Farewell, Sweet Liberty thumbnail 1
Not on display

Farewell, Sweet Liberty

Wedding Dress
1992 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Joe Casely-Hayford (1956–2019) was born in the United Kingdom in 1956, into a British-Ghanaian family. In the early 1970s he worked as a tailor's apprentice on Savile Row and studied fine tailoring at the Tailor & Cutter Academy. From the late 1970s he designed for the music industry, making performance clothes for rock groups. In 1984 Joe Casely-Hayford launched his menswear label, with womenswear following in 1986. His signature look combines sharp tailoring and a high level of technical skill with features drawn from streetstyle and club culture. In 1992, he was commissioned by the Liberty department store to design a dress for their exhibition of contemporary British wedding fashion.

Alternative dress is deliberately anti-fashion, and bridal wear does not necessarily follow day-to-day fashion trends. The designer explores this unexpected relationship by combining alternative design elements with traditional white-wedding style. During the wedding ceremony, the bride stands with her back to her guests. Wedding dresses often feature attractive back detailing for this reason. Joe Casely-Hayford has decorated the back of his white silk dress with a metal-studded pierced heart motif, more suited to a biker’s leather jacket. The slogan, “Farewell Sweet Liberty”, is simultaneously humorous and poignant. Whilst the fabric is traditional, the frayed edges, studs, and chains were inspired by Punk and alternative clothing.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleFarewell, Sweet Liberty (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Raw silk, decorated with pearls, metal rivets, chains and studs
Brief description
Wedding dress, ivory raw silk with pearl embroidery, metal studs and frayed edges, designed by Joe Casely-Hayford, England, 1992.
Physical description
Wedding dress of ivory raw silk, embroidered and decorated with pearls, metal rivets, chains and studs.
Marks and inscriptions
'Farewell, sweet liberty' (Embroidered on the back of the dress)
Gallery label
(1993)
Liberty commissioned Joe Casely- Hayford to create a garment for their display of wedding dresses by British designers in 1992. He designed this post-punk wedding dress featuring a poignant play on words on the back. The luxurious cream silk with pearl decoration is a traditional material for a wedding dress, but the fraying and patchworking of the fabric, and further embellishing it with metal chains and rivets, makes it entirely unconventional.
Credit line
Given by Liberty & Co. Ltd
Object history
Registered File number 1993/1217.
Summary
Joe Casely-Hayford (1956–2019) was born in the United Kingdom in 1956, into a British-Ghanaian family. In the early 1970s he worked as a tailor's apprentice on Savile Row and studied fine tailoring at the Tailor & Cutter Academy. From the late 1970s he designed for the music industry, making performance clothes for rock groups. In 1984 Joe Casely-Hayford launched his menswear label, with womenswear following in 1986. His signature look combines sharp tailoring and a high level of technical skill with features drawn from streetstyle and club culture. In 1992, he was commissioned by the Liberty department store to design a dress for their exhibition of contemporary British wedding fashion.

Alternative dress is deliberately anti-fashion, and bridal wear does not necessarily follow day-to-day fashion trends. The designer explores this unexpected relationship by combining alternative design elements with traditional white-wedding style. During the wedding ceremony, the bride stands with her back to her guests. Wedding dresses often feature attractive back detailing for this reason. Joe Casely-Hayford has decorated the back of his white silk dress with a metal-studded pierced heart motif, more suited to a biker’s leather jacket. The slogan, “Farewell Sweet Liberty”, is simultaneously humorous and poignant. Whilst the fabric is traditional, the frayed edges, studs, and chains were inspired by Punk and alternative clothing.
Bibliographic reference
De la Haye, Amy (ed.). The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947- 1997. London : V&A Publications, 1997 plate 57
Collection
Accession number
T.323-1993

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Record createdAugust 20, 2003
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