnik, Jean Paul Gaultier, Issey Miyake and Giorgio Armani.
Ten years after her death, in 2005, her widower Harry Leuckert donated Muir’s collection of over 18,000 items to the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh. 
Leuckert hoped with his donation – deemed the biggest archive of a fashion designer in any museum in the world – to inspire young designers, but, from Friday 7th November, highlights from the collection will inspire also ordinary people as they will be on display in Edinburgh for the very first time.
The exhibition “Jean Muir: A Fashion Icon”, curated by Kristina Stankovski, will indeed feature garments, sketches, accessories, catwalk footage and fashion photography that will allow visitors to discover the designer’s universe, her techniques and creations. Apart from including 30 garments dated from 1962 until the time of Muir’s death, the exhibition will also focus on Muir’s working methods. Through her sketches visitors will get an idea of how Muir worked and developed her researches into design. The exhibition will also be accompanied by a programme of events that will start in November.
As background preparation to this exhibition you can read the illustrated volume Jean Muir: Beyond Fashion by Sinty Stemp which is definitely one of the best books around about the art of this very special "dressmaker".
“Jean Muir: A Fashion Icon”, National Museums of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh, 7 November 2008 – 15 March 2009. Open daily 10am-5pm. Admission free.
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