Prints charming

I bought a dress from the Celia Birtwell x Joanie Clothing collaboration last year. It has flouncy sleeves and pretty daisies illuminated by a black backdrop. It’s pretty. But it’s more than pretty: Joanie has now closed, so it has become a small fragment of fashion history.

Birtwell is one of Britain’s most iconic print designers. She made her name in the 1960s through art and fashion. She was Hockney’s muse and also designed textile prints that her then husband, Ossie Clark, turned into beautiful garments. They were worn by some of the era’s most stylish people, including Bianca Jagger, Jimi Hendrix and Twiggy. Her work with Clark was unique: rather than being applied to a finished garment, her prints were part of the creation itself. Clark’s exceptional cutting and love of translucent, flowing fabrics made women feel feminine, perfectly complementing Birtwell’s soft, delicate designs.

Birtwell drew inspiration from nature, creating light, botanical prints, and later explored Japanese and Greek influences. With a background in fine art, she was the queen of juxtaposition. Her designs often reflect the influence of Impressionist and modernist painters, Japanese woodblock prints and Mediterranean motifs, giving her work a timeless cross-cultural sensibility. Her ability to mix and layer prints was rare; while brands like Rixo, Farm Rio and Never Fully Dressed have made clashing prints part of their signature, few designers have been able to execute it as successfully.

What makes Birtwell’s work truly fascinating is its longevity. This dress brings together two classic designs – Large and Small Michaelmas Daisy with Jazz Flower set against a contrasting grid. It’s a meeting of softness and structure, but also a combination she has returned to again and again: first in the 1970s, in her work with Clark worn by Jane Birkin; then in 2006, in her Topshop collaboration; and again in 2024, in this Joanie collection.

There aren’t many prints that endure like this; carrying meaning through decades, connecting cultural history and the enduring vision of the designer.