Celia Birtwell

Description

Celia Birtwell is one of Britain's best-known, best-loved designers. She is an iconic figure on the global arts scene. This lavish, multi-layered book - the first to be published on Celia - delves into her work and eventful life. The book conjures up all the personal warmth and visual intricacy of a family scrapbook: it features intimate photographs of Celia, her family and friends from her own albums and archive, her drawings, her charmingly idiosyncratic, fashion sketches and a multitude of examples of her fashion and home fabrics. Her bohemian lifestyle in the 60s and 70s, which saw her hanging out with such colourful personalities as Manolo Blahnik, the Beatles, Mick and Bianca Jagger and Paloma Picasso, is brought to life through stylish photographs from the time. Her ongoing relationship with Hockney both as friend and muse, is illustrated by his personal photographs, drawings and paintings of her, including the sketches that led to Mr & Mrs Clark and Percy, recently voted one of the nation's favourite paintings. Celia's renaissance in the Noughties has seen two sell-out collections of frocks for TopShop as well as a plethora of her prints on a wide variety of items.

Author description

Celia Birtwell was born and brought up in Manchester and moved to London in the early 60s. She soon fell in with the RCA crowd and formed a partnership - both personal and professional - with Ossie Clark, the most talented designer on the London scene. They became the darlings of the in crowd of the 60s, designing and partying with all the musicians, artists and glamorous jetset of the period. Celia became a close and lasting friend of David Hockney, holidaying with him and sitting for a wide array of drawings and paintings. In 1984 she opened her shop in Westbourne Park Road selling fabrics for interiors. Since 2000 her joyful prints have attracted a new generation of fans, with two collections for TopShop and designs for a range of outlets. Celia was awarded a CBE in 2011. The Writer Dominic Lutyens is a freelance style journalist who writes about fashion, design, interiors and art. He writes regularly for the Observer Magazine, The Financial Times, The Telegraph, Elle Decoration and Design Week. He has sat on selection panels for such fairs as Origin and has spoken in seminars at the Royal College of Art and the Victoria & Albert Museum. Author and Writer's Location: London