Fashion Design
January 1941 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Kathleen (Katrina) Sheffield studied at Southend Art School and later at the Katinka School of Dressmaking in London. It was during her studies at the Katinka School in the late 1930s and early 1940s that she made this design as well as a number of others now in the V&A’s collection (E.555-2015-E.614-2015). She subsequently worked for a short time as a fashion designer at Lachasse Fashion House in London which was headed by Hardy Amies and Digby Morton. According to Sheffield’s recollections, Amies and Morton were happy to let her design but some of the cutting-room staff regarded her as an upstart and often changed her designs.
In 1941 she was called up to serve in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. After the war ended she did not return to fashion, as her husband’s job in the Diplomatic Service meant they had to travel around the world. While in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s she met Phyllis Ross, a Canadian artist and wife of a Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy, who ran art classes. This encouraged her to begin painting again. Once she and her husband returned from postings abroad, they lived in London and subsequently Cambridge where she continued to paint and exhibited regularly. She took part in the Open Studio Scheme in Cambridge until she was well into her eighties.
In 1941 she was called up to serve in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. After the war ended she did not return to fashion, as her husband’s job in the Diplomatic Service meant they had to travel around the world. While in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s she met Phyllis Ross, a Canadian artist and wife of a Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy, who ran art classes. This encouraged her to begin painting again. Once she and her husband returned from postings abroad, they lived in London and subsequently Cambridge where she continued to paint and exhibited regularly. She took part in the Open Studio Scheme in Cambridge until she was well into her eighties.
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Materials and techniques | Paint on black paper with fabric samples attached |
Brief description | Fashion design for women's clothes by Kathleen (Katrina) Sheffield, paint on black paper, London, January 1941 |
Physical description | A drawing of two women in white paint on black paper. The woman on the left is wearing a knee-length coat with a chequered shirt of scarf and a hat with a chequered ribbon. The woman on the right is wearing a knee-length skirt and jacket with detailing along the hem, a white scarf and a hat with feather detailing. Two swatches of red and maroon fabric are pinned to at the top of the paper. Between the women there are two miniature drawings of the outfits. On the reverse there is a sketch of a woman in a knee-length coat. |
Dimensions |
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Marks and inscriptions | 'Katrina Sheffield, January 1941' (Signed and dated; bottom right) |
Credit line | Given by P. C. Sennitt |
Subjects depicted | |
Summary | Kathleen (Katrina) Sheffield studied at Southend Art School and later at the Katinka School of Dressmaking in London. It was during her studies at the Katinka School in the late 1930s and early 1940s that she made this design as well as a number of others now in the V&A’s collection (E.555-2015-E.614-2015). She subsequently worked for a short time as a fashion designer at Lachasse Fashion House in London which was headed by Hardy Amies and Digby Morton. According to Sheffield’s recollections, Amies and Morton were happy to let her design but some of the cutting-room staff regarded her as an upstart and often changed her designs. In 1941 she was called up to serve in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. After the war ended she did not return to fashion, as her husband’s job in the Diplomatic Service meant they had to travel around the world. While in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960s she met Phyllis Ross, a Canadian artist and wife of a Counsellor in the Canadian Embassy, who ran art classes. This encouraged her to begin painting again. Once she and her husband returned from postings abroad, they lived in London and subsequently Cambridge where she continued to paint and exhibited regularly. She took part in the Open Studio Scheme in Cambridge until she was well into her eighties. |
Collection | |
Accession number | E.606-2015 |
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Record created | March 7, 2013 |
Record URL |
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