How did WWII austerity lead to the fashions of Hardy Amies & Norman Hartnell and what path did French couturiers take?
During WW II, with fabric rationed, Britain’s Utility Clothing Scheme and CC41 label ensured clothes were practical, affordable, and long-lasting. Frills vanished, replaced by efficient, waste-minimising designs. Yet creativity endured.
British couturiers Hardy Amies and Norman Hartnell brought elegance to austerity, pioneering well-cut, simple garments that paved the way for ready-to-wear fashion. In contrast, Christian Dior’s 1947 New Look, in France, rejected wartime restraint and embraced post-war opulence with full skirts and cinched waists. This divide between British utility and French luxury shaped post-war fashion.
The lecture examines how wartime necessity sparked innovation, proving that, even under restriction, fashion adapts and thrives.
Images (from the Imperial War Museum, courtesy of the lecturer):
Fashion in a Time of War & CC41 Utility pyjamas 1943
How to book this event:
This will be a hybrid lecture. Members of TAS SW London can attend free of charge but non-members will be asked for a £10 fee at the door. To watch the lecture live online, please email theartssocietyswlondon@gmail.com for a link. There is a charge of £5 for non-members.
THE ARTS SOCIETY ACCREDITED LECTURER
Mrs Connie Gray
With a background in fashion and broadcasting, Connie Gray is a specialist in the history of 20th century fashion illustration and its powerful legacy with both the most influential fashion publications internationally and the great couture houses of Paris, London and New York. She is regularly invited to lecture both in the UK and the US and sits on advisory boards at The Courtauld Institute of Art, London and Special Collections at FIT, New York. As a curator and archivist, she works closely with institutions and foundations on acquisitions, conservation and exhibition projects. She has been invited to curate specialist exhibitions including most recently Legends Only at Claridge’s Hotel, London in 2022 and 100 Years of Fashion Illustration at The Society of Illustrators, New York. Other specialist exhibitions have included Cunard’s Transatlantic Fashion Cruise on their flagship ship Queen Mary 2 to celebrate London and New York fashion weeks. As the lead curator for the art gallery Gray M.C.A, she curates the acclaimed exhibition Drawing on Style each year that celebrates the masters of fashion illustration alongside running comprehensive lecture programmes that accompany the exhibitions in London and New York. During the Covid19 pandemic period she wrote and presented a series of on-line masterclasses, talks and short films on the subject of fashion illustration that regularly attracted audiences of over 800 people during each live event.
OTHER EVENTS
Christmas lecture followed by mince pies and mulled wine


