Elspeth Gibson
Encyclopedia
Elspeth Gibson is a British
fashion design
er, known for her feminine style of design. Her designs are often characterised by lace
, beading and embroidery
. Gibson was the British Fashion Council
's New Generation Designer of the Year in 1998, and examples of her work are held in the design archive at the Victoria and Albert Museum
. Her clients have included Madonna
, Zara Phillips
, Cate Blanchett
, Uma Thurman
and Queen Rania of Jordan, for whom she has undertaken private commissions.
. She worked as a designer for various high street
stores over the next 10 years, including Topshop
, Miss Selfridge
and Monix, where she was head designer.
Gibson left Monix to become a freelance designer in 1994, and launched her own label in 1995. She pitched her designs to high-end stores, securing an early order from Liberty & Co. Gibson attracted attention from British Vogue
when she showed an early collection at the London Designers' Exhibition accompanying London Fashion Week
. In 1997 editor Alexandra Shulman
wrote: "the most commonly bought item in the Vogue offices this season is an Elspeth Gibson skirt ... they seem to strike the right balance, looking modern and different without being too extreme".
In 1998 Gibson opened a boutique in Pont Street
, Knightsbridge
, and made her debut at London Fashion Week. She won the British Fashion Council's New Generation Designer of the Year Award in 1998, and Best British Designer at the Elle Style Awards
in 1999.
Gibson has focused on couture
since 2001, but has also entered into collaborations with high street brands. These include a womenswear collection for Littlewoods
, a childrenswear collection for Debenhams
, lingerie for Gossard, and girlswear and homewares for Tesco
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
fashion design
Fashion design
Fashion design is the art of the application of design and aesthetics or natural beauty to clothing and accessories. Fashion design is influenced by cultural and social latitudes, and has varied over time and place. Fashion designers work in a number of ways in designing clothing and accessories....
er, known for her feminine style of design. Her designs are often characterised by lace
Lace
Lace is an openwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the work, made by machine or by hand. The holes can be formed via removal of threads or cloth from a previously woven fabric, but more often open spaces are created as part of the lace fabric. Lace-making is an ancient craft. True lace was...
, beading and embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
. Gibson was the British Fashion Council
British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council is a non-profit trade group for British fashion designers founded in 1983.Based in London and currently chaired by Harold Tillman, who took over from friend Sir Stuart Rose, its main goal is to promote British fashion design across the world.-Main activities:The main...
's New Generation Designer of the Year in 1998, and examples of her work are held in the design archive at the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
. Her clients have included Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
, Zara Phillips
Zara Phillips
Zara Anne Elizabeth Phillips, MBE is the second child and only daughter of Princess Anne and her first husband Captain Mark Phillips and is 13th in the line of succession to the throne...
, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
, Uma Thurman
Uma Thurman
Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress and model. She has performed in leading roles in a variety of films, ranging from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action movies. Among her best-known roles are those in the Quentin Tarantino films Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill...
and Queen Rania of Jordan, for whom she has undertaken private commissions.
Career
After graduating from Mansfield College of Art and Design in 1984, Gibson began her career with a work experience placement at Zandra RhodesZandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes, CBE, RDI, is an English fashion designer.Zandra Rhodes was introduced to the world of fashion by her mother, who was a fitter in a Paris fashion house and a teacher at Medway College of Art, now the University for the Creative Arts. Rhodes studied first at Medway and then at the...
. She worked as a designer for various high street
High Street
High Street, or the High Street, is a metonym for the generic name of the primary business street of towns or cities, especially in the United Kingdom. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in city centres, and is most often used in reference to retailing...
stores over the next 10 years, including Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
, Miss Selfridge
Miss Selfridge
Miss Selfridge is a nationwide UK high street store which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. Miss Selfridge got its name when Charles Clore, the owner of Selfridges at the time, saw a window display in the Bonwit Teller store in New York which...
and Monix, where she was head designer.
Gibson left Monix to become a freelance designer in 1994, and launched her own label in 1995. She pitched her designs to high-end stores, securing an early order from Liberty & Co. Gibson attracted attention from British Vogue
Vogue (British magazine)
The British edition of Vogue is a fashion magazine that has been published since 1916.When British Vogue was launched, it was the first overseas edition of an existing fashion magazine. Under the magazine's first editor, Elspeth Champcommunal, the magazine was essentially the same as the American...
when she showed an early collection at the London Designers' Exhibition accompanying London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week
London Fashion Week is an apparel trade show held in London, England twice each year, in February and September. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks, along with New York Fashion Week, Milan Fashion Week and Paris Fashion Week.-Organization:...
. In 1997 editor Alexandra Shulman
Alexandra Shulman
Alexandra Shulman, OBE , is the editor of the British edition of Vogue. She is one of the country's most oft-quoted voices on fashion trends. She took the helm of Vogue in 1992, presiding over a circulation increase to 200,000 and a higher profile for the publication...
wrote: "the most commonly bought item in the Vogue offices this season is an Elspeth Gibson skirt ... they seem to strike the right balance, looking modern and different without being too extreme".
In 1998 Gibson opened a boutique in Pont Street
Pont Street
Pont Street is a fashionable street in Knightsbridge and Belgravia, central London, England, not far from the Knightsbridge department store Harrods to the north-west. The street crosses Sloane Street in the middle, with Beauchamp Place to the west and Cadogan Place, and Chesham Place, to the east,...
, Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge
Knightsbridge is a road which gives its name to an exclusive district lying to the west of central London. The road runs along the south side of Hyde Park, west from Hyde Park Corner, spanning the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea...
, and made her debut at London Fashion Week. She won the British Fashion Council's New Generation Designer of the Year Award in 1998, and Best British Designer at the Elle Style Awards
Elle style awards
-2011:*Best International Designer - Tom Ford*Breakthrough Talent - Noomi Rapace*Best British Designer - Christopher Kane*Best Model - Coco Rocha*Best Actor - Stephen Dorff*Best Actress - Natalie Portman*Best TV Star - Blake Lively...
in 1999.
Gibson has focused on couture
Haute couture
Haute couture refers to the creation of exclusive custom-fitted clothing. Haute couture is made to order for a specific customer, and it is usually made from high-quality, expensive fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable seamstresses,...
since 2001, but has also entered into collaborations with high street brands. These include a womenswear collection for Littlewoods
Littlewoods
Littlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970s. In 1981, it expanded to a call centre, processing orders via telephone. At its...
, a childrenswear collection for Debenhams
Debenhams
Debenhams plc is a British retailer operating under a department store format in the UK, Ireland and Denmark, and franchise stores in other countries. The Company was founded in the eighteenth century as a single store in London and has now grown to around 160 shops...
, lingerie for Gossard, and girlswear and homewares for Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
.