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Fashion Stories:Drama, Dressing Up and Droopy & Browns

The Darlington born entrepreneur Angela Holmes built a brand known for its fine cut and flamboyance, before her death, aged 50, in 2000 and her fashion still has an avid following.

Fashion from the 1990s to the 1790s and back again: Jade Halbert traces the history of Droopy & Browns, a fashion business renowned for the flamboyant and elegant work of its designer, Angela Holmes. While many British designers of the late twentieth century looked to replicate a lean, monochromatic, almost corporate New York sensibility, Angela Holmes gloried in drama and historicism. A favourite of actresses, artists, writers, and stylish women everywhere, the closure of the business soon after Angela’s death, aged 50, in 2000 marked the end of an era in British fashion.

Producer: Jessica Treen

Jade Halbert lectures at the University of Huddersfield and is a Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ/AHRC New Generation Thinker on the scheme which turns academic research into radio. You can find another Essay called Not Quite Jean Muir about learning to make a dress on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Sounds /programmes/m000kgwq
and a short Radio 3 Sunday feature on the state of high street fashion shopping /programmes/m000gvpn

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14 minutes

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