Leeds high street institution still in Vogue

Claudia Croft, the current contributing editor and previously the fashion features director for British Vogue, is working on an exhibition, as part of Leeds International Festival, featuring clothes from the Marks and Spencer archive based here in the city.

Take a journey through fashion history and look at what was worn on the beach in the 1930s, the classic and elegant pieces from the post war years and then how fashion exploded in the 1960s with a musical and social revolution.

Ms Croft was in Leeds to put the finishing touches to the final edit and told City Buzz how she goes from Balenciaga to a British institution.

She said: “Marks and Spencer is more than just a shop, it is part of the fabric of everybody’s life. Everyone has a memory of it.

“With the clothes there are some wonderful pieces and every piece has a story. The beach costume is from an era when people had more leisure time.

“Further into the collection is a wool skirt suit from the 1960s which would have been worn by a working woman and the short mini-dress is reflective of the youth 
quake.

“The pieces tell a story of how people used to live, who they wanted to be, how they wanted to dress and are reflective of social change and cultural aspirations.”

The exhibition will be in the M&S store on Briggate and on Thursday May 3 Ms Croft will host an evening of discussion with the Marks and Spencer archive and style team