Barbara Hepworth, Tate Britain, Jaeger and Margaret Howell

barbara hepworth windowAs regular readers will know, Dame Barbara Hepworth is one of our art heros and we’ve written about her influence on us before here. Now the rest of the world is catching on to her brilliance, with Tate Britain’s major retrospective of her work now open and both Jaeger and Margaret Howell offering collections inspired by the artist.

Over at Jaeger’s Oxford Street flagship, there has been a small exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s letters and photographs sourced from from the Tate and the Cornel Lucas estate, alongside selected pieces from the main SS 2015 range, the whole of which was inspired this season by Barbara’s personal style and her art.

Barbara’s own style could be summed up as practical, every-day chic. She made her working wardrobe of a big linen shirt, wide legged trousers or a jump suit a touch more glamourous by belting her work-wear jackets to accentuate her waist, wearing jewels in the studio or tying her back with a bold scarlet headscarf. I love this style, it’s not cutting edge, but who (outside the fashion and magazine industry) can cope with bold fashion statements every day? Today I find I increasingly need to find ways of making the everyday more gorgeous.

barbara and jaegerWho knows what Barbara would have thought of Jaeger’s designs, but I’m sure she would have liked the quality of the fabrics as she was very particular about what went into her sculptures. Now the sale has started, quite a few of the pieces are reduced, you can browse here, including the cape-sleeved pink silk dress above and the selection of arty scarves

jaeger and barbara

Then over at Tate Britain, Margaret Howell has designed a small collection of Barbara Hepworth-style clothes exclusively for the exhibition, which you can buy at the gallery or on line. My favourite is this navy tunic, below.

barbar hepworth 02There’s an artist shirt, in chalky white linen, but this looks a little short for me, perhaps it might be better as a jacket? I’ll lt you know when I see it in person.

barbara hepworth shirtIf you ned something a little longer, Jaeger has a very good quality linen shirt in white (and many other hues) it is also a bit cheaper. Roll up the sleeves and rough it up a bit to give it an arty feel.

linen shirt jaegerMargaret Howell has also designed some dungarees which, hmm, I’m not sure about, I can’t help seeing Dexys Midnight Runners in my head when I look at them… although some casual browsing around the subject highlighted those nice MiH chambray all-in-ones we talked about earlier this season are now in the sale…if you were looking for an excuse (or is that just me?).

barbara hepworthThere’s a duffel coat and a smart pinny, below, to complete your BH transformation, as well as a few scarves.

barbs duffleI’m also adding in this Uniqlo stripe T as I haven’t bought it yet and i think it’s basic artist-wear. And at £14.90, it’s very well priced for the quality.

barbara hepwirth 01Barbara Hepworth, Sculpture For A Modern World is on at Tate Britain until 24th October, find out more here, Jane and I are both going this week so watch our Instagram feed for some insider-snaps.

2 Comments

  • I loved my visit to the Tate Britain exhibition too – now I must check out the Jaeger exhibition of Barbara Hepworth thanks to your recommendation

    Suze | LuxuryColumnist

  • Sarah says:

    Sorry you’ll see a few comments from me – been away a week and catching up – love these MH pieces, esp. the chambray all in one. I went to BH’s museum in St Ives last year, it was so intimate and personal, I did a little film which I am planning to post soon.

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