This is an opportunity to combine a number of lectures to gain a greater insight into the legacy of British and French fashion when viewed through the lens of the couturiers, the fashion artists and specific moments during the interwar and post war years that would influence the direction, development and elegance of fashion forever.
The Golden Age of Fashion Illustration - including the opportunity to study the original artworks
Fashion in a Time of War (1939 - 1945) - explores the role fashion played in London and Paris during the second World War including original short films from the period
Post War Fashion Illustration and The Artisits of Today As the world emerged from WWII and French couturier Christian Dior introduced his revolutionary ‘New Look’ in 1947, fashion illustration was to play a pivotal role in the success of fashion houses who had struggled to survive the war years in Europe
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With a background in fashion and broadcasting, Connie Gray is the leading art specialist on 20th-century fashion illustration, with a special interest in the history of wartime fashion. She is the author of the bestselling GPP: One of a Kind (2025), the definitive illustrated biography of Gladys Perint Palmer. As a curator, writer, presenter and lecturer, she advises internationally on museum exhibitions and writes on the evolution of fashion illustration, wartime style’s influence on visual culture, and the legacies of key illustrators. She collaborates with institutions on acquisitions, conservation, and exhibitions, including Pioneers of Fashion (Lee Miller Archives), Crown to Couture (Kensington Palace, London), and 100 Years of Fashion Illustration (Society of Illustrators, New York), alongside presenting a series of Fashion Talks for luxury clients in the UK and USA.