Sir Hardy Amies
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.As a former employee of Hardy Amies (his in-house PR manager from 1966 to 1968) I have no wish to question too far Jane Mulvagh's admirable but perhaps too admiring obituary [6 March: click here to read], writes David Evans.
However, I suggest that Amies's impact on women's fashion was less significant than on the menswear industry. His work for Hepworths (now Next) in the Sixties galvanised the then fossilised manufacturing clothing sector. Coupled with a sound advertising campaign, the Hardy Amies/Hepworth annual men's catwalk shows at the Savoy put the idea of a designed suit firmly in the marketplace and did wonders for Hepworths' annual figures, regularly notched up by 10 per cent each year. This was the British public's first view of positive designer branding.
Had Amies maintained this momentum, sustaining a properly financed studio and marketing policy, his label would have been as strong in the Anglophone world as Pierre Cardin, whose own menswear line predated Amies by about two years.
Jane Mulvagh's view of his loyalty to his staff is not a characteristic some would recognise. The "family" described had dispersed by the time of his death, and the status of the trust he founded for his staff's benefit was obscure, following the apparent sale of his interest to the Luxury Brands Group. David Duncan Smith, incidentally, left the company last year.
Alas, by an unfortunate solecisim your picture production left this arbiter of fashion wearing his breast pocket on the wrong side of his jacket.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments