"Did you ever dream about a place you never really recall being to before? A place that maybe only exists in your imagination? Some place far away, half remembered when you wake up. When you were there, though, you knew the language. You knew your way around. That was the sixties.... No.
It was London It wasn't that either. It was just '66 and early '67. That's all there was....."
Michael Fish was born in 1940 in Essex. He started his career in fashion from working for a respectable fashion house - Collet's , in the mid-1950's. Quickly, he progressed to working first at New & Lingwood and then Turnbull and Asser - well known Jermyn Street shirtmakers who specialized in inventive, made-to-measure shirts. Michael Fish's arrival at Turnbull and Asser was a breath of a fresh air for the company. His highly imaginative and colourful designs helped the company to move with the times. Their first ready to wear shirts designed by Michael Fish were significantly different from their standard offerings. He changed the cut of a high collared shirt - he made the points larger and more widely spred and he introduced embroidery and ruffles. His designs for accesories were also revolutionary - his ties were wide and his pocket handkerchiefs were specially hand-blocked and printed.In 1966, after nine years at Turnbull and Asser, and a brief period at John Stephen's as an assistant designer, Michael Fish opened his own shop, Mr. Fish. His business partner was Barry Sainsbury - a wealthy young entrepreneur from upper middle class background , with good social connections. Their idea was to sell upmarket, fashionable clothes for the elite customers. The boutique was situated in 17 Clifford Street in Mayfair. The exclusivity of the shop was determined by high prices - usually around £35 for a jacket, £100 for a whole suit, and anything between £8 and £20 for a shirt. The reason for such high prices lied in the generous use of expensive fabrics. The originality of Mr. Fish's clothes was expressed in the slogan written on his shopping bags: "Peculiar to Mr. Fish". The shop was famous for its colored silk and cotton shirts, often ruffled, which fitted loosely around the body, rather than tightly (like typical shirt of , for example John Stephen). Another design typical for Mr. Fish was velvet jacket - it was usually double - breasted and elegantly draped. His famous paisley-patterned wide ties - also known as 'kipper ties', had become one of the symbols of 1960's male fashion. Mr. Fish was also one of the first designers to venture into gender-bending territory with his designs for dresses for men.
The most memorable one is a white dress worn by Mick Jagger for The Rolling Stones free concert in Hyde Park on 5th July 1969.
Bondage trousers, the bowler hat, brogues, the dandy, the floral shirt and tie, the great coat/riding coat, the three piece suit, the trench coat, tweed and tartan, 
and wellington boots have all been identified as the ten iconic styles that originated in Britain and have become mainstays in international menswear.
It was London It wasn't that either. It was just '66 and early '67. That's all there was....."
Michael Fish was born in 1940 in Essex. He started his career in fashion from working for a respectable fashion house - Collet's , in the mid-1950's. Quickly, he progressed to working first at New & Lingwood and then Turnbull and Asser - well known Jermyn Street shirtmakers who specialized in inventive, made-to-measure shirts. Michael Fish's arrival at Turnbull and Asser was a breath of a fresh air for the company. His highly imaginative and colourful designs helped the company to move with the times. Their first ready to wear shirts designed by Michael Fish were significantly different from their standard offerings. He changed the cut of a high collared shirt - he made the points larger and more widely spred and he introduced embroidery and ruffles. His designs for accesories were also revolutionary - his ties were wide and his pocket handkerchiefs were specially hand-blocked and printed.In 1966, after nine years at Turnbull and Asser, and a brief period at John Stephen's as an assistant designer, Michael Fish opened his own shop, Mr. Fish. His business partner was Barry Sainsbury - a wealthy young entrepreneur from upper middle class background , with good social connections. Their idea was to sell upmarket, fashionable clothes for the elite customers. The boutique was situated in 17 Clifford Street in Mayfair. The exclusivity of the shop was determined by high prices - usually around £35 for a jacket, £100 for a whole suit, and anything between £8 and £20 for a shirt. The reason for such high prices lied in the generous use of expensive fabrics. The originality of Mr. Fish's clothes was expressed in the slogan written on his shopping bags: "Peculiar to Mr. Fish". The shop was famous for its colored silk and cotton shirts, often ruffled, which fitted loosely around the body, rather than tightly (like typical shirt of , for example John Stephen). Another design typical for Mr. Fish was velvet jacket - it was usually double - breasted and elegantly draped. His famous paisley-patterned wide ties - also known as 'kipper ties', had become one of the symbols of 1960's male fashion. Mr. Fish was also one of the first designers to venture into gender-bending territory with his designs for dresses for men.
The most memorable one is a white dress worn by Mick Jagger for The Rolling Stones free concert in Hyde Park on 5th July 1969.Bondage trousers, the bowler hat, brogues, the dandy, the floral shirt and tie, the great coat/riding coat, the three piece suit, the trench coat, tweed and tartan, and wellington boots have all been identified as the ten iconic styles that originated in Britain and have become mainstays in international menswear.
Taken from a V&A study commissioned by the British Fashion Council and written by Keren Protheroe, a PHD
alumnus of the History of Fashion course at the Royal College of Art, these ten British inventions seal the UK’s reputation as the global origin of men’s fashion.BRITISH MENSWEAR TIMELINE
alumnus of the History of Fashion course at the Royal College of Art, these ten British inventions seal the UK’s reputation as the global origin of men’s fashion.BRITISH MENSWEAR TIMELINE
1666 - (Recorded in Pepys’s diary) The origins of the Three
Piece Suit
1700s - (late 1700s) The Brogue
1800s - Great Coat / Riding Coat
1800s - (Satirised in 1821) – Dandy
1817 - The Wellington Boot
1830 - Tweel renamed tweed after an English merchant
misread handwriting from a Hawick firm
1849 - The Bowler Hat
1860 - The Norfolk Jacket (Adapted from military clothing)
1865 - Henry Poole & Co. creates The Tuxedo
1914 - The Burberry Trench Coat
1924 - Oxford Bags
1950s - Teddy Boys (neo-Edwardianism)
1960s - Peacock Revolution
1960 - The Tailored Shirt and Tie
1970s - Punk
1976 - Bondage Trousers
1980 - New Romantic Movement
The 4,000 word study travels in time, from 1528 to present day, and explores how over the centuries the rules of 
men’s fashion have been made and broken.
men’s fashion have been made and broken.
LIBERTY
Regent Street W1, 1875 (founded by Arthur Lasenby
Liberty). Menswear in the basement and haberdashery
on the 3rd floor give insight into Liberty’s contribution to
contemporary menswear and the company’s history of
graphic floral prints
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