Jeff Banks PPCSD (born Jeffrey Tatham-Banks, 17 March 1943) is a Welsh fashion designer of men's and women's clothing, jewellery, and home furnishings. Born in
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
, Wales, Banks co-founded the fashion chain Warehouse in the late 1970s. He later created and presented the television programme ''
The Clothes Show
''The Clothes Show'' is a British television show about fashion that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000, and from 2006 on UKTV Style and Really. At its height, ''The Clothes Show'' had around 9 million viewers every Sunday night. It al ...
'', broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
from 1986 to 2000.
Biography
Banks was born in the
Monmouthshire
Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...
valleys of
South Wales
South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...
, at
Ebbw Vale
Ebbw Vale (; cy, Glynebwy) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr con ...
. His sheet metal worker father left his mother when Banks was eight, and she consequently decided to move to London.
[My Way: Fashion designer Jeff Banks on how to get on at work](_blank)
The Independent – 19 July 2007
He was offered a scholarship to independent
public school
Public school may refer to:
* State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government
* Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...
St Dunstan's College
St Dunstan's College is a coeducation, co-educational Independent school (United Kingdom), independent day school in Catford, south-east London, England. It is a registered charity, and a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference a ...
, in
Catford
Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdiv ...
, south London, but his mother couldn't afford the uniform. He went to
Brockley County Grammar School
Brockley is a district and an wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross.
History
The name Brockley is derived from "Broca's woodland clearing", a wood ...
instead, but still without a uniform. In order to afford a uniform he set up his own business buying paraffin at the bottom of the hill, then pushing it up in an old pram, and selling it for a penny more at the top of the hill.
By 13 he was employing a man to drive a lorry-based tanker, and at 15 he sold the business.
Encouraged by a teacher to study art and become a painter, he realised his art skills were limited during his first year at London's
Camberwell School of Art
Camberwell College of Arts is a public tertiary art school in Camberwell, in London, England. It is one of the six constituent colleges of the University of the Arts London. It offers further and higher education programmes, including postgradu ...
, and so transferred to studying interior design and latterly textiles at
Saint Martin's School of Art
Saint Martin's School of Art was an art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's became part of t ...
, and then fashion at
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
's
Parsons The New School for Design
Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatt ...
.
[ BBC Wales Arts & Entertainment. Archived 20 October 2007.]
Banks holds honorary degrees from the
University of Lancaster
, mottoeng = Truth lies open to all
, established =
, endowment = £13.9 million
, budget = £317.9 million
, type = Public
, city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster
, country = England
, coor =
, campus = Bailrigg
, faculty = 1 ...
,
University of East London
, mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows
, established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...
, Newcastle University,
University College for the Creative Arts, and the
University of Westminster
, mottoeng = The Lord is our Strength
, type = Public
, established = 1838: Royal Polytechnic Institution 1891: Polytechnic-Regent Street 1970: Polytechnic of Central London 1992: University of Westminster
, endowment = £5.1 million ...
, and is a Doctor of Arts.
He was awarded the Minerva Medal by th
Chartered Society of Designersin 1994 and was the Society's President from 2001 to 2003.
In 2009 Banks was appointed as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...
.
Career
In 1964, with money saved from the paraffin business and from his father mortgaging his own home, Banks opened the boutique Clobber in London,
which carried his own designs along with other designers' work. It proved such a success that in 1969, he launched his own fashion label.
In 1975 he opened the first standalone Jeff Banks shop in London, as well as retail outlets in twenty-two department stores, including
Harrods
Harrods Limited is a department store located on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It is currently owned by the state of Qatar via its sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority. The Harrods brand also applies to other ...
and
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 ...
.
In the late 1970s, he co-launched the fashion chain Warehouse, as well as continuing to work as a freelance designer. After it was taken over by retail chain
Sears
Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began a ...
, he was
sacked for being disruptive in board meetings – which he never regrets.
In 1979 and 1981 Banks became
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 ...
, and in 1980 he was made "British Coat Designer of the Year".
During the mid-to late 1980s, he designed a large proportion of the stage-clothes for musician
Howard Jones.
Banks's standing as a commercial force in retail fashion led to his presenting over 320 episodes of ''
The Clothes Show
''The Clothes Show'' is a British television show about fashion that was broadcast on BBC One from 1986 to 2000, and from 2006 on UKTV Style and Really. At its height, ''The Clothes Show'' had around 9 million viewers every Sunday night. It al ...
'', the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. The show's success in often gaining over 10 million viewers, led in 1989 to the first "Clothes Show Live" event at the
, as well as the launch of the Clothes Show magazine.
Having been asked to create corporate design wear for many organisations Jeff Banks created his own corporate clothing company in 1996. Incorporatewear is now one of the largest companies in the United Kingdom producing corporate clothing. With partners Rob Pollock and Brian Lamb the company produces a wide range of clothing for various types of companies.
In 2000, he signed a deal to design clothes for the UK chain
. The installation of Jeff Banks stores within Sainsbury's outlets proved successful, but a dispute led to the early termination of his contract. The resulting lawsuit was resolved with Sainsbury's agreeing to pay a reported settlement of £1 million, plus a box of truffles every week.
In April 2007, Banks mocked
, saying: "Can Kate sharpen a pencil, do an impression of a cow or draw a matchstick man? I would put money on it, though not very much. I'll bet
bags, rifled through her wardrobe ... and turned up at Topshop's head office in
for a quick hour's briefing with the in-house designers and buying staff."
Banks has continued to work as a designer with designs for the
. Banks continues to be heavily involved in corporate clothing and uniform. In May 2010 he offered to design the match-day 'walk-on' suits for the cash-strapped
team for their FA Cup final appearance.
Banks's own fashion design influences are
.
, a model and film makeup artist.
Banks is a lifelong member of Catford Cycling Club, and a sponsor of their racing team ''CatfordCC Equipe/Banks'', an amateur under-23 squad having British National 'Elite' team status.