John Michael Ingram (1 February 1931 – 13 June 2014) was an influential British menswear designer and retailer of the 1950s and '60s who founded the John Michael fashion brand, followed by a range of successful retail concepts, before establishing one of the first fashion forecasting agencies in the 1970s. He has also been credited as one of the pioneers behind the rise of the

King's Road King's Road or Kings Road (or sometimes the King's Road, especially when it was the king's private road until 1830, or as a colloquialism by middle/upper class London residents), is a major street stretching through Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

, as a fashion destination. In an interview for the magazine ''

Drapers Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period, ...

'', former

Moss Bros Moss Bros Group is a limited company set up in 1851 by Moses Moss in Covent Garden, London, UK. One of the UK's top menswear shops, specialising in dress wear for formal occasions, Moss Bros has over 150 shops throughout the United Kingdom. ...

managing director Manny Silverman described Ingram as "one of the leading commercially innovative retailers of the 1960s; always a leader, never a follower. Without him, the King's Road might never have happened."

Early life and career

John Michael Ingram was born into a fashion family; his parents owned the King's Road store Wakeford's, which specialised in dressing

debutante A debutante, also spelled débutante, ( ; from french: débutante , "female beginner") or deb is a young woman of aristocratic or upper-class family background who has reached maturity and, as a new adult, is presented to society at a formal " ...

s and their mothers. He left school at 16 and joined the family firm as a

buyer Procurement is the method of discovering and agreeing to terms and purchasing goods, services, or other works from an external source, often with the use of a tendering or competitive bidding process. When a government agency buys goods or serv ...

, demonstrating a keen eye for ensuring Wakeford's brand identity and in sourcing textiles.

Establishment of retail brand

In 1957, Ingram opened his first menswear store in Chelsea, just down the road from

Mary Quant Dame Barbara Mary Quant, Mrs Plunket Greene, (born 11 February 1930)The Mary Quant exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2019-20 stated her year of birth as 1930, and that she became a student at Goldsmiths College around 1950. is a ...

's Bazaar, and sold men's shirts in unusual prints and fabrics, such as Swiss

voile Voile is a soft, sheer fabric, usually made of 99% cotton or cotton blended with linen or polyester. The term is French for ''veil''. Because of its light weight, the fabric is mostly used in soft furnishing. In tropical climates, voile is used ...

and

gingham Gingham, also called Vichy check, is a medium-weight balanced plain-woven fabric typically with striped, check or plaid duotone patterns, in bright colour and in white made from dyed cotton or cotton-blend yarns. It is made of carded, medium or ...

, targeting younger buyers who were keen to wear clothing inspired by Italian menswear trends. The influence of John Michael's fashion grew rapidly. The first menswear editor of British ''

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,'' Aqualina Ross, has recalled how he walked into a store that felt like heaven, with clothing in bright colours, lightweight fabrics, and youthful cuts–a huge move forward from the typical clothing sold in department stores and small menswear shops of the West End. Ross bought a baby blue

seersucker Seersucker or railroad stripe is a thin, puckered, usually cotton fabric, commonly but not necessarily striped or chequered, used to make clothing for hot weather. The word originates from the Persian words and , literally meaning "milk and ...

jacket that day and noticed that soon London's top advertising creatives were all clothed in similar John Michael seersucker jackets. Ingram's King's Road shop was followed by Sportique, a store on

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, next door to the influential coffee bar-cum-music venue 2i's. Thanks in part to its location and its stock, the store attracted members of the music scene, including

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, and

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. Its clothes were also worn by the London creative set, including

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, and

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; although

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and

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provoc ...

were not persuaded, McClaren described the Sportique style as "a bit too subversive". Where the creative scene led, a new market followed–not only young professionals but

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teenagers–and Ingram's retail empire expanded to include a larger store in King's Road and stores in upmarket locations such as

Bond Street Bond Street in the West End of London links Piccadilly in the south to Oxford Street in the north. Since the 18th century the street has housed many prestigious and upmarket fashion retailers. The southern section is Old Bond Street and the l ...

and St Ann's Arcade,

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 ...

Savile Row

During 1965, the John Michael empire became a PLC with 17 stores and was a flag-bearer for

Swinging London The Swinging Sixties was a youth-driven cultural revolution that took place in the United Kingdom during the mid-to-late 1960s, emphasising modernity and fun-loving hedonism, with Swinging London as its centre. It saw a flourishing in art, mus ...

, stocked alongside Mary Quant in

J.C. Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Girl ...

, as well as being exported across Europe and to Japan. Ingram opened a head office in

Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...

, home of traditional British men's tailoring, where he created updated versions of men's suits. One of these suits, known as'spirit of old Broadcasting House' (a reference to the

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), is now in the V&A archive. Ingram also consulted for other manufacturers and employed people who would go on to establish their own successful tailoring brands, notably

Jeremy Hackett Jeremy Hackett (born 19 May 1953) is a British fashion designer and business entrepreneur who co-founded the British menswear company Hackett alongside Ashley Lloyd-Jennings. Jeremy Hacket attended St Thomas More Secondary School Bristol UK Ear ...

and Tom Gilbey. By 1971, Ingram's retail brands also included the store Guys and Dolls and the jeans store Westerner, one of the first dedicated jeans stores in the UK.

Design forecasting

During the mid-1970s, Ingram moved out of fashion retail and established the fashion forecasting agency Design Intelligence, which published guides to fashion trends. As a fashion forecaster, he was revered for his track record in retailing and renowned for his ability to deliver commercial lines to fashion retailers at a time when few companies had their own in-house design teams. Ingram continued working at Design Intelligence up to the age of 81.

References

External links

John Michael suit in V&A archive

John Michael bathing trunks in the Museum of London archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, John Michael 1931 births 2014 deaths English businesspeople in fashion Fashion designers from London Place of death missing 1950s fashion 1960s fashion 1970s fashion Menswear designers 20th-century English businesspeople