Betty Jackson, (born 24 June 1949) is an English fashion designer based in London, England. She was born in
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
. In 2007, her success in British fashion was recognised with first an
MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
in the Queen's Birthday Honours 1987 and later with a
CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
for "services to the fashion industry." She is also known for designing many of the costumes worn by Edina and Patsy on the 1990s hit television comedy ''
Absolutely Fabulous
''Absolutely Fabulous'' (also known as ''Ab Fab'') is a British television sitcom based on the ''French and Saunders'' sketch, "Modern Mother and Daughter", created by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. The show was created and written by Saund ...
''.
Early life
Jackson was born in Bacup, Lancashire on 24 June 1949. Her father, Arthur Jackson, owned a shoe factory, and her mother, Phyllis Gertrude (Rains), shopped 'for the season' at Kendal Milne in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
.
One leg was amputated at the age of six as it failed to grow following a dislocation during her birth. A car accident caused further complications and she has walked with a stick ever since.
She was educated at
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School (BRGS) is a selective co-educational academy grammar school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.
...
. She studied fashion at the
Birmingham College of Art
The Birmingham School of Art was a municipal art school based in the centre of Birmingham, England. Although the organisation was absorbed by Birmingham Polytechnic in 1971 and is now part of Birmingham City University's Faculty of Arts, Design a ...
under
Zandra Rhodes
Dame Zandra Lindsey Rhodes, (born 19 September 1940), is an English fashion and textile designer. Her early education in fashion set the foundation for a career in the industry creating textile prints. Rhodes has designed garments for Diana, ...
, and started her fashion career as a fashion illustrator during her senior year (1971) at college. She learned her trade in the later 1970s as a designer for the Quorum line of
Ossie Clark
Raymond "Ossie" Clark (9 June 1942 – 6 August 1996) was a British fashion designer who was a major figure in the Swinging Sixties scene in London and the fashion industry in that era. Clark is now renowned for his vintage designs by present- ...
.
Career
In 1973, Jackson joined
Wendy Dagworthy
Wendy Dagworthy OBE (born 4 March 1950) is an English former fashion designer and now design academic. During her career she has led fashion design teaching at both the Royal College of Art and Central Saint Martins, mentoring notable fashion d ...
as her design assistant. She moved to further positions at
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature) necessary to conduct the business of that group. According to ''Robert's Rules of Order Newly Revised'', the ...
, then
Coopers, before setting up her own design company.
She introduced Betty Jackson for Men collection, 1986, and opened her flagship shop in the Brompton Road, London, 1991. In 2000, she launched the Autograph collection for
Marks & Spencer
Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...
and now works on the Betty Jackson Black label for
Debenhams
Debenhams plc was a British department store chain operating in the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Republic of Ireland. It was founded in 1778 as a single store in London and grew to 178 locations across those countries, also owning the Danish ...
.
As a member of an advisory panel to the
British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a non-profit organization that aims to enable sustainable growth of British fashion in the global fashion economy. Founded in 1983, the BFC organizes biannual womenswear and menswear showcases, London Fashi ...
's Model Health Inquiry, Jackson has been involved in the '
size zero
Size zero or size 0 is a women's clothing size in the US catalog sizes system. Size 0 and 00 were invented due to the changing of clothing sizes over time (referred to as vanity sizing or size inflation), which has caused the adoption of lower nu ...
' debate. After the death in 2006 of two models who had eating disorders, media attention was drawn to the health and size of the girls. Jackson agreed to join the panel.
In 2008, Jackson worked as design consultant alongside a panel of judges, designing new gowns for
High Court and
Court of Appeal
A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...
judges.
Philanthropy
She has volunteered for Smart Works, a non-profit organisation which gives free clothes and advice about job interviews to women who are unemployed.
[Emma Barnett]
Dress for Success: the charity quietly getting British women back into work
''The Daily Telegraph'', 18 October 2012
Politics
In August 2014, Jackson was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' opposing
Scottish independence
Scottish independence ( gd, Neo-eisimeileachd na h-Alba; sco, Scots unthirldom) is the idea of Scotland as a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom, and refers to the political movement that is campaigning to bring it about.
S ...
in the run-up to September's
referendum on that issue.
Personal life
In 1981, she met her husband
David Cohen, and they set up their company, Betty Jackson Ltd. They worked together for nearly four decades. David was from an
Egyptian-Jewish family that moved to France.
[ He passed away in January 2020. They had two children including a daughter, Pascale, and a son, actor and model ]Oliver Jackson-Cohen
Oliver Mansour Jackson-Cohen (born 24 October 1986) is an English actor and model. He is best known for his role as Adrian Griffin in the 2020 adaptation of ''The Invisible Man'' and for his roles as Luke Crain and Peter Quint in the Netflix ...
.
Awards
* Woman Magazine Separates Designer of the Year award, London, 1981, 1983;
* Cotton Institute Cotton Designer of the Year award, 1983;
* Bath Museum of Costume
The Fashion Museum (known before 2007 as the Museum of Costume) is housed in the Assembly Rooms in Bath, Somerset, England.
The collection was started by Doris Langley Moore, who gave her collection of costumes to the city of Bath in 1963. Th ...
Dress of the Year award, 1984;
* British Designer of the Year
The Fashion Awards, known as the British Fashion Awards until 2016, is an annual ceremony established in the United Kingdom in 1989 to showcase both British and international individuals and businesses who have made the most outstanding contribu ...
award, 1985;
* Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831, at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections for men and women, fashion accessories, beauty products, fine wines and luxury f ...
award, 1985;
* International Linen Council Fil d'Or award, 1985, 1989; Viyella award, 1987;
* MBE Mbe may refer to:
* Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo
* Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria
* Mbe language, a language of Nigeria
* Mbe' language, language of Cameroon
* ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language
Molal ...
, 1987;
* Honorary Fellow
Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...
, Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design university in the United Kingdom. It offe ...
, London, 1989
* Fellow, Birmingham Polytechnic
, mottoeng = "Do what you are doing; attend to your business"
, established = 1992—gained university status1971—City of Birmingham Polytechnic1843— Birmingham College of Art
, type = Public
, affiliation = ...
, 1989;
* Honorary Fellow, University of Central Lancashire
, mottoeng = "From the Earth to the Sun"
, established = as Institution for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledgere-established 1992 (University status granted)
, type = Public
, chancellor ...
, 1992
* Designer of the Year, 1999
* CBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
, 2007
* Honorary Doctor
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
, University of Huddersfield, 2011
*Honorary Doctorate
An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...
, Norwich University of the Arts, 2017
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Betty
1949 births
Living people
British fashion designers
People from Bacup
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
People educated at Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
English amputees
Alumni of the Birmingham School of Art