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''Clothes-Line'' was an early
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
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television programme broadcast live in six parts between 30 September and 3 December 1937. It is notable for being the first television programme dedicated to the
history of fashion
History of fashion design refers specifically to the development of the purpose and intention behind garments, shoes an
accessories, and their design and construction. The modern industry, based around firms or fashion houses run by individual d ...
.
[Taylor, Lou, ''Establishing Dress History'', chapter 2 (Manchester 2002) ] It was produced by
Mary Adams, and co-presented by the fashion historian
James Laver
James Laver, CBE, FRSA (14 March 1899 – 3 June 1975) was an English author, critic, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959. He was al ...
and
Pearl "Polly" Binder.
Broadcast times
* Episode 1: ''Clothes-Line'', broadcast at 21.20 on Thursday 30 September 1937
* Episode 2: ''The Sporting Woman'', broadcast at 21.20 on Thursday 14 October 1937
* Episode 3: ''Fossilized Clothes'', broadcast at 21.15 on Thursday 28 October 1937
* Episode 4: ''Hats and Headgear'', broadcast at 21.15 on Tuesday 9 November 1937
* Episode 5: ''Influences at Work'', broadcast at 21.15 on Thursday 19 November 1937
* Episode 6: ''Grandmamma Looks Back'', broadcast at 21.10 on Thursday 9 December 1937
Episode 4 was broadcast on the Tuesday that week rather than the Thursday due to
Remembrance Day
Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
falling that Thursday.
Concept
''Clothes-Line'' illustrated the development of fashion history through live models in original costumes from
C. Willett Cunnington's collection. Laver provided verse commentary on the garments, while Binder drew lightning sketches and illustrations at an
easel
An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, easels are traditionally used by painters to support a painting while they work on it, normally ...
.
After the first episode was broadcast, ''
The Listener'' commented: "we were left wondering quite what it was we had just seen and heard — a poetry-reading, a lightning-artist display, a
mannequin parade, or what?"
[ As they went on to acknowledge, ''Clothes-Line'' in fact used features of all three to create a new type of television programme.][
]
Controversies
Pregnancy
In addition to being the first television programme to deal with fashion history, ''Clothes-Line'' may well have been the first television programme to feature a heavily pregnant
Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins.
Pregnancy usually occur ...
woman.[ Binder had been pregnant with her first child when discussions for the programme first began, and a conscious decision was made to have her as a presenter.][ As she got closer to her ]due date
''Due Date'' is a 2010 American black comedy road film directed by Todd Phillips, who wrote the screenplay with Alan R. Cohen, Alan Freedland, and Adam Sztykiel. The film follows a man (Robert Downey Jr.) who must get across the country to Los An ...
, and had to stand further back from her easel, the noticeability of Binder's condition caused consternation amongst the BBC.[ Binder's daughter Josephine was not born until 6 January 1938, almost a month after the last episode aired on 9 December 1937.][
]
Nudity
The last show episode, ''Grandmamma Looks Back'', aired on 9 December 1937 and a fashionable backless evening dress worn by Micheline Patton
Micheline Patton (1912 – 30 June 2001) was an Irish actress who worked on radio, stage and television from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s.
Biography
Micheline Elizabeth Patton was born in Belfast in 1912, and died on 30 June 2001 in Godalming ...
, the actress playing the granddaughter to Nesta Sawyer's grandmother, was the cause of accusations of public nudity due to the filming angle from behind. Binder recollected in her diary that outraged viewers wrote in to complain.[
]
Repeats (''Clothes Through The Centuries'')
The first series was, as with so many early BBC programmes, broadcast live. The controversy of the final episode notwithstanding, it was so well received that it was decided to repeat the programme in early 1938. Laver, Binder, Adams, Patton and Sawyer all returned to reprise their roles for the second (revised) version, which consisted of three parts, and was renamed ''Clothes Through The Centuries''. The episode titles were:
* Episode 1. ''Grandmamma Looks Back'', broadcast at 21.10 on Sunday 10 April 1938
* Episode 2: ''The Sporting Girl'', broadcast at 21.10 on Monday 2 May 1938
* Episode 3: ''Legendary Loveliness from Nefertiti to Lily Langtry'', broadcast at 22.00 on Friday 3 June 1938Radio Times
''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
, 27 May 1938
References
{{Reflist
Fashion-themed television series
BBC television documentaries
BBC Television shows
1930s British television series
1937 British television series debuts
1937 British television series endings
English-language television shows