Corset with broken glass and skeleton print, by Sarah Whitworth for New Masters, Great Britain, 1983.

Corset in black cotton with broken glass and skeleton print, elasticated sides and lacing closure at the back.

Given by Sarah Whitworth and Julia Basnett

This 1983 outfit was designed by Sarah Whitworth. The collection was purchased by the Kings Road boutique, New Masters, for their outlet in the collective fashion store, Hyper Hyper. The bolero and bustled skirt are made from pale grey cotton sateen, with a contrasting black sateen corset bodice, which can be worn over an optional black organza blouse. The fabric is screen-printed with an engraving style design of two skeletal grim Reapers fighting against a background of broken glass. Although the print appears rubberised, it is actually a special ink called Expandex which, when heated, swelled up. Expandex was mainly used for large-scale designs on T-shirts, so its use in such a finely detailed design on sateen and organza was innovative and challenging. The thick ink clogged the finely detailed silkscreens and made them very difficult to clean.

At the time of acquisition, Sarah Whitworth also provided access to her press clippings from the early 1980s, which give a great deal of valuable information about New Masters and its connection to the launch in 1983 of the design collective Hyper Hyper on Kensington High Street. Hyper Hyper was intended to bring together young, up-and-coming designers and offer them an outlet for their designs. Until its closure in 1999, it was a focus for young people because of its wide range of young, edgy and imaginative clothing offered by a wide variety of designers, including Pam Hogg, Dexter Wong, Ghost and Laurie Vanian of Symphony of Shadows.

Sarah Whitworth was one of the founding members of Hyper Hyper and she began trading under the name 'Deadlier than the Male' in 1984. Its speciality was seductive corset-based designs which were popular with young women looking for alternative evening wear. The designer has specified that the waistband of the skirt should always be covered up by either the corset, or a smaller corselette style waistband which has not survived.

Sarah Whitworth has also donated to the WID department a rare poster which was used on the London Underground to advertise Hyper Hyper's launch. The female model on the poster is wearing Whitworth clothes, including a identical bustle skirt and blouse to those donated to the Museum.

- Daniel Milford-Cottam (2011/13)

T.24-2012