Ossie Clark almost got me fired. It was the Eighties, and I was working at The Sunday Times Magazine.
The iconic Seventies designer who made the romantic, floral uniform of the hippy both mainstream and high end, who gave us the most beautiful, fluid, ethereal clothes in the world, had been interviewed for the magazine.
I was editing the piece and was eager to do a good job. ‘I know,’ I thought. ‘I will send Mr Clark the piece so he can check all the facts are correct.’ I phoned him up, and he gave me his fax number. I remember standing by the fax machine, congratulating myself for being so thorough.
Ossie Clarke was the iconic Seventies designer who gave us the most beautiful, fluid, ethereal clothes in the worldThe next day, I was called into the deputy editor’s office. His face was dark as thunder. ‘Why did you fax Ossie Clark his interview?’
‘I wanted to make sure it was all correct,’ I replied.
It turned out Mr Clark was not pleased with the less-than-flattering piece, and had slapped an injunction on the magazine. The piece never ran and I was lucky to keep my job. After that I could never bring myself to wear Ossie.
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It is a shame, though. As a new exhibition of the man and his work goes on show, it’s clear Clark was as influential in how we all dress today as Yves Saint Laurent, and then some.
In fact, Debenhams has just launched a new Ossie line — the latest of many reincarnations of his brand. For this range, the original Ossie Clark backer, Al Radley, hired a new designer, Nicolas Georgiou — who cut his teeth at Rifat Ozbek, Katharine Hamnett and Vivienne Westwood — and has made available to him Ossie’s entire back catalogue, including sketches and patterns that have never been made before.
Debenhams has just launched a new Ossie line - the latest of many reincarnations of his brandSo why has this designer had such an enduring influence? Well, Ossie always designed for women, not little girls, and he almost single-handedly brought the whimsical maxi dress into fashion, worn with a floppy hat and floaty scarf.
Born in 1942 to a working-class family, after graduating from the Royal College of Art he went to work for Alice Pollock in 1965, who had opened a boutique called Quorum, on Radnor Walk, off the King’s Road in London.
DID YOU KNOW?Ossie Clark features in David Hockney’s 1970 painting Mr And Mrs Clark And Percy
He married print designer Celia Birtwell in 1968, and it was their collaboration — his romantic vision, her quirky, prints — that made the clothes so unique, beloved of celebrities from Bianca Jagger to Twiggy and Marianne Faithfull.
But then it all started to go wrong. He parted company with Pollock in 1973, and his marriage ended a year later. Plagued by drug and alcohol abuse, attempts to resurrect his career failed. Bankrupt and forgotten, he was murdered by his gay ex-lover in 1996.
Ossie Clark is important because he gave us so many firsts: patterned trousers, clashing prints, billowy bishop sleeves, harem pants, snake print … the list goes on.
More importantly, though, he was not a body fascist; his couture line featured a dress called cuddly, a wraparound design that meant it could accommodate size fluctuations.
As Birtwell remarked: ‘Plump women felt pretty in [his designs]. His dresses were never vulgar or rude, they were man magnets.’
Most revolutionary of all was that he gave us the idea of high-end designers collaborating with a High Street store to make fashion affordable.
Liz's pick of the best: (L) Angel dress, £129, (R) Dorchester dress, £129(both available from Debenhams next month)It was Al Radley’s idea to adapt Ossie’s designs for a cheaper market. Clark embraced this wheeze, using a ‘Floating Daisy’ print, with a large floral motif, which made it easier to adapt in cheaper garments.
In 1970, his designer maxi dress would cost £140; the Radley range was £30. Suddenly, everyone was wearing Ossie.
Bright and beautiful: Twiggy wearing an Ossie fur coat wellThe new Ossie Clark London label carries on that innovation of democratising fashion, with prices for a chiffon dress with jersey lining at just under £150, and sizes going up to 18.
But it’s a challenge, resurrecting an icon, and I ask Georgiou how on Earth he has done it. ‘The fabrics are new, they contain elastane, which makes everything more comfortable, and the colours are brighter,’ he says.
Has he been able to use Birtwell’s prints? ‘We haven’t. Celia is very much alive and collaborating with Uniqlo, for example, so we have commissioned new young designers.’
But this reborn Ossie collection does have one secret weapon up its voluminous sleeve: pattern cutter Anthony Weaver, the son of Gordon Weaver, who was Ossie Clark’s pattern cutter for his entire career. ‘The new clothes have Ossie in their DNA,’ adds Georgiou.
If you need convincing, listen to Twiggy, whose picture is on the wall at the new exhibition. She once told me that of all the designer clothes in her wardrobe, it’s the Ossie Clarks her daughter steals to wear. They are truly timeless, and ageless. I’m almost ready to forgive him.
Ossie Clark: The King Of The King’s Road Reigns Again, Proud Chelsea, on now until March 10, 2013, proud.co.ukOssie Clark London is available in 45 Debenhams stores or online at debenhams.com and ossieclarklondon.co.uk
