Historians Beatrice Behlen and Cindy Lawford take us on promenade along two of London’s best dressed streets - Savile Row and Kings Road
[ID: Black and white image showing a young man being fitted in a military-style jacket]
Doors: 7:00pm
Tickets £8 [£7 concession]
[Please note that visitors are required to wear a face mask during events and we encourage all visitors to take a Lateral Flow Test before coming to the Horse Hospital.]
For almost ten years, Salon for the City has convened monthly to bring together authors, historians, artists or cultural commentators, talking on themes ranging across culture, literature, history, and beyond - but there is only ever one subject: London.
In this, the 92nd iteration of the salon, historians Beatrice Behlen and Cindy Lawford come together to explore the history of two iconic streets in London’s fashion universe, the King’s Road and Savile Row…
For about 10 years, roughly between 1965 and 1975, King’s Road was at the centre of Swinging London's sartorial universe, but it’s fashion history goes back earlier, starting around 1900 with drapers, outfitters, dressmakers and auxiliary trades. Beatrice Behlen will lead us on a catwalk through the 20th century up and down the two-mile street, catching glimpses of celebrated designers such as Mary Quant, Ossie Clark and Vivienne Westwood, dropping into the shops of now lesser known fashion entrepreneurs such as Kiki Byrne and John Michael and of course sampling King’s Road’s infamous boutiques and antique markets.
“A gentleman gets his suit made on Savile Row, and he goes to Jermyn Street for everything else.
Shirtmakers, shoemakers, tobacconists and tailors – have long been centred in St. James. Fashion Historian Cindy Lawford gets her glad rags on to take us on a tour of the history of The Suit along the road that made it famous - Savile Row. From 1660, through the life of infamous dandy Beau Brummell and the street's heyday in the 19th century through the impact of both world wars, of the Teddy Boys, the Mods, and of the new stars of the 1990s: Boateng and Richard James, Cindy explores how its traditions have been maintained before we arrive at where we are now with the growing interest in womens' suits.
Beatrice Behlen is Senior Curator of Fashion & Decorative Arts at the Museum of London. She studied fashion design in Germany before moving to London in 1989. She has worked and taught at the Courtauld Institute, Kensington Palace, Annely Juda Fine Art and Central Saint Martins since 2005.
Since 2018, she has been publishing a weekly podcast – Bande à part – with Rebecca Arnold. Her main interest is how lives of people can be told through their surviving clothes.
Cindy Lawford is a researcher, writer, and lecturer on matters of style and appearance, shopping and art, and their stories. She studied at the University of Virginia and the City University of New York before coming to London to complete her doctorate. She is director of Fashion Tours London providing experiences around the City's historical retail and clothing history.