Artist Info
Hardy Amies
17 July 1909 – 5 March 2003
English fashion designer, founder of the Hardy Amies label and best known for his official title as dressmaker for Elizabeth II from her accession to the throne 1952 until his retirement in 1989.
He became managing director, in 1934, at the age of 25 of the London couture house of Lachasse. He left in 1939 and joined the House of Worth in 1941.
He served with the Intelligence Corps during the war.
In late 1945, he made the move to 14 Savile Row and established his own couture house Hardy Amies Ltd in 1946.
In 1959, Amies was one of the first European designers to venture into the ready-to-wear market when he teamed up with Hepworth & Son to design a range of menswear. In 1961, Amies made fashion history by staging the first men's ready-to-wear catwalk shows at the Savoy Hotel in London.
Amies was Vice-Chairman of the Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers (1954–56) and chairman (1959–60).