Isabel Tisdall
| Isabel Tisdall | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Isabel Gallegos 19 November 1911 Rome, Italy |
| Died | 27 July 2007 (aged 95) |
| Occupation | Textile designer/entrepreneur, stylist, fashion editor |
Isabel Tisdall (née Gallegos, 19 November 1911 – 27 July 2007) was a British-based textile designer, who influenced domestic and commercial interior design through Tamesa Fabrics, which she founded in 1964, and via her work with Edinburgh Weavers from the mid 1950s. Prior to that, she had a successful career as a fashion stylist, including a period as fashion editor of Vogue.
The daughter of a British mother and Spanish artist father, Isabel Gallegos was born and educated in Rome. Her career began in the late 1930s as a stylist at Elizabeth Arden's London salon and she was then headhunted to work at Vogue, which she did throughout the war. In 1941, she married Hans Tisdall (born Hans Aufseeser), a textile designer and German émigré who had been working in Britain since the 1930s. During her tenure at Vogue, Tisdall is said to have spotted the talent of photographer Norman Parkinson, also championing the photojournalism of Lee Miller and becoming a friend and supporter of Cecil Beaton. She spent some time at Harper's magazine in London, before returning to UK Vogue as fashion editor.
In the mid 1950s, Alastair Morton of Edinburgh Weavers asked for Tisdall's help in rebranding the company. This she did over the succeeding seven years by producing striking publicity brochures and recruiting a series of notable designers, including sculptors Elisabeth Frink and Marino Marini, abstract painters William Scott and Keith Vaughan and op art pioneer Victor Vasarely.
Tisdall founded Tamesa Fabrics in 1964, enlisting Marianne Straub – then combining a role at Warner & Sons of Braintree with teaching at Central School of Art and Design – to design most of the woven fabrics alongside Frank Davies. While prints were included (many designed by her husband Hans Tisdall), the core focus was on texture.
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