Ruth Caswell
Award winning costumier and fashion designer/ maker, Ruth Caswell, taught Costume and Textiles at Bradford College from 1986 until 1997.
In the 1970s Ruth’s own label work as a fashion
designer for Liberty’s and others was featured in
Vogue. A textile historian with an MA in the history
of textiles and dress, Ruth was instrumental in
initiating Bradford College’s Textile Archive. She was
the Textile Advisor on the BBC’s Pride & Prejudice and has costumed numerous other TV programmes,
while her film credits include Shakespeare in Love and both the Elizabeth films.
“I was technically taught and trained at Leeds
College of Technology in the 1960s. I was just a little
girl from Keighley and I had expected a modest job
in the clothing trade until I got top marks for design.
At 17, I had 2 big windows of my stuff in Brown
Muff’s under a banner of ‘Op Art Comes To Town.’ I
was encouraged to continue my studies at St Martins
but I wanted to be a working designer. I was already
selling and that moment would never come again.
Obsessed by theatre, I chose to train as a costumier
at Nathan’s in Drury Lane. I went on to work at
Glyndbourne Opera and then at 22, I became
costumier for the Theatre 69 Company (precursor
of The Royal Exchange) where I made costumes
for many star productions and premieres, including
Othello-inspired rock opera, Catch My Soul, which
subsequently transferred to the West End.
When I married and moved to London I had only £12 to my name so I made clothes in my back
bedroom and sold them in Kensington High Street on
a stall next to Freddie Mercury’s. I delivered them via
the 73 bus each Friday and they sold instantly. Asked
to bring work in for possible inclusion in Vogue’s
January edition, I anticipated warm things and
party frocks. We were so casual that my friend spilled
tomato sauce from a hot dog on her frock. Grace
Coddington then told us she was seeking outfits for a
high summer shoot in the Seychelles and she wanted
the clothes we were stood up in!
We felt idiots going
home on the bus in winter party clothes on a blazing
hot day, but Jean Shrimpton modelled the dress I
was wearing in a photo with David Bailey. Norman
Parkinson’s photo of the bird frock I had made using
fabric from Bradford’s Kirkgate market became iconic.
The dress was only shot from the back so perhaps
the tomato sauce stains never came off! I made 25
of the dresses and they were worn by Anna Harvey,
editor of Vogue, and Roger Daltrey’s wife. The dress
was often imitated and set a look for the 70s.
There was a really generous youth culture then as
older people empowered young people to do things.
That is why I wanted to teach. Spontaneity comes
with youth and there is an honesty that comes from
unselfconsciousness, so you don’t get old, you get
different! Teaching is such a responsibility as you
have people at their creative prime.”
Photograph by Shelagh Ward