The surnames Foale and Tuffin are often mentioned in association with popular labels from the "Swinging London" scene such as Mary Quant, Gerald McCann, John Bates's Jean Varon, Ossie Clark, John Stephen and Barbara Hulanicki.
All these labels and designers operated a genuine fashion revolution, that "youthquake" that had sociocultural implications and was analysed in many volumes and essays out there.
Deciding they didn't want to go and work for a fashion company that didn't put its heart into its business, after graduating from Walthamstow Art School and studying at the Royal College of Art under Janey Ironside, Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin set up their own business in 1961.
The two friends first started selling the dresses, tops and skirts they made in their South Kensington flat in department stores, and, in 1962, borrowed a small sum of money (£200) and opened their own boutique on Carnaby Street, attracted by the low rents and West End location.
The boutique was a sort of small showroom entirely dedicated to young people, a cultural space in which music, style and fashion met.
Tuffin and Foale became known for curtain lace dress suits, bicycle dresses, prints inspired by Pop and Op art, but also Art Deco, and for their slim fitted trouser suits that, sold for as little as 19 guineas, appealed to both young and mature customers, becoming an iconic key piece in the wardrobe of many women.
TV shows and films had an enormous impact on fashion at the time: fashion icon and trendsetter Cathy McGowan once presented the show Ready, Steady, Go, in a Foale and Tuffin design, favouring it over Biba's, and the two designers and friends collaborated on several films, among them also Jack Smight's Kaleidoscope (1966), designing coats and suits for actress Susannah York, starring in the role of Angel McGinnis.
The history of Foale and Tuffin is currently being rediscovered thanks to an exhibition that opened last weekend.
The retrospective event "Foale and Tuffin - Made in England" currently on at the London-based Fashion and Textile Museum (FTM) traces back the history of the two fashion designers from their early start in 1962 until 1972, recreating in the museum rooms the design duo's boutique, showroom and studio.
Apart from being an interesting introduction to the world of these two designers, the exhibition also makes you ponder a bit about the state of fashion (and creativity) nowadays.
Foale and Tuffin are indeed still in the creative business: the former is a knitwear designer, while the latter is a ceramicist.
To mark the exhibition the designers created a series of products - among them small accessories, T-shirts and vases - available only from the FTM shop.
The exhibition is also accompanied by a volume by Iain R. Webb that allows passionate fashion readers to rediscover the history of this seminal design duo.
"Foale and Tuffin" will be on until February 2010, so you have plenty of time to visit it, or maybe plan your personal rediscovery of 'Made in England' fashion over the Christmas holidays.
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