BILL GIBB, AN ECLECTIC DESIGNER

An obsession and a rare gift. The artistic contribution to fashion of the eclectic designer Bill Gibb could be summed up in these two words. He came from New Pitsligo, a small village in the north of Scotland, and he moved to London at the age of 19, exactly in 1963. His career was fulminating. It took him just a few years to have his own fashion house and make clothes for celebrities such as Liz Taylor and Twiggy. By 1975 he was in retail. His entire poetry revolved around an incredible inclination to the romantic style and the traditional garments of the close Eastern Europe. Drapery with classical references and wide sleeves with references to the Italian Renaissance are just some of the main elements of his artistic production. The innovative use of many different patterns - from floral designs and geometric patterns through to checked tartans - within a single dress helped creating “the Gibb style” and consecrate him as master of decoration. Incapable of understanding the logic of business, he always refused to make serial productions of his clothes. Designing clothes and seeing them worn on elegant women gave him the greatest pleasure. A dreamer, a free spirit, a poet of the fabric. He died very young, leaving a huge gap in the fashion industry.