Tuesday 15 July 2014

The 'Emmeline' and her namesake

As the A/W 2014 collection will soon be hitting stores, we thought we'd give a bit of insight into the garments and where their names came from. This season, a big part of my inspiration was women and, in particular, strong or significant women from across the world and throughout history. Our batwing Emmeline sweater dress knitted in Donegal and mohair, seems a good place to kick off... 
Emmeline is named after Emmeline Pankhurst, a British political activist and leader of the British suffragette movement. Born in Manchester and educated in France, her work is recognised as crucial in achieving women's suffrage in the UK. She was a controversial figure who was repeatedly imprisoned for using violent tactics in her struggle for equality. Disillusioned with the women's political groups of the time, she founded the Women's Political and Social Union, which became a formidable force in British politics. Sadly, she died just weeks before equal voting rights for women was passed by parliament. In 1999, Time magazine named Pankhurst as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th century. Without Pankhurst and her peers it might have been many years before women got the vote in Britain. I think it's safe to say, whether you're a feminist or not, that we owe her a great debt.

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