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Gini Newton
 Historical costuming is an all consuming
passion that I have had since the tender age of 5, when I was dressing
my dolls as Elizabeth I one day and Queen Victoria the next. By brother, had he let me loose on his Action Man would have
found him clothed not as a modern military hero, but as Louis XIV,
complete with wig and sword. I
can perhaps explain this fascination with the cloth in two ways.
The first is something to do with
the handle of a good textile. My friends and family will give ample
testimony to the fact that I am the proverbial kid in the sweetie shop
when fabric shopping/hunting. The jewel colours, the patterns and above
all the handle and drape of a textile leap out at me, one by one, each
taking form in my minds eye. I
never see textiles as a flat piece of cloth but as the finished garment
in my mind. This is the
birth of design for me.
The second explanation is that it
must be something which runs in the family - my Mother was [and still
is] a professional Tailor and it was she who took me under her wing
and trained me from the age of 7. I may not have considered myself
fortunate at such a tender age, but I certainly do thank her now and
have for many years. That which goes around comes around - nowadays,
we have the occasional wonderful moment when the pupil has become the
teachers' teacher. I have now been tailoring for 30 years and designing
for 15 years.
Despite all this, I took a rather
circuitous route to my profession as an Historical Costume Designer
and Maker. In my teens
and early twenties, I tried several different occupations and sewed
in my spare time, usually as a result of poverty - more often than
not, I couldn't afford the latest fashions, even had my tastes run
to them; nor could I have afforded a sewing machine - but I could make
clothes by hand. In hind sight it seems inevitable that my friends and their
friends would also want clothes they couldn't buy elsewhere and I ended
up in business by default!
I have been involved with a number
of different projects and high profile companies over the years which
have increased my skills and knowledge in the textile areas - these
include Quilting, Embroidery, Pattern Making and Cutting, Silk painting
and Fabric dyeing, Silk screen printing, weaving, Commercial Knitting,
Upholstery and Soft Furnishings, Leatherworking, Latex Mask Making
as well as Designing and Tailoring.
I have been in
house designer for The Victorian Principle and for Gabrielle
Designs, The Paddington Bear Company, producing designs
within the Copyrights and Properties Markets including Paddington
Bear, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger! My work has featured on Blue Peter and Record Breakers [BBC
TV Kids programmes], The
History Channel [Frequently] and Channel 4. It
has been on show at Harrods, Ripley Castle [Yorkshire]
and Taplow Court [Buckinghamshire] to name a few. I
have designed for Harrods, Burberrys, Cashmere Stores,
Yagi Suko [Japan] and many others. In
2000 I won the first UK Costume Convention 'Best Historical Replica' award.
Whilst I have travelled reasonably
well, my work has travelled better. Who
would think that knowing how to sew could take you on such an interesting
and personally satisfying life journey?
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