Timney-Fowler at the FTM

Several weeks ago amongst the chaos of press days I popped down to the Fashion and Textile Museum to preview their newest exhibition, Sue Timney and the design of Timney-Fowler. Having not heard of Sue Timney prior to reading about this inspired exhibition I learnt that her company Timney-Fowler, is best known for its distinctive graphic black and white imagery, transcending the boundaries of fashion and interior design.

With 2010 marking the 30th anniversary of Timney-Fowler, Sue has collaborated extensively with the FTM to bring us a wealth of unique archive material, chronicling her career from the first fabrics created through to her newest projects. Key pieces on display include several black Neoclassical heads, 19th Century cast iron railing designs and the legendary clock face design which has become an iconic symbol of the brand. As always my favourite part of the exhibition were the pages taken from Sue’s sketchbooks; giving me a unique insight into her working practices whilst drooling over her hand-printed short-run fabrics that featured in her original Portobello Shop.

Beginning with Sue’s journey from her early monochromatic work to later designs where she included colour, photographic printing and mixed prints, the exhibition was curated beautifully, giving us a loose timeline of Timney’s illustrious career. Set against a special backdrop created by Sue, the museum came to life with a wall of fabrics and samples; products; scarves and shirts bearing her distinctive designs.

Speaking of her work Sue says: “I don’t think that there was ever a time when it didn’t matter to me what my surroundings looked like. They matter, and have always mattered, in the same way that my appearance and what I wear has always mattered.... Even as a child growing up I learned that you could customize everything.”

With a client list reading like a who’s who of Rock ‘n’ Roll, Timney's best-known clients have included: Ringo Starr, Alan Rickman, Billy Connelly, Sir Paul Smith, Sir Elton John and Stella McCartney, proving she is every bit the creative’s creative.