Connie Gray to Give Talk on the Influence of Wartime Utility Clothing
First lecture of 2026 for The Arts Society South West London
Left: CC41 Utility pyjamas 1943 Picture: Imperial War Museum. Right: Connie Gray
December 12, 2025
The Arts Society South West London will host a special evening lecture exploring how wartime utility clothing shaped post‑war fashion, delivered by renowned fashion historian and curator Connie Gray.
In this illustrated lecture titled The Influence of Utility Clothing on Post‑War Fashions, Connie Gray will trace the journey from wartime austerity to the glamour of post‑war couture. She will show how the strictures of rationing and utility clothing in Britain influenced designers such as Norman Hartnell and Hardy Amies, and contrast their work with French couturiers who were rebuilding Paris’s fashion dominance. The talk promises to highlight the resilience and creativity of designers working under constraint, and how necessity gave rise to new styles that shaped modern fashion.
The event takes place on Monday 12 January at 8pm at The Community Church, Werter Road (SW15 2LL) with doors open from 7:30pm. Tickets are £10 for non-members (£5 online).
Connie Gray is an Arts Society accredited lecturer and one of the UK’s leading specialists in the history of 20th‑century fashion illustration and design. With a background in fashion and broadcasting, she has built a career as a curator, archivist and lecturer, regularly invited to speak in both the UK and US.
She is Director of Gray M.C.A, the gallery she co‑founded with her husband Ashley Gray, which has become internationally recognised for its exhibitions of fashion illustration and textiles. Connie has curated major shows including Legends Only at Claridge’s Hotel (2022) and 100 Years of Fashion Illustration at the Society of Illustrators in New York. She has also worked with institutions such as the Courtauld Institute of Art in London and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York, serving on advisory boards for their special collections.
Her recent projects include curating exhibitions for Cunard’s flagship QM2 and contributing to Crown to Couture at Kensington Palace. In 2025 she published GPP: One of a Kind, the definitive illustrated biography of fashion illustrator Gladys Perint Palmer.
The lecture is part of The Arts Society South West London’s ongoing programme of cultural events aimed at deepening public understanding of art, history and heritage.
If you have never attended an Arts Society lecture before you are urged to join and find out about your local Arts Society.
Visit the society’s website for further details.
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