Helen David is an English

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

and artist based in

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Early life and education

Helen David was born in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

,McDermott, Catherine & David, Helen, (1994), "English Eccentrics The Textile Designs of Helen Littman", Phaidon, , p. 7 East Sussex, and moved to London shortly after completing her A-levels. She gained a first-class honours degree at Camberwell College of Arts, where she studied textiles and fine art print-making. She studied fashion as a post-graduate at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. During this time, became involved with the London Underground culture of the '80s and frequented places such as the

Blitz Club The Blitz Club is a techno nightclub in the Munich district of Ludwigsvorstadt-Isarvorstadt. History and description The club is located in the former congress hall of the Deutsches Museum, completed in 1935 at the location of Munich's Museums ...

, where the

New Romantic The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...

styling that she is well known for was born.

Career

In 1983, David founded the design label ''English Eccentrics'' along with her sister, Judy Purbeck, and fellow designer, Claire Angel. The label specialized in hand-printed and hand-embroidered evening wear and scarves. She participated in the "London Goes to Tokyo" event organized by

Susanne Bartsch Susanne Bartsch (born 1962) is a Swiss event producer living in the United States whose monthly parties at the Copacabana in the late 1980s united the ''haute'' and ''demi-monde'', and made her an icon of New York nightlife. "Ms. Bartsch's name ...

, a show intended to broaden the reach of British designers. She also designed hosiery for Sophie Mirman's "Sock Shop", under the ''English Eccentrics'' name. In 2001 she took time away from the business to concentrate on art. "Friends and Icons" was her one-woman art exhibition, curated by Laura Parker-Bowles. David's fashion and textile work is part of permanent collections in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

, the

Museum of London The Museum of London is a museum in London, covering the history of the UK's capital city from prehistoric to modern times. It was formed in 1976 by amalgamating collections previously held by the City Corporation at the Guildhall, London, Gui ...

and the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

Books

* McDermott, Catherine & David, Helen, (1994), "English Eccentrics The Textile Designs of Helen Littman", Phaidon, * Ed. by Breward, Christopher and Wood, Ghislaine, (2012) "British Design from 1948: Innovation in the Modern Age", V and A books, * Marnie Fogg, (2009), "1980s Fashion Print", Batsford, * John Sorrell, (2009) "Creative Island 2", Laurence King Publishing Ltd, * Richard Martin, (1989), "Fashion and Surrealism", Thames and Hudson, * Ed. by Sonnet Stanfill, (2013), "From Club to Catwalk – 80's Fashion", V&A Publishing,

References

External links