Michael Pick Speaks About Sir Norman Hartnell

LONDON — Sir Norman Hartnell, one of Britain’s most famous couturiers and the man who made Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation dress, Princess Margaret’s wedding gown and a host of other designs for royals and celebrities, wasn’t all he appeared to be, according to a new biography. In many ways, he resembled many 20th and 21st-century London designers, with their amazing talents, clients and commissions, but with little know-how — or experience — on the business side. Hartnell also harbored a few secrets that could have cost him his work with the royals in particular. “For me, the great sadness of this story is that it was a long productive life, and he ended up with actually nothing,” said Michael Pick, the author of “Norman Hartnell: The Biography,” (Zuleika Books & Publishing). “Other people made money, but he didn’t. They should have made him a fortune, but he never seemed to get any of it, which is a great sadness. He even lost his own house in the mid-Sixties because the bank took it. The Hartnell building [on Bruton Street] is a pretty large building. It really is a lot to keep it all going and took an awful lot of assets.” Pick argued that

Follow WWD on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

Read More...

from WWDWWD https://ift.tt/35x3KPQ