Raymond "Ossie" Clark (June 9, 1942–August 6, 1996) was an English fashion designer who was a major figure in the Swinging Sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era. As a result, Ossie is now extremely well renowned for his vintage designs, the contemporary fashion era being characterised by past influences and a retro feel to design. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2006 est. ... Brief introduction on the history of fashion design and designers Fashion design is the art dedicated to the creation of wearing apparel and lifestyle. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Clark is compared to the 1960s fashion greats Mary Quant and Biba. He is also known to be a great inspiration for many fashion designers, including Yves Saint Laurent and Tom Ford. Manolo Blahnik has said of Ossie Clark's work: "He created an increadble magic with the body and achieved what fashion should do — produce desire." His clothes are highly sought after, and are worn by well=known models like Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell. Mary Quant OBE FCSD (born February 11, 1934) is a British fashion designer, one of the many designers who took credit for inventing the miniskirt and hot pants. ... Biba was an iconic and popular fashion store in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Yves Saint-Laurent (born August 1, 1936 in Oran, Algeria) is a French fashion designer. ... Tom Ford (born August 27, 1961) is an American fashion designer. ... Manolo Blahnik (born November 27, 1942) is a Spanish fashion designer and an eponymous fashion label, one of the worlds most prominent in womens shoes. ... Not to be confused with Kate Mosse. ... Naomi Campbell (born 22nd May 1970) is an iconic English supermodel and sometime actress, singer and author. ...

Ossie Clark is featured in David Hockney's 1970 painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy. It now hangs in the Tate Britain gallery on Millbank and is one of the most visited paintings in Britain. His diaries, which he began in 1971, were published posthumously in 1998 as The Ossie Clark Diaries. In 1999-2000 the Washington Museum and Art Gallery held the first retrospective of his work. Another retrospective was held at London's V&A museum in 2003. A book from this show, Ossie Clark: 1965-74, is published by Adrams Books and the V&A Museum. We Two Boys Together Clinging, 1961. ... Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy is a painting by the British artist David Hockney. ... Tate Britain is a part of the Tate Gallery in Britain, along with Tate Modern, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. ... Millbank is an area of London, England, that is east of Pimlico and south of Westminster. ...

Early days and education

Born in Warrington, Lancashire, England in 1942, Raymond Clark's parents moved to Oswaldtwistle during the war, hence his nickname, "Ossie". Family and friends noted that from a very early age he weas "brilliant at doing anything". Young Ossie would make clothes for his neices and nephews. A teacher at Ossie's High School recigonised Ossie's creative flair and gave him a large collection of Vogue and Haper's Bazaar magazines. Clark poured over these magazines and took in all the glamour and cutting edge fashion. Warrington is the largest town and borough in the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. ... Lancashire is a county in North West England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... Rhyddings Park Oswaldtwistle is a town on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Lancashire, 3 m. ... Vogue can refer to: Vogue (magazine), a fashion magazine Vogue (dance), a style of dance Melchior de Vogüé (1848-1910), French writer Vogue (single), a song and a single by KMFDM Vogue (song), a song from the album Im Breathless by Madonna Vogue, a single released by Ayumi Hamasaki...

Soon after High School graduation, Clark attended the Regional College Of Art in Manchester. While attending college in Manchester, Clark met Celia Birtwell. The pair started out as just good friends but that friendship soon developed into a love affair. Ossie also became good friends with artist David Hockney during this period. The friends are widely rumored to have been lovers with a volitile relationship. Clark graduated from Regional College of Art in 1958. Manchester is a major city and metropolitan borough within Greater Manchester in North West England. ... Celia Birtwell is a textile designer. ... We Two Boys Together Clinging, 1961. ...

Clark then Attended the Royal College of Art in London and achieved a first-class degree in 1965. While attending college in London Celia Birtwell came to live with Ossie in his small Notting Hill flat. Ossie's degree fashion show at the RCA was a huge success. The fashion press swamped Ossie with requests for photoshoots and special order garments. In August that year he had his first feature in British Vogue. The Royal College of Art in South Kensington, London. ... Celia Birtwell is a textile designer. ... For the film, see Notting Hill (film). ... For other meanings, see vogue. ...

Early career

He quickly began to make his mark in the fashion industry, with Alice Pollock's exclusive boutique Quorum featuring his designs in 1966. Ossie had met Pollock at a party on the King's Road and so taken with the young designer was she that she immediately ordered a whole collection of dresses for her boutique. Ossie presented a colletion of white and cream chiffon garments that sold fast. Pollock wanted Clark's clothes to have a more organic feel and so commissioned Celia Birtwell to produce special textiles for the next collection. In this way, one of fashions most famous collabetaions was born: with Osssie Clark designing clothes and Celia Birtwell desiging prints. Kings Road may mean: Kings Road, Hong Kong Kings Road, Singapore Kings Road, Chelsea, London, United Kingdom This article consisting of geographical locations is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Celia Birtwell is a textile designer. ... Celia Birtwell is a textile designer. ...

This partnership would last for almost all of Clark's career in fashion. Author Judith Watt comments: "Celia collaborated with Ossie. This was a joint effort. People say that she was a muse, which indeed she was, but their work was absolutely went hand in hand. It was her designs that he used to create his. I think it's unfair that she not be given that voice"

Peak: 1965-1974

The period from 1965 to 1974 is regarded as his zenith, during which time he had many famous clients.

In the late 1960s, Clark hit a rich vein for his flamboyant clothing range. The fashion press dubbed Ossie "The King Of King's Road". Clark pronounced himself a "master cutter. It's all in my brain and fingers and there's no-one in the world to touch me. I can do everything myself." Clark's great idol was the famous dancer Nijinsjy and his love of dance inspired his clothes to be free moving and not to resrict the female form. This style of dressing became quite popular in the 1970s thanks in large part to the popularity of Clark's clothing. Ossie Clark is well known for his use of muted colours and moss crepe fabric. He and Birtwell also designed shoes, paper dresses, and snakeskin jackets.

In 1967 Clark presented a fashion show at Chelsea Town Hall for Pathé News. He also showed his first full collection in London's Berkley Square. Clark's was the first ready-to-wear collection ever to present a show during London fashion week. It was also the first British fashion show to feature black models. In 1968 Clark agreed to design a diffusion line for Alfred Radley that made his clothes available to a high street clientele. By this point in their relationship, Ossie and Celia were at the apex of their working relationship.

She would work up several prints of her own design and liking, with no imput from Ossie as to their color or print. The prints were usually based apon Birtwell's interpretations of the natural world. Clark would then design clothing based around and inspired by these designs.

In 1969, he married Celia Birtwell. Although Ossie was openly bisexual and carried on many affarirs with men, he and Birtwell had two sons together. Clark had long hoped for a large family of his own and his children were a great joy in his life. Celia Birtwell is a textile designer. ...

Clark was not just popular in London, but also in New York and Paris. He dressed the rich and famous who inhabited the beau monde of the late 1960s and early 1970s of London. Clark got in on the ground floor of many of the popular preformers and actors of the time period and was accepted in their circles when many other designers were not. This gave him many advantages to dress the rich and famous. Clark made many stage costumes for Mick Jagger, the Beatles, Marianne Faithfull and Liza Minelli, among others. Sir Michael Philip Mick Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer, and businessman. ... The Beatles were a highly influential English rock band from Liverpool. ... Marianne Faithfull on the cover of her album A Secret Life Marian Evelyn Faithfull[1] (b. ... Liza Minnelli (born March 12, 1946) is an American actress and singer. ...

Although society and celebrities accepted Clark as one of their own, Ossie always felt less appreciated artisticly and financially then some of the people he was surround by. This feeling would lead to many personal frustrations. More and more Ossie would work less and party more and his work began to suffer.

Clark freely adopted the hedonistic lifestyle of the 1960s and 1970s: his drug use greatly impacted on his emotional state and finances. Downfall soon followed, including bankruptcy in 1983. Clark and Birtwell divorced in the 1970s. This started a slow downward spiral for Ossie, who never recoverd emotionally from the separation from Birtwell and his two children. With his family structure and work stability now gone, his creative output became strained. Birtwell recalled:

I don't think he ever thought I'd leave him. He never quite forgave me for that. But I could only take so much of his lifestyle. He loved his family very much, but was not willing to settle down. ^{[citation needed]}

1980s and later

Going into the 1980s, fashion — British fashion in particular — turned towards the new punk rock craze. Clothing from Vivienne Westwood's shop on the King's Road became the most popular look. Ossie Clark's romantic flowing gowns were no longer in fashion. His business declined and Clark went bankrupt and eventually was forced to close his business. In this time period, Clark became a devout Buddhist. He trained the designer Bella Freud to pattern-cut in the early 1990s Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE (born Vivienne Isabel Swire in Glossop, Derbyshire, on 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer largely responsible for modern punk and new wave fashions. ... Bella Freud (born April 17, 1961 in London, England) is a London-based fashion designer with a number of celebrity clients. ...

In 1996, Ossie was stabbed 37 times in his Holland Park apartment by his former lover, Diego Cogolato. Congolato then broke Clark's skull with a teracotta pot, killing him. Cogolato was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for six years.

External link

• Victoria and Albert Museum – biography, image gallery of his works and more