Jean Muir
| Jean Muir CBE, FCSD | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
17 July 1928 London, England |
| Died | 28 May 1995 (aged 66) |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Bedford Girls' Modern School |
| Occupation | Fashion designer |
| Awards | CBE, FCSD |
| Labels | Jean Muir Ltd |
Jean Elizabeth Muir, CBE, FCSD (17 July 1928 – 28 May 1995) was a British fashion designer (though she herself preferred to be called a dressmaker).
Jean Muir was born in London, the daughter of Cyril Muir, a draper's floor superintendent, and his wife, Phyllis Coy. Her father was an Aberdonian, and Muir would attribute her creative pragmatism and self-discipline to this Scottish ancestry. Her parents separated while she was still a child, and she and her brother Christopher were brought up in Bedford by their mother.
She was educated at the Bedford Girls' Modern School (subsequently renamed Dame Alice Harpur School, and as of 2010, merged into the Bedford Girls' School). She showed a precocious talent for needlework, claiming to have been able to knit, embroider, and sew by the age of six.
At the age of seventeen, she left school and went to work at an electoral registration office at Bedford Town Hall. She then moved to London, where she worked briefly in a solicitor's office before taking a stockroom job at Liberty & Co in 1950. She worked her way upwards to selling over the counter, and then despite her lack of formal art college training, was given the opportunity to sketch in Liberty's ready to wear department. This would serve as her apprenticeship, and led to her gaining a job as designer for Jaeger in 1956. While there, she helped develop the Young Jaeger fashion label.
Muir also received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 1992
Upon leaving Jaeger, Muir was approached by David Barnes, a mass-market jersey dress manufacturer, who was keen to have her talents on board as a designer for his brand. Muir declined, as she did not wish to design for the mass market. Undeterred, Barnes offered to fund her own design label, and so Jane & Jane launched in 1962.
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