The Rag Trade Going to Work


The Rag Trade

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BBC Four Collections -

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specially chosen programmes from the BBC archive.

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'What's it like making clothes for other people?

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'Mary Quant, well-known fashion designer.'

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Well, money. Um...

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I mean, I started in this workroom making hats, you know,

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at £2 10s a week for rich people who were duchesses

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and Lady this and Lady that, who went to Ascot, you know?

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And it would take me five days

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to make one hat for one Lady Bloggs to go to Ascot

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and it would rain, and she'd bring it back the next day and say,

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"My husband doesn't like it."

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And the whole thing, you know, it got through to me

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that this was sort of unrealistic, out of date and nonsense -

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that one person COULDN'T spend five days making a hat for one woman

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and that we lived in a mass-production age and that we...

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We must... make mass-production clothes

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and that they must not cause all that sweat, blood and tears

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at £2 10s a week.

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WOMAN: The first, a casual coat by Belstaff,

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lined with... INDISTINCT

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Raincoat by Weathergay - this has an Antron outer fabric

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and Dacron fibrefill padding.

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The collar in Dunbar seal.

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If there's one thing we all do, it's to wear clothes.

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Some of us make more fuss about it than others,

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some prefer satins and silks, others denim.

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But whatever our taste,

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we all spend time and effort and money choosing clothes

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in which we feel comfortable

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and in which we hope we look attractive to other people.

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But who decides what we're going to wear?

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What's it like going to work in the industry known the world over

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as the rag trade?

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Well, today I've come to one of London's big hotels

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to see a fashion show,

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and out there, the experts are looking critically

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at the clothes the models are wearing

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and trying to decide what you and I might buy.

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Let's go back, then, to the very beginning

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and take a look at the textile industry,

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which provides from the basic raw materials

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all the many fabrics from which our clothes are made -

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fabrics that can start their life in a number of different ways.

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In a test tube, for example -

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the so-called man-made fibres like nylon and rayon,

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produced from chemicals in the laboratory.

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Or, like cotton, as a plant grown overseas.

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Or nearer home, perhaps,

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wool from the many different breeds of sheep reared in these islands.

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Each breed gives a different kind of wool - different quality,

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different textures, and sorting one from another at the mill

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calls for a skill and experience

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that's the result of a long and intensive training.

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We're going to take a look at wool being put through

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all the processes that go to make up the finished cloth -

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washing, combing, twisting, spinning and weaving.

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It's pretty well the same story for cotton

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and the man-made fibres too,

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but with certain essential differences

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at some stages in the process.

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But whatever fibre is used and whatever finish is required,

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the basic traditional crafts of spinning and weaving

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go into the making of every piece of cloth -

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crafts that haven't basically changed in over 2,000 years,

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except that, as in every other industry,

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machines are now doing the work of hundreds of people.

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So, the fibre is twisted and spun in hundreds of different shades

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and colours, thicknesses and textures.

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Reel upon reel of yarn that

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will be blended and woven into cloth for coats and suits and dresses.

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Now, although machines are used to produce the vast amounts of cloth

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needed each year by the garment industries,

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it's the people who set the machines who are really important.

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There are a wide range of skills employed in all parts

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of the textile industry,

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and training is a question of passing on traditional skills

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from one generation to the next.

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The textile world used to be limited, of course,

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to certain parts of the country, like Lancashire

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and the West Riding of Yorkshire.

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But modern developments,

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especially the rapid expansion in the field of man-made fibres,

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has led now to an industry that's almost nationwide.

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Although it's now highly mechanised,

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weaving remains the basic art of laying one set of threads

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at right angles to another - the warp and the weft.

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The resulting weave can be plain or patterned.

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That such beautiful patterns can be created

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is a tribute to the artists and engineers

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working in the textile industry.

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And so the cloth takes shape - a lightweight suit for the tropics,

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an overcoat for winter -

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hundreds of different patterns destined for thousands

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of different people.

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But this is only the beginning.

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At this stage, the cloth can be made into anything.

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What eventually appears depends very largely on the skill of those people

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who can sew one piece of cloth to another

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to produce anything from a ball gown to a balaclava.

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If you had worked in the clothing industry in days gone by,

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you might well have found yourself sewing by hand

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with a group of other people in an often dimly lit, small backroom.

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In some ways, things haven't changed very much.

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A great deal of the day-to-day work - on samples at least -

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is still done by groups of people working in small backrooms,

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but usually better lit.

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Like everyone else, though,

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the clothing industry has been forced into mass production,

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perhaps not necessarily for the best,

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but with millions of garments to make each year

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and styles that continually vary,

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the majority of the large manufacturers

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tend to run their clothing factories like any other factory,

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on a production-line basis - cloth in one end, patterns cut,

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machined, sewed, pressed, packed and out at the other.

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Off they go, dresses for women all over the country, perhaps the world -

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big women, little women, thin women, fat women.

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The competition in the rag trade is fierce.

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Business is carried on at a frantic pace -

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styles, patterns, colours, ideas that change by the week,

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even by the day.

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Manufacturers who hope that their lines will be the most popular ones

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are often surprised or shocked.

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There's no accounting for public taste,

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but in this one area of London alone

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perhaps 1,000 organisations try to persuade the public -

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you and me - to buy a better, gayer, lovelier life.

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And so the clothes finally reach the shops.

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Behind the glass, a glimpse of the glamorous you of tomorrow.

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Of course, some people are too young or perhaps too worldly-wise

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to be fooled by this sort of thing.

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'When it comes to buying clothes,

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'there are those who don't have to worry how much money they spend.

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'They get the very best attention, the most courteous service,

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'the personal touch,

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'but they often have to pay for it in hundreds of pounds.'

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It is, after all, an exquisite Paris design, madam.

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I know one does like to be noticed,

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but I'm always afraid of being a little too daring.

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'These ladies usually have very generous husbands

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'and, with dresses at that price, they need them.

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'Of course, you don't have to be rich

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'to spend a lot of money on clothes, but it does help.'

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WOMAN 1: That looks nice, I'll have a pink one.

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- WOMAN 2: Did you try them on? - WOMAN 1: Yes, they look super.

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Long-sleeved mauve vests. Um...

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We haven't got any long-sleeved ones at the moment. Right, then, bye-bye.

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'The trouble is, somehow, that you can't put a price on fashion.

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'If you're going to be a trendsetter, well, you've got to pay the price,

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'even for the most insignificant piece of clothing.'

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- WOMAN 1: Can you do a price on...? - WOMAN 2: Too small.

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WOMAN 3: Well, they do vary.

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WOMAN 4: With the belt, of course, you can wear it...

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'When you think that last year, as a nation,

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'we spent almost £2,000 million on clothes,

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'it makes you wonder if our vanity is worth that much.'

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WOMAN 1: Darker colours... They come in these checks...

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- WOMAN 2: You want a 12? - WOMAN 3: Yes.

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'But you might not only be a customer,

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'you might decide you'd like to work

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'as a sales assistant in a clothes shop.

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'Not an easy job.

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'You've got to be polite, helpful

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'and often you must try to understand the customer

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'who's not sure what he wants anyway.'

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Um... It's got gingham collars, cuffs and collar.

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This is the dark blue one. Um...

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I don't think this is necessarily your colour.

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What kind of jacket is it to go with?

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Sort of white, off-white, in linen.

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Yes, well, I think...

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We've got a large range of shirts here of various colours

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that I think you might like better.

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This sort of thing,

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a paler blue, I think, might tone in better with your jacket.

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This has got the stitching that I think you'll rather like.

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This double stitching here, fly fronts.

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And a double cuff, the... Do you notice the finish on the cuffs there?

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We've also got a bespoke department, you know...to measure.

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Mm.

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'You can make mistakes if you're too keen to help.

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'If you ask the right questions to begin with,

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'you won't waste your time or the customer's.'

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Would you like to come this way, please?

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Thank you.

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Had you any particular colour in mind? Something like this?

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No, nothing particularly. I'll try that for a start, anyhow.

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Certainly. Well, I'll check the size anyway.

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Right, thank you.

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- Let me take that for you, sir. - Oh, thank you very much.

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- There we are, sir. - Thank you.

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How does that feel?

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Well, it fits all right, but it's a bit short, isn't it?

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I'll get my trousers wet if I'm not careful!

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This coat is very fashionable at the present moment, of course.

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Yes, but...

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No, it's too short for me. I'd like to try a longer one, please.

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- Yes, a pleasure. - Thank you.

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'You see, if only he'd found out what was wanted right at the beginning.'

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WOMAN: Good afternoon. Can we help you at all? Anything special?

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'Selling clothes to ladies can be a problem.

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'They ask your advice, but they don't really want it.

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'They can't afford a dress, but they buy it just the same

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'and they expect you to help calm their anxieties.

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'You become an advisor, but people won't trust you.

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'They know, as you do, that it's your business to sell.'

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Isn't that nice? Yes.

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And belted, so you can either use it without a belt, around the waist...

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Maybe in white? This is very smart. It's also been reduced, madam.

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This is £4 19s 11d...

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We've had great success with that one this year. It's a sweet style...

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It's really worth trying because they are really...

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'The fashion business never stops - clothes for every occasion,

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'every pocket.

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'A style, a shape, a colour for everyone.'

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WOMAN: Antonelli.

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SMATTERING OF APPLAUSE

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Well, that line looks like being very popular.

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The textile industry provided the cloth,

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and, obviously, it's been very well made.

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But who decided on the cut and shape of the particular garment?

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That's the job of the designer, a job which calls for a variety

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of basic skills.

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And until a few years ago,

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most of the basic designs - for women's clothes at least -

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seem to have come from Paris and Rome,

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but lately, British designers have been more than holding their own,

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especially in clothes for younger people, and, what's more,

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giving our exports a thoroughly good boost.

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What's it like being a designer of clothes?

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What sort of training do you need?

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Is it as glamorous as it seems?

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'Well, most of the time you're working in a small room

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'with samples of cloth all around you,

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'a dummy, a sketch pad and a pencil.

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'Sometimes you work on your own, sometimes with other people.

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'Slowly, you begin to try out ideas

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'that may be next year's fashions... or may not.'

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But make sure that the shoulder strap

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is the same width as the bodice line here

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and...the other thing...

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'Pat's experience is typical.

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'Seven years' study to become a designer

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'and, at first, she saw her ideas rejected or used by somebody else

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'without getting any of the credit.

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'She wants to run her own fashion house, but is it so easy?

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'I spoke to several young designers

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'and asked what had happened to them, what they thought about their work.'

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As soon... Yes, as soon as I left, I...

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Well, I went to evening classes to learn cutting

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because I knew this was what I wanted to do,

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and my first job was in a workroom. I knew one just had to learn

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something about it, and it was £2 10s a week, and...

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That was tough because I had to live on it

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because my parents kept saying, "You know, what do you expect?

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"If you will do something as silly as fashion,

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"you must put up with it," again, quite rightly, you know.

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Yes, well, I started at provincial art school,

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did a three-year course there,

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in which I learnt sort of cutting and making...

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sort of all the technical side.

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And then I went on to the Royal College from there

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and did an extra three years.

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So, in all, I've spent six years studying,

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so that's quite a long study period.

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Um... Well, my education,

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I had a secondary modern education after failing the 11-plus... Um...

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I did a few jobs after that and then went into national service,

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in the Navy.

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After coming out of the national service I went to art school.

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I stayed there for two years

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and then took the entrance to the Royal College of Art

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and I stayed there for one year, and then left the Royal College.

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I started in a small, bespoke workshop in South London

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and I learnt sort of cutting and tailoring

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and all the practical and technical side,

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and from there, I left - I think I spent about 18 months there

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and I left there and I attended Shoreditch Garment College

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for the clothing industry.

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Well, I think the first thing you must have is, obviously, finance.

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I didn't go in for about three months

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and I realised that you just can't do a thing unless you've got money.

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Anyone who's going into business must be prepared for this sort of...

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this sort of thing that's on you all the time. You can't relax.

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You can't have holidays very easily like people think you can.

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You're working all the time.

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I mean, it's all right doing things, you know,

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sketches and doing things on paper,

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but then you've got to sit down and get your form and get your line,

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and this is what you've got to convey to a machinist.

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And I think clothes are going to be made

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in a completely new kind of way, and should be, indeed.

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I mean, they should be made like fibreglass motorcars or bottles,

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they shouldn't be cut and sewn together.

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We shouldn't have man-made fibres that imitate wool

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by being turned into a thread and then woven with waft, weft,

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whatever they call them. You know, you could, in fact...

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It's absolutely possible, really,

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to take the chemicals, to have the formula for the mould,

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which is like a bottle,

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and more or less shake it up and through scientific processes

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produce the garment, you know, in all the different sizings, without seams.

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Perfect finish.

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Well, there we are.

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A vast industry, a hectic one and an eye always on the export market -

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an industry that is often brilliantly inventive

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and sometimes extremely superficial.

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And if you think there's a place somewhere along the line for you,

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you can rest assured that wherever you live

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there'll be some branch or other of the rag trade.

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Pay can vary enormously,

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but there's nearly always some form of training available

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and promotion is there if you've got the enthusiasm and the ability.

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Now, for those with artistic ability and a sense of colour or line,

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the world of the designer or buyer could be open to you,

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but it's a pretty tough road.

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You need detailed training and a capacity for hard work.

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So, the next time you buy yourself some more clothes,

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just give a thought to all the people and to all the techniques

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directly or indirectly concerned with the end product.

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Would one of these jobs be right for you?

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As always, it's your decision.

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SHEEP BLEAT

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