Sara Berman (born 1976) is a British fashion designer whose eponymous womenswear brand operated from 1998 until 2012, when she put the label on hold to focus on fine art. Producing clothing for London stores before she graduated and achieving success within a year of leaving fashion college, she won both New Generation (NewGeN) awards and a UK fashion export award. The brand was known for its knits, quirky prints and tailored pieces.

Early life and career

Sara Berman was born in 1976, the daughter of fashion designer Helene Berman. She studied at

Fine Arts College Fine Arts College is an independent college in Hampstead, London, founded in 1978, with an average intake of 200 students aged 13 – 19. The College offers over 25 A-level subjects in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and 15 subjects a ...

in Hampstead, and

Central St Martins College of Art and Design Central Saint Martins is a public university, public tertiary education, tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and pos ...

. While at St Martins she worked with Jasper Conran, Charles & Patricia Lester, and Armani, and, after she left, she worked for

Maria Grachvogel Maria Grachvogel (born 11 July 1969) is a British fashion designer. Grachvogel designs under her own label, has a store in London and regularly stages shows at London Fashion Week. Her clients have included Emma Thompson, Scarlett Johansson, Ang ...

. Berman's graduate collection was taken up by Fenwicks.

Establishment of eponymous label

Some sources place the launch of Sara Berman in 1999, but her label was first mentioned in '' The Times'' in 1998, which commented on Indian embroidered silk skirts available at Fenwicks. She was described then as: "a new British design talent". These first skirts had been created while Berman was still at design college and made from saris. Thanks to her mother's connections she managed to get them produced and they appeared in Joseph as well as Fenwicks. In 1999, her designs appeared in Fenwicks'

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 ...

store window during London Fashion Week. Examples from her collections – including sheepskin accessories, spotted cotton summer skirts and blouses and full silk skirts with net layering – appeared regularly in the fashion pages of ''The Times'' throughout this period. The paper also noted that within a year of graduating, Berman had made it into the boutiques Mimi and Tokio, alongside Fenwick. Berman took advantage of her mother's contacts in building the company. Her sister Amiee Berman joined as a business partner and co-designer, having herself studied at Central Saint Martins. By 2002, Sara Berman had won the

Marks and Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

New Generation award three times, which was seen as an unusual achievement. In 2002, Berman featured – alongside Burberry,

Paul Smith Paul Smith or Paul Smith's may refer to: Music * Paul Smith (composer) (1906–1985), American film music composer * Paul Smith (pianist) (1922–2013), Los Angeles jazz pianist * Paul Smith (rock vocalist) (born 1979), vocalist and songwriter of ...

and Eley Kishimoto – in a feature about the direction of London designers. She was described as: "shaping up to be the thinking It girl's darling". In a profile that year, she described how she had turned down a fashion job offer in Italy after realising the salary was in

lira Lira is the name of several currency units. It is the current currency of Turkey and also the local name of the currencies of Lebanon and of Syria. It is also the name of several former currencies, including those of Italy, Malta and Israe ...

rather than sterling. She also revealed that she managed all stages of production of her garments and of fabric selection – having grown up visiting garment factories with her mother. By 2003 '' The Guardian'' had listed Sara Berman as one of three women in the field of fashion to keep an eye on, noting that her designs were Liberty's second-highest seller and that she was often featured in '' Vogue'' magazine. In 2005 Sara Berman won the UK Fashion Export Award for designer womenswear. The label developed a range of lines for American brands Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters. High-profile wearers included

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

and Zadie Smith. By then, the label was being sold in 60 stores around the world. This included trousers for a US department store and pieces for

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.

Launch of second label

By 2008 the Sara Berman brand had a second label, Berman Black, and Berman also acted as creative director of the cashmere brand

N.Peal N.Peal is a British cashmere knitwear and accessories brand founded in London by Nat Peal in 1936. After the brand's decline and "substantial losses" through the 1990s and early 2000s, the original company ceased operations in 2006, and then- ...

. Berman also created ranges for Urban Outfitters and ASOS. In 2012, Berman withdrew from fashion design to focus on fine art.

Art Career

In 2016, she graduated in Fine Art
from the Slade School of Fine Art, and her fashion influences have become clearer in her art practice. In a 2018 interview with Vanessa Murrell via DATEAGLE ART, she mentioned “I am endlessly fascinated by manufacturing and its relationship to a particular time, as well as concepts of luxury and of modernity. I am also a keen observer of people as consumers.”

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Berman, Sara English fashion designers British women fashion designers Living people Artists from London Alumni of Central Saint Martins 1976 births 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion