Norman Hartnell: Couturier to queens & stars

Norman Hartnell dresses were the stuff of dreams in the mid-20th century – but not if you could afford them. From his couture house in Mayfair, Hartnell dressed actors, rich women and many members of the royal family in custom-made gowns.

Hartnell didn’t come from the wealthy worlds he designed for. He was born in Streatham, south London, to parents who owned a pub called the Crown & Sceptre.

The pub’s royal name foreshadowed his future clients. As a couturier, Hartnell became famous for being the queen’s dressmaker, and even designed the 1953 coronation gown for Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1923, Hartnell opened his first couture business on 10 Bruton Street, Mayfair. He designed evening gowns for society women – the sort of wealthy women who regularly attended formal events like balls and parties.

As his reputation grew, so did his roster of clients. He was in demand from many icons of the stage and screen, such as West End performer Evelyn Lane and movie star Marlene Dietrich.

There was an element of drama in all of Hartnell’s designs. Dresses were encrusted with spangles, beads and rhinestones, and had stiffened, cage-like underskirts called crinolines.

Hartnell had always loved theatre. His talents were honed designing costumes for his university’s amateur drama society. He later created dresses for a number of West End productions, including plays by Noël Coward.

By the 1930s the successful House of Hartnell had outgrown its first site. In 1935, it moved across the road to its bigger permanent home at number 26.

Hartnell’s opulent wedding dresses were also in demand with brides in Britain. Some, like this garment below, incorporated elements of medieval dresses, such as bell-shaped long sleeves and scoop necklines.

In 1935, Hartnell designed blush pink bride and bridesmaid dresses for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. This marked the start of a long and successful relationship as a designer for the royal family.

Hartnell hit new heights of fame as a favourite dressmaker to queens and princesses. In the late 1930s, he dressed Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother) in crinoline evening gowns and an all-white wardrobe on a state trip to Paris.

He also designed for a number of other royal weddings, including that of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in 1947. He had to block the windows of his Bruton Street workroom to keep the dress secret before the big day.

Perhaps Hartnell’s most famous design is the dress made for Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, which featured intricate embroidery of the floral emblems of Commonwealth countries. “I thought of the sky, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars and everything heavenly that might be embroidered upon a dress destined to be historic,” Hartnell reflected in his 1955 autobiography.

In the 1940s, Hartnell started designing ready-to-wear lines for clothing manufacturer Berkertex. This meant you didn’t have to be super wealthy to own a Norman Hartnell piece.

During the Second World War (1939–1945), the government approached leading London designers like Hartnell and Hardy Amies to design practical ‘utility’ outfits for the mass market. The idea was that these new stylish clothes – produced within the wartime restrictions on fabrics and embellishments – would boost morale.

The resulting 32 outfits were very popular with the public and the press. “Suburban wives and factory girls will soon be able to wear clothes designed and styled by the Queen's dressmaker,” the Daily Mail proclaimed.

Hartnell continued designing uniforms after the war, including for officers of the Women’s Royal Army Corps and the women’s uniform for the Metropolitan Police.

Hartnell was a well-known couturier designer in Britain. But he also caught the attention of designers further afield.

Christian Dior was inspired by Hartnell’s romantic crinoline dresses worn by the Queen Mother in her state visit to France in 1938. We can see Hartnell’s influence in the ultra-feminine full skirts and cinched waists of Dior’s groundbreaking New Look collection, launched in 1947.

Hartnell, in turn, interpreted the New Look in his own designs – for example, this silk satin evening dress from 1948.

Hartnell died in 1979, two years after being knighted, the highest honour awarded by the monarchy. Hartnell was the first person to be knighted for services to fashion.

He reached dizzying heights in his career as a designer – and had the celebrity client list to prove it.

But his business had been struggling since the 1960s. Paris had reasserted itself as the place for couture. Shopping habits in Britain also changed. Some old clients no longer had the money to buy couture. Others opted for ready-to-wear outfits from retailers like Susan Small and Harrods, or boutiques like Mary Quant’s Bazaar.

The 60s fashion for undecorated clothing in simple silhouettes made it difficult to justify spending on couture, which would end up looking similar to a ready-to-wear version.

After Hartnell’s death, the House of Hartnell passed through a few more owners before closing in 1992.