0:00:01 > 0:00:03BBC Four Collections -
0:00:03 > 0:00:06specially chosen programmes from the BBC archive.
0:00:08 > 0:00:11'What's it like making clothes for other people?
0:00:11 > 0:00:13'Mary Quant, well-known fashion designer.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Well, money. Um...
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I mean, I started in this workroom making hats, you know,
0:00:17 > 0:00:20at £2 10s a week for rich people who were duchesses
0:00:20 > 0:00:22and Lady this and Lady that, who went to Ascot, you know?
0:00:22 > 0:00:24And it would take me five days
0:00:24 > 0:00:27to make one hat for one Lady Bloggs to go to Ascot
0:00:27 > 0:00:29and it would rain, and she'd bring it back the next day and say,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31"My husband doesn't like it."
0:00:31 > 0:00:33And the whole thing, you know, it got through to me
0:00:33 > 0:00:36that this was sort of unrealistic, out of date and nonsense -
0:00:36 > 0:00:40that one person COULDN'T spend five days making a hat for one woman
0:00:40 > 0:00:43and that we lived in a mass-production age and that we...
0:00:43 > 0:00:46We must... make mass-production clothes
0:00:46 > 0:00:50and that they must not cause all that sweat, blood and tears
0:00:50 > 0:00:51at £2 10s a week.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29WOMAN: The first, a casual coat by Belstaff,
0:01:29 > 0:01:31lined with... INDISTINCT
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Raincoat by Weathergay - this has an Antron outer fabric
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and Dacron fibrefill padding.
0:01:54 > 0:01:55The collar in Dunbar seal.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04If there's one thing we all do, it's to wear clothes.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Some of us make more fuss about it than others,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09some prefer satins and silks, others denim.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11But whatever our taste,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14we all spend time and effort and money choosing clothes
0:02:14 > 0:02:15in which we feel comfortable
0:02:15 > 0:02:19and in which we hope we look attractive to other people.
0:02:19 > 0:02:21But who decides what we're going to wear?
0:02:21 > 0:02:24What's it like going to work in the industry known the world over
0:02:24 > 0:02:26as the rag trade?
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Well, today I've come to one of London's big hotels
0:02:28 > 0:02:30to see a fashion show,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33and out there, the experts are looking critically
0:02:33 > 0:02:35at the clothes the models are wearing
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and trying to decide what you and I might buy.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Let's go back, then, to the very beginning
0:02:41 > 0:02:42and take a look at the textile industry,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44which provides from the basic raw materials
0:02:44 > 0:02:48all the many fabrics from which our clothes are made -
0:02:48 > 0:02:51fabrics that can start their life in a number of different ways.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52In a test tube, for example -
0:02:52 > 0:02:55the so-called man-made fibres like nylon and rayon,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58produced from chemicals in the laboratory.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00Or, like cotton, as a plant grown overseas.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02Or nearer home, perhaps,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05wool from the many different breeds of sheep reared in these islands.
0:03:05 > 0:03:09Each breed gives a different kind of wool - different quality,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12different textures, and sorting one from another at the mill
0:03:12 > 0:03:14calls for a skill and experience
0:03:14 > 0:03:17that's the result of a long and intensive training.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25We're going to take a look at wool being put through
0:03:25 > 0:03:28all the processes that go to make up the finished cloth -
0:03:28 > 0:03:32washing, combing, twisting, spinning and weaving.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34It's pretty well the same story for cotton
0:03:34 > 0:03:35and the man-made fibres too,
0:03:35 > 0:03:37but with certain essential differences
0:03:37 > 0:03:39at some stages in the process.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42But whatever fibre is used and whatever finish is required,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44the basic traditional crafts of spinning and weaving
0:03:44 > 0:03:47go into the making of every piece of cloth -
0:03:47 > 0:03:51crafts that haven't basically changed in over 2,000 years,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53except that, as in every other industry,
0:03:53 > 0:03:56machines are now doing the work of hundreds of people.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49So, the fibre is twisted and spun in hundreds of different shades
0:04:49 > 0:04:51and colours, thicknesses and textures.
0:04:51 > 0:04:53Reel upon reel of yarn that
0:04:53 > 0:04:57will be blended and woven into cloth for coats and suits and dresses.
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Now, although machines are used to produce the vast amounts of cloth
0:05:00 > 0:05:02needed each year by the garment industries,
0:05:02 > 0:05:06it's the people who set the machines who are really important.
0:05:06 > 0:05:09There are a wide range of skills employed in all parts
0:05:09 > 0:05:10of the textile industry,
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and training is a question of passing on traditional skills
0:05:12 > 0:05:15from one generation to the next.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17The textile world used to be limited, of course,
0:05:17 > 0:05:19to certain parts of the country, like Lancashire
0:05:19 > 0:05:21and the West Riding of Yorkshire.
0:05:21 > 0:05:22But modern developments,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25especially the rapid expansion in the field of man-made fibres,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28has led now to an industry that's almost nationwide.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44Although it's now highly mechanised,
0:05:44 > 0:05:47weaving remains the basic art of laying one set of threads
0:05:47 > 0:05:51at right angles to another - the warp and the weft.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53The resulting weave can be plain or patterned.
0:05:53 > 0:05:55That such beautiful patterns can be created
0:05:55 > 0:05:58is a tribute to the artists and engineers
0:05:58 > 0:06:00working in the textile industry.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12And so the cloth takes shape - a lightweight suit for the tropics,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14an overcoat for winter -
0:06:14 > 0:06:17hundreds of different patterns destined for thousands
0:06:17 > 0:06:18of different people.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24But this is only the beginning.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27At this stage, the cloth can be made into anything.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30What eventually appears depends very largely on the skill of those people
0:06:30 > 0:06:33who can sew one piece of cloth to another
0:06:33 > 0:06:36to produce anything from a ball gown to a balaclava.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42If you had worked in the clothing industry in days gone by,
0:06:42 > 0:06:45you might well have found yourself sewing by hand
0:06:45 > 0:06:48with a group of other people in an often dimly lit, small backroom.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56In some ways, things haven't changed very much.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59A great deal of the day-to-day work - on samples at least -
0:06:59 > 0:07:02is still done by groups of people working in small backrooms,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04but usually better lit.
0:07:04 > 0:07:05Like everyone else, though,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08the clothing industry has been forced into mass production,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10perhaps not necessarily for the best,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12but with millions of garments to make each year
0:07:12 > 0:07:14and styles that continually vary,
0:07:14 > 0:07:16the majority of the large manufacturers
0:07:16 > 0:07:19tend to run their clothing factories like any other factory,
0:07:19 > 0:07:23on a production-line basis - cloth in one end, patterns cut,
0:07:23 > 0:07:26machined, sewed, pressed, packed and out at the other.
0:08:01 > 0:08:05Off they go, dresses for women all over the country, perhaps the world -
0:08:05 > 0:08:10big women, little women, thin women, fat women.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13The competition in the rag trade is fierce.
0:08:13 > 0:08:15Business is carried on at a frantic pace -
0:08:15 > 0:08:18styles, patterns, colours, ideas that change by the week,
0:08:18 > 0:08:20even by the day.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24Manufacturers who hope that their lines will be the most popular ones
0:08:24 > 0:08:25are often surprised or shocked.
0:08:37 > 0:08:39There's no accounting for public taste,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42but in this one area of London alone
0:08:42 > 0:08:45perhaps 1,000 organisations try to persuade the public -
0:08:45 > 0:08:49you and me - to buy a better, gayer, lovelier life.
0:08:53 > 0:08:56And so the clothes finally reach the shops.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Behind the glass, a glimpse of the glamorous you of tomorrow.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Of course, some people are too young or perhaps too worldly-wise
0:09:07 > 0:09:09to be fooled by this sort of thing.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16'When it comes to buying clothes,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19'there are those who don't have to worry how much money they spend.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22'They get the very best attention, the most courteous service,
0:09:22 > 0:09:23'the personal touch,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26'but they often have to pay for it in hundreds of pounds.'
0:09:26 > 0:09:29It is, after all, an exquisite Paris design, madam.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31I know one does like to be noticed,
0:09:31 > 0:09:33but I'm always afraid of being a little too daring.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36'These ladies usually have very generous husbands
0:09:36 > 0:09:39'and, with dresses at that price, they need them.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41'Of course, you don't have to be rich
0:09:41 > 0:09:44'to spend a lot of money on clothes, but it does help.'
0:09:44 > 0:09:46WOMAN 1: That looks nice, I'll have a pink one.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49- WOMAN 2: Did you try them on? - WOMAN 1: Yes, they look super.
0:09:50 > 0:09:52Long-sleeved mauve vests. Um...
0:09:52 > 0:09:56We haven't got any long-sleeved ones at the moment. Right, then, bye-bye.
0:09:56 > 0:09:59'The trouble is, somehow, that you can't put a price on fashion.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02'If you're going to be a trendsetter, well, you've got to pay the price,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05'even for the most insignificant piece of clothing.'
0:10:06 > 0:10:09- WOMAN 1: Can you do a price on...? - WOMAN 2: Too small.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11WOMAN 3: Well, they do vary.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13WOMAN 4: With the belt, of course, you can wear it...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15'When you think that last year, as a nation,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17'we spent almost £2,000 million on clothes,
0:10:17 > 0:10:20'it makes you wonder if our vanity is worth that much.'
0:10:20 > 0:10:22WOMAN 1: Darker colours... They come in these checks...
0:10:22 > 0:10:24- WOMAN 2: You want a 12? - WOMAN 3: Yes.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28'But you might not only be a customer,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30'you might decide you'd like to work
0:10:30 > 0:10:32'as a sales assistant in a clothes shop.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34'Not an easy job.
0:10:34 > 0:10:35'You've got to be polite, helpful
0:10:35 > 0:10:37'and often you must try to understand the customer
0:10:37 > 0:10:39'who's not sure what he wants anyway.'
0:10:39 > 0:10:43Um... It's got gingham collars, cuffs and collar.
0:10:43 > 0:10:45This is the dark blue one. Um...
0:10:45 > 0:10:47I don't think this is necessarily your colour.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49What kind of jacket is it to go with?
0:10:49 > 0:10:51Sort of white, off-white, in linen.
0:10:51 > 0:10:52Yes, well, I think...
0:10:52 > 0:10:55We've got a large range of shirts here of various colours
0:10:55 > 0:10:57that I think you might like better.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59This sort of thing,
0:10:59 > 0:11:02a paler blue, I think, might tone in better with your jacket.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07This has got the stitching that I think you'll rather like.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10This double stitching here, fly fronts.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16And a double cuff, the... Do you notice the finish on the cuffs there?
0:11:16 > 0:11:20We've also got a bespoke department, you know...to measure.
0:11:20 > 0:11:21Mm.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25'You can make mistakes if you're too keen to help.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27'If you ask the right questions to begin with,
0:11:27 > 0:11:29'you won't waste your time or the customer's.'
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Would you like to come this way, please?
0:11:31 > 0:11:32Thank you.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37Had you any particular colour in mind? Something like this?
0:11:37 > 0:11:39No, nothing particularly. I'll try that for a start, anyhow.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Certainly. Well, I'll check the size anyway.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Right, thank you.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48- Let me take that for you, sir. - Oh, thank you very much.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53- There we are, sir. - Thank you.
0:11:57 > 0:11:59How does that feel?
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Well, it fits all right, but it's a bit short, isn't it?
0:12:01 > 0:12:03I'll get my trousers wet if I'm not careful!
0:12:03 > 0:12:06This coat is very fashionable at the present moment, of course.
0:12:06 > 0:12:07Yes, but...
0:12:07 > 0:12:09No, it's too short for me. I'd like to try a longer one, please.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- Yes, a pleasure. - Thank you.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15'You see, if only he'd found out what was wanted right at the beginning.'
0:12:15 > 0:12:18WOMAN: Good afternoon. Can we help you at all? Anything special?
0:12:18 > 0:12:20'Selling clothes to ladies can be a problem.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23'They ask your advice, but they don't really want it.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27'They can't afford a dress, but they buy it just the same
0:12:27 > 0:12:30'and they expect you to help calm their anxieties.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32'You become an advisor, but people won't trust you.
0:12:32 > 0:12:36'They know, as you do, that it's your business to sell.'
0:12:36 > 0:12:37Isn't that nice? Yes.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41And belted, so you can either use it without a belt, around the waist...
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Maybe in white? This is very smart. It's also been reduced, madam.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45This is £4 19s 11d...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48We've had great success with that one this year. It's a sweet style...
0:12:48 > 0:12:50It's really worth trying because they are really...
0:12:51 > 0:12:54'The fashion business never stops - clothes for every occasion,
0:12:54 > 0:12:55'every pocket.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58'A style, a shape, a colour for everyone.'
0:13:13 > 0:13:15WOMAN: Antonelli.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21SMATTERING OF APPLAUSE
0:13:25 > 0:13:27Well, that line looks like being very popular.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29The textile industry provided the cloth,
0:13:29 > 0:13:31and, obviously, it's been very well made.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35But who decided on the cut and shape of the particular garment?
0:13:35 > 0:13:38That's the job of the designer, a job which calls for a variety
0:13:38 > 0:13:40of basic skills.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42And until a few years ago,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44most of the basic designs - for women's clothes at least -
0:13:44 > 0:13:47seem to have come from Paris and Rome,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50but lately, British designers have been more than holding their own,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53especially in clothes for younger people, and, what's more,
0:13:53 > 0:13:55giving our exports a thoroughly good boost.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59What's it like being a designer of clothes?
0:13:59 > 0:14:01What sort of training do you need?
0:14:01 > 0:14:04Is it as glamorous as it seems?
0:14:04 > 0:14:06'Well, most of the time you're working in a small room
0:14:06 > 0:14:08'with samples of cloth all around you,
0:14:08 > 0:14:10'a dummy, a sketch pad and a pencil.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14'Sometimes you work on your own, sometimes with other people.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16'Slowly, you begin to try out ideas
0:14:16 > 0:14:19'that may be next year's fashions... or may not.'
0:14:19 > 0:14:21But make sure that the shoulder strap
0:14:21 > 0:14:23is the same width as the bodice line here
0:14:23 > 0:14:24and...the other thing...
0:14:24 > 0:14:26'Pat's experience is typical.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28'Seven years' study to become a designer
0:14:28 > 0:14:32'and, at first, she saw her ideas rejected or used by somebody else
0:14:32 > 0:14:34'without getting any of the credit.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37'She wants to run her own fashion house, but is it so easy?
0:14:37 > 0:14:39'I spoke to several young designers
0:14:39 > 0:14:42'and asked what had happened to them, what they thought about their work.'
0:14:42 > 0:14:44As soon... Yes, as soon as I left, I...
0:14:44 > 0:14:46Well, I went to evening classes to learn cutting
0:14:46 > 0:14:49because I knew this was what I wanted to do,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52and my first job was in a workroom. I knew one just had to learn
0:14:52 > 0:14:56something about it, and it was £2 10s a week, and...
0:14:57 > 0:14:59That was tough because I had to live on it
0:14:59 > 0:15:02because my parents kept saying, "You know, what do you expect?
0:15:02 > 0:15:04"If you will do something as silly as fashion,
0:15:04 > 0:15:07"you must put up with it," again, quite rightly, you know.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Yes, well, I started at provincial art school,
0:15:11 > 0:15:13did a three-year course there,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16in which I learnt sort of cutting and making...
0:15:16 > 0:15:18sort of all the technical side.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20And then I went on to the Royal College from there
0:15:20 > 0:15:22and did an extra three years.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24So, in all, I've spent six years studying,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27so that's quite a long study period.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29Um... Well, my education,
0:15:29 > 0:15:34I had a secondary modern education after failing the 11-plus... Um...
0:15:34 > 0:15:37I did a few jobs after that and then went into national service,
0:15:37 > 0:15:39in the Navy.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43After coming out of the national service I went to art school.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45I stayed there for two years
0:15:45 > 0:15:49and then took the entrance to the Royal College of Art
0:15:49 > 0:15:53and I stayed there for one year, and then left the Royal College.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58I started in a small, bespoke workshop in South London
0:15:58 > 0:16:00and I learnt sort of cutting and tailoring
0:16:00 > 0:16:03and all the practical and technical side,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08and from there, I left - I think I spent about 18 months there
0:16:08 > 0:16:11and I left there and I attended Shoreditch Garment College
0:16:11 > 0:16:13for the clothing industry.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17Well, I think the first thing you must have is, obviously, finance.
0:16:17 > 0:16:19I didn't go in for about three months
0:16:19 > 0:16:23and I realised that you just can't do a thing unless you've got money.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28Anyone who's going into business must be prepared for this sort of...
0:16:28 > 0:16:32this sort of thing that's on you all the time. You can't relax.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36You can't have holidays very easily like people think you can.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38You're working all the time.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40I mean, it's all right doing things, you know,
0:16:40 > 0:16:41sketches and doing things on paper,
0:16:41 > 0:16:45but then you've got to sit down and get your form and get your line,
0:16:45 > 0:16:48and this is what you've got to convey to a machinist.
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And I think clothes are going to be made
0:16:50 > 0:16:53in a completely new kind of way, and should be, indeed.
0:16:53 > 0:16:57I mean, they should be made like fibreglass motorcars or bottles,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59they shouldn't be cut and sewn together.
0:16:59 > 0:17:03We shouldn't have man-made fibres that imitate wool
0:17:03 > 0:17:07by being turned into a thread and then woven with waft, weft,
0:17:07 > 0:17:10whatever they call them. You know, you could, in fact...
0:17:10 > 0:17:11It's absolutely possible, really,
0:17:11 > 0:17:14to take the chemicals, to have the formula for the mould,
0:17:14 > 0:17:15which is like a bottle,
0:17:15 > 0:17:18and more or less shake it up and through scientific processes
0:17:18 > 0:17:23produce the garment, you know, in all the different sizings, without seams.
0:17:25 > 0:17:26Perfect finish.
0:17:26 > 0:17:27Well, there we are.
0:17:27 > 0:17:31A vast industry, a hectic one and an eye always on the export market -
0:17:31 > 0:17:34an industry that is often brilliantly inventive
0:17:34 > 0:17:36and sometimes extremely superficial.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38And if you think there's a place somewhere along the line for you,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40you can rest assured that wherever you live
0:17:40 > 0:17:43there'll be some branch or other of the rag trade.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45Pay can vary enormously,
0:17:45 > 0:17:47but there's nearly always some form of training available
0:17:47 > 0:17:51and promotion is there if you've got the enthusiasm and the ability.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54Now, for those with artistic ability and a sense of colour or line,
0:17:54 > 0:17:57the world of the designer or buyer could be open to you,
0:17:57 > 0:17:59but it's a pretty tough road.
0:17:59 > 0:18:03You need detailed training and a capacity for hard work.
0:18:04 > 0:18:06So, the next time you buy yourself some more clothes,
0:18:06 > 0:18:09just give a thought to all the people and to all the techniques
0:18:09 > 0:18:11directly or indirectly concerned with the end product.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Would one of these jobs be right for you?
0:18:14 > 0:18:17As always, it's your decision.
0:18:17 > 0:18:18SHEEP BLEAT