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After early commercial success designing for other brands, McCann established his own label in 1963. He attracted the attention of influential US fashion buyers in the mid 1960s and soon began designing for the
American market, as well as for key British fashion retailers targeting the youth market.
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in the US and created a stir. McCann took his clothes designs on "whistlestop tours" of
America and attracted enough attention to be invited to appear on breakfast TV shows. Bloomingdales opened a Gerald McCann department, with the buyer reporting eight buyers for every coat on the rack.
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In 1963, Gerald McCann started his own business operation with a £600 bank loan. Although by this stage he had designed for a decade – everything from high-end to high-street – he was among the "brash new breed of
British designers" photographed by
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The buyer at
Woollands' 21 Vanessa Denza noted that his dresses were always top sellers. McCann was the only one of the young designers stocked by Woollands' 21 to have his own manufacturing base – he had a number of factories in
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noting that the design had: "the added advantage that you do not look as if you had gone to the party in your slip and it is just as suitable for dancing the Birdie or the
Hitchhike as for standing jammed clutching a glass".
142:– he began creating designs for them while he was still a student. In a 2006 interview with the V&A, he recalled that this was a very smart job, involving trips to the Paris fashion shows to view haute-couture work by
154:– McCann decided this wasn't his long-term future and left to join the upmarket ready-to-wear house of Harry B. Popper. There, he was involved with designing and selling to private clients, including
373:. McCann recalled in a V&A interview that the numbers produced were on a different scale entirely: "there's no room for error because the amounts at stake are enormous, 140,000 of one style".
343:, as a name with cachet for foreign buyers, quoting the fashion director of Helen Whiting in New York who had said: "Everything Gerald had looked new for our market". His work was also spotted by
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designer to do young clothes...the trouble is that the industry forces them too early. They are never given the chance to make their mistakes in the backroom."
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s 'Young Ideas' section, then supervised by Lady
Rendlesham. His bra-cut dresses in denim and gingham, gymslips with low pockets and men's shirt buttons, and
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about his return to
British fashion after two decades away, he described his exasperation with the industry's focus on young designers. "What they need is a
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111:(V&A) described him as playing: "an influential role in the development of the UK fashion industry". He died in June 2019 at the age of 87.
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McCann had early appeal for the
American market – indeed, in time this would eclipse his reputation in the UK. A 1964 feature in
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McCann commuted between London and New York between 1965 and 1973 before settling full-time as a designer in New York's
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78:(5 November 1931 – 26 June 2019) was a British fashion designer who was considered among the leading lights of the
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McCann returned to the UK at the start of the 1990s and began designing clothes for department stores such as
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Mary Quant's husband
Alexander Plunket Greene asked McCann to help stock their first Bazaar boutique on the
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McCann also made his name as a pattern designer for the growing home-sewing market, creating designs for
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in 1974, returning to
Britain some two decades later, where he continued supplying UK fashion retailers.
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buyer Ida Sciolino, who asked him to make something for her. This subsequently appeared on the cover of
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magazine feature on how to get the Chelsea look. Others featured in the article included Mary Quant,
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earned him a five-figure royalty. Alongside Bloomingdales, his clothes were stocked by
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He became a key supplier to the hip boutique Woollands' 21, as well as Harrods and
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Gerald McCann dress similar to designs created for Butterick, from V&A archive
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in 1991, Liz Smith described him as: "a master of high style at low prices". The
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in 1955, and he took charge of the clothes while Quant handled the accessories.
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published its 'Swinging London' issue, McCann was a well-established name.
215:'s House of Beauty), and his black crepe and organza dress was featured in
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entitled 'The Importance of Being British', singled him out, alongside
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during the early 1950s, also getting involved in designing dresses for
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David Bailey portrait of Gerald McCann in the V&A Museum archive
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Smith, Liz (12 November 1991). "Cutting Cloth to Suit the Pocket".
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Holland, Mary (12 July 1964). "The Importance of Being British".
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Ironside, Janey (15 December 1963). "Dressing for Candlelight".
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After graduating in 1953, McCann's first job was designing with
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Griggs, Barbara (15 February 1987). "Ahead of every fashion".
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361:. His designs had mass-market sales – one coat design for
162:. Harry B. Popper also supplied clothes to the Queen and
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Gerald McCann portraits at the National Portrait Gallery
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Board, Ian (21 July 1991). "Room of My Own: Ian Board".
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733:"Ego and Shirley Conran: Vanity thy name isn't woman".
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671:MacCarthy, Fiona (2 March 1966). "Shoe Group".
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94:He moved to the US to work on New York's
245:McCann's designs frequently appeared in
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82:fashion scene, alongside names such as
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16:British fashion designer (1931–2019)
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221:just before Christmas, with author
840:Alumni of the Royal College of Art
624:"Interview with Vanessa Denza MBE"
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510:The Times: Gerald McCann obituary
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612:. No. 56365. 5 July 1965.
548:. Victoria & Albert Museum
542:"Interview with Gerald McCann"
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630:. Victoria and Albert Museum.
327:Designs for the United States
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491:. Victoria and Albert Museum
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115:Background and early career
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521:Gerald McCANN Obituary
280:. In 1965, he dressed
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712:"Clothes that Count"
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574:. 18 October 1963
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170:King's Road
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799:Categories
718:7 November
714:. BBC News
578:6 November
552:6 November
495:7 November
424:7 November
418:npg.org.uk
401:References
341:Aquascutum
286:Palme d'Or
201:Kiki Byrne
152:Lord Marks
133:coronation
129:debutantes
84:Mary Quant
66:Occupation
37:1931-11-11
628:vam.ac.uk
610:The Times
546:vam.ac.uk
462:The Times
391:The Times
313:Butterick
291:The Knack
193:Jean Muir
104:The Times
337:Burberry
383:Fenwick
350:Glamour
209:Mayfair
160:Harrods
144:Balmain
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185:for a
123:under
300:Rayne
256:with
248:Vogue
720:2014
692:ISBN
580:2014
572:Life
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497:2014
426:2014
395:good
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