Wholesale Couture: London and Beyond, 1930-70, Liz Tregenza

Wholesale Couture rescues a largely forgotten chapter of British fashion history, casting wholesale couturiers—once dismissed as mere copyists—in a new light. Liz Tregenza charts their rise from 1930s Bond Street beginnings through wartime austerity and post‑war reconstruction, illuminating how these ateliers melded ready‑to‑wear techniques with couture ambition. Using archival garments, pattern books, memoirs, and market research, she reveals how immigrant entrepreneurs and skilled technicians positioned London as a global style centre. Whether negotiating Utility‑scheme rationing or targeting youth‑driven swing‑era wardrobes, these wholesale couturiers redefined elegance for a changing audience.

Spanning design process, manufacturing, branding, promotion, export and retail, the narrative is rich in social nuance and industrial context. Tregenza explores the networks of largely Jewish‑owned firms that revitalised British fashion, leveraged the resurgence year of 1946, and tapped into emergent international markets. She shows these firms were more than imitators—they were innovators, fashion mediators whose success shaped dress, identity and global commerce in mid‑century Britain.

About the Author
Liz Tregenza is a fashion and business historian, currently serving as a Lecturer at London College of Fashion and as the Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology Research Fellow at the V&A. Her work bridges scholarly research with lived industry experience, including co-running a vintage fashion business.

Publication date: 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Visual Arts
Pages: 248
ISBN:  9781350245884