Matilda Etches
Muriel Matilda Etches (1898–1974) was a British fashion designer and couturier, and a film and theatre costume designer.
Matilda Etches | |
|---|---|
| Born | Muriel Matilda Etches 1898 Rotherham, Yorkshire, England |
| Died | 1974 (aged 75–76) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | fashion designer and couturier, and a film and theatre costume designer |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Bamford Paul Homan |
| Children | Patricia Bamford |
| Relatives | Robin Jacques (son-in-law) |
Early life
Etches was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire.[1] She was the daughter of Charles Thomas Watkins Etches (1874–1964) and Agnes Helena Etches (nee Woollen). Her father was a captain in The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry during World War I.[2]
Career
Etches started a dressmaking business in 1934, but financial problems led to it being dissolved the following year. She started a new business in the late 1930s, and had "widespread fame" in the 1940s.[1] According to a feature in Vogue, "Her clothes philosophy is for undating simplicity, for an elegance which relies on cut rather than trimming and above all for comfort: this last, an unusual and very welcome viewpoint."[1] Her clients included the actress Vivien Leigh,[1] Margot Fonteyn, Glynis Johns, Constance Collier, Christine Norden, Paulette Goddard, and Valerie Hobson.[3]
Etches was also a costume designer for theatre and film, and worked with theatre designer Sophie Fedorovitch,[1] and extensively with Cecil Beaton.[3] According to the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), "Matilda Etches is now almost entirely forgotten except as a theatre, ballet and opera costume-maker. However, she was an extremely talented couturier, whose fashionable clothes were innovative and very carefully made."[4]
Personal life
In 1919, Etches married the engineer Robert Bamford, who founded a company that became Aston Martin.[1] They had a daughter, Patricia Bamford, who married the illustrator Robin Jacques.[5][6]
In 1950, she married the American economist and economics advisor, Paul Homan.[1]
She spent her later life in Brighton.[1] After her death, Cecil Beaton wrote an obituary.[1]
Legacy
Several Etches pieces are in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Her 1948 evening dress of printed cotton is described as "an haute-couture interpretation of the wrapped garments traditionally worn by West African women",[4] and a 1949 evening cape.[7] In 1969, Etches donated selected items, and the cotton dress and evening cape were considered by senior V&A officials to be key acquisitions, the first modern fashion items to be so honoured.[7]
Filmography as costume designer
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943), with Joseph Buto[8][9]
- Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)[8]
- Beware of Pity (1946)[8]
- Gaiety George (1946)[8]
References
- "Unmaking Things 2013–14 – Matilda Etches: A re-discovery of a forgotten couturier". unmakingthings.rca.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Supplement to The London Gazette" (PDF). The London Gazette. 17 January 1916. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- Ray Diffen (27 September 2011). Ray Diffen Stage Clothes. Xlibris Corporation. pp. 17–20. ISBN 978-1-4653-5673-4.
- "West African – Etches, Matilda – V&A Search the Collections". collections.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Obituary: Robin Jacques". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- "Obituaries: Robin Jacques". independent.co.uk. Retrieved 7 August 2018.
- "Butterfly – Etches, Matilda – V&A Search the Collections". collections.vam.ac.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- "Matilda Etches". bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- Constantine Santas; James M. Wilson; Maria Colavito; Djoymi Baker (21 March 2014). The Encyclopedia of Epic Films. Scarecrow Press. p. 352. ISBN 978-0-8108-8248-5.