Ensemble

The designs of Scot Bill Gibb and American Kaffe Fassett captured the multi-patterned, ethnic, hippy look of late 1960s London. An openly gay couple, Gibb and Fassett also symbolised the new values of ‘the permissive society’. Both designers explored the fashionable possibilties of traditional knititng and broke boundaries in their use of colour and pattern.

This outfit was worn by Judy Brittain, the editor of Vogue Living and a friend of both men. It is of four pieces. Collarless jacket of houndstooth check and tartan wool with knitted border, lined with paisley print cotton. Houndstooth check trousers in a high-waisted jodphur style trousers cut in two parts trimmed with red braid. A short sleeved V-necked A-line tunic knitted in horizontal bands of alternating colours of red, yellow, grey, brown, black and white. The pattern matches the border of the jacket and scarf.