Neil Munro "Bunny" Roger (9 June 1911 – 27 April 1997) was an English

couturier ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became the ...

and socialite. Roger's best known contribution to fashion was his popularization of

Capri pants Capri pants (also known as three quarter legs, or capris, crop pants, man-pris, clam-diggers, flood pants, jams, highwaters, or toreador pants) are pants that are longer than shorts, but are not as long as trousers. Capri pants can be a generic ...

Early years

Neil Munro Roger was born 9 June 1911 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to Sir Alexander Roger and Helen Stuart Clark, both from

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. He attended the Loretto School and read History at Balliol College, Oxford for a year; he then studied drawing at The Ruskin. He was expelled from Oxford for alleged homosexual activities.

Career

In 1937, Roger established his dressmakers, Neil Roger, in Great Newport Street, London. One of his clients was Vivien Leigh. In the Second World War, he was commissioned in the Rifle Brigade in 1941 and served in Italy and North Africa. Roger was a war hero known for his courage under fire. A story that may be apocryphal has him replying to a sergeant's question regarding approaching Germans, "When in doubt, powder heavily." Following the war, he was invited to run the couture department at

Fortnum & Mason Fortnum & Mason (colloquially often shortened to just Fortnum's) is an upmarket department store in Piccadilly, London, with additional stores at The Royal Exchange, St Pancras railway station, Heathrow Airport in London and K11 Musea In Hong ...

. He invested in the House of Amies, and his stake was later acquired by

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 ...

in 1973.

, introduced by fashion designer

Sonja de Lennart Sonja de Lennart (born 21 May 1920) is a German fashion designer. In 1948, she invented Capri pants.Der Grosse Brockhaus Lexikon/The Great Brockhaus (Bertelsmann Group) 2002-2007

in 1948, were popularized by her and Roger. Roger was a clotheshorse who bought up to fifteen bespoke suits a year and four pairs of bespoke shoes or boots to go with each suit; each suit was said to have cost around £2,000. He favoured a neo-

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

look: four-buttoned jackets with broad shoulders, narrow waists, and long skirts. He favoured narrow trousers and a high-crowned

bowler hat The bowler hat, also known as a billycock, bob hat, bombín (Spanish) or derby (United States), is a hard felt hat with a rounded crown, originally created by the London hat-makers Thomas and William Bowler in 1849. It has traditionally been worn ...

. He was particularly fond of

spectator shoe The spectator shoe, also known as co-respondent shoe, is a style of low-heeled, oxford, semi-brogue or full brogue constructed from two contrasting colours, typically having the toe and heel cap and sometimes the lace panels in a darker colour th ...

s and ruby cufflinks. Roger was known for the lavish and outrageous parties that he held throughout his life. These events were often themed, as in the Diamond, Amethyst, and Flame Balls held to celebrate his 60th, 70th, and 80th birthdays, respectively.

Death

Roger died in London on 27 April 1997. He was 85 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roger, Bunny 1911 births 1997 deaths English people of Scottish descent People educated at Loretto School, Musselburgh Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford English LGBT people Rifle Brigade officers British Army personnel of World War II English fashion designers English socialites 20th-century English businesspeople 20th-century LGBT people