Bill Gibb

Bill Gibb
Bill Gibb in 1976 wearing knitwear of his own design
Born	William Elphinstone Gibb (1943-01-23)23 January 1943 New Pitsligo, Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Scotland
Died	3 January 1988(1988-01-03) (aged 44) London
Cause of death	Colorectal cancer
Residence	London
Nationality	Scottish
Education	Saint Martin's School of Art & Royal College of Art
Known for	Fashion design

William Elphinstone "Bill" Gibb (1943–1988) was a Scottish fashion designer who became renowned in the 1960s and 70s for his unusual and flattering designs.

Gibb was born near New Pitsligo, a small village in Aberdeenshire in Scotland, and was educated at Fraserburgh Academy. His teachers encouraged him to apply for art school in London, and so, in 1962, Gibb went to Saint Martin's School of Art. After graduating top of his class, Gibb was awarded a scholarship to the Royal College of Art, but before completing his degree, he left to start up in business.

In 1967 Gibb was one of six young designers invited to present their designs in New York, which led to a three-month research tour of the United States with his then boyfriend, the artist and textile designer Kaffe Fassett, who would remain a very close friend and design collaborator. On his return to London, Gibb and a group of friends had co-founded the Alice Paul boutique, for which Gibb designed typically late 1960s outfits of miniskirts and long coats, whilst his friends handled the marketing and manufacture. Between 1969–1972, as a freelance designer, Gibb designed for the London fashion house Baccarat. In 1972 Gibb launched his own company, Bill Gibb Fashion Group, which ran until 1988, and in 1975 he opened his first shop in London, on Bond Street.

Beatrix Miller of Vogue selected one of Gibb's designs for Baccarat, a pleated tartan skirt and printed blouse worn with a Kaffe Fassett knitted waistcoat, as the 1970 Dress of the Year. Gibb's design was described as the epitome of the new emerging trend for romantic eclecticism in British fashion design, as well as demonstrating how traditional handicrafts, such as hand-knits, were becoming acceptable for mainstream fashion. That same year, Harrods opened a dedicated area for Gibb's designs, calling it the "Bill Gibb Room", and the model Twiggy approached Gibb to create several historically-inspired dresses for her. She wore a "Renaissance" evening dress featuring printed textiles based on 1520s Hans Holbein drawings to the Daily Mirror's Fashion Celebrity Dinner in 1970. Another gown made from various patterned textiles that Twiggy wore to the 1971 film première of The Boy Friend drew a great deal of media attention.