Unlocking Amies

To coincide with the 100th Anniversary of the birth of Sir Hardy Amies (1909 – 2009), The House of Hardy Amies will be opening its extensive and largely unseen archive at the newly re-furbished No.14 Savile Row in London, its home since 1946.



Curated by Austin Mutti-Mewse, the exhibition 'Sir Hardy Amies: A Century of Couture' will pay homage to the iconic tailor exploring aspects of his life such as his work with Royalty, having been dressmaker to HM Queen Elizabeth II, celebrities, and his foray into menswear on Savile Row. Photographs and personal diaries from his country house in Oxfordshire will also be revealed along with war medals, badges and other material associated with his foray in the SOE during WWII.

 Letters on exhibit include those from Cecil Beaton, Nancy Reagan, HRH Princess Michael of Kent, actresses Claudette Colbert, Dame Edith Evans, Harold Wilson, and Margaret Thatcher.

 Never-seen-before sketches of Princess Elizabeth will go on display alongside sketches of his film costumes for 2001: A Space Odyssey, whilst exquisite drawings of evening and daywear for Virginia Cherrill, the Hollywood star of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights.



The exhibition will also feature a specially commissioned documentary film of fashion luminaries, royalty, society figures such as Princess Michael Of Kent, Vogue Editor Alexandra Shulman, Jeremy Irons, 

and those who worked with Hardy to talk about his life. Whilst his most famous early creation, the ‘Made in England’ suit will be on display, seventy years after it was made for the Hollywood ingénue Mildred Shay for her trip from the USA to England during WWII.

The Hardy Amies Archive will be open in November at No. 14 Savile Row,  London, W1 by appointment.  Call +44 (0) 207 734 2436 for more details.
Hardy Amies are currently doing a range of bespoke menswear.