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neilcunninghamdotcom

Designer, film-maker. London, Oxford. Late to Instagram.

Broken blossom! Lame snow photo but what a shock t

Broken blossom! Lame snow photo but what a shock this morning (07.55) after the Florentine blue skies and welcome sunshine of yesterday afternoon. Look how the spring colours are fighting back though.

#endoflockdown
#alfrescodining
#brokenblossom
#thames

The rowers return. Happy students but bewildered d

The rowers return. Happy students but bewildered ducks and swans who’ve had the river to themselves this past year. They don’t know what’s hit them; sometimes literally.

#happymonday
#kayak
#iffleylock
#thames

This week’s Ebay spoils. Not sure how long this

This week’s Ebay spoils.
Not sure how long this straight talking bombast would last in today’s cancel culture.

#jamesrobertsonjustice
#sirlancelotspratt
#doctorinthehouse
#doctoratlarge
#doctorinlove
#doctorindistress
#doctorinclover
#doctorintrouble
#hero

Green shoots in my old stomping ground this aftern

Green shoots in my old stomping ground this afternoon. Pleasantly surprised to find that #fortnumandmason is deemed a necessity during lockdown. Took full advantage!

#piccadillycircus

Crazy Oxford students Harvey and pal @guy_herring

Crazy Oxford students Harvey and pal @guy_herring and braving the Thames at 7am this morning.

#earlymorningswim
#oxfordstudents
#riverthames

Bye bye Barbara Ann Deeks

Bye bye Barbara Ann Deeks

Finally did it: Fanny Cradock’s Royal mincemeat

Finally did it: Fanny Cradock’s Royal mincemeat omelette (currently to be seen on BBC iPlayer and Youtube). Wasn’t sure whether to eat this for breakfast lunch or dinner - we plumped for tea. The fast melting sweet icing sugar mixed with the egg creates a taste similar to creme caramel or custard tart - not unpleasant - but the overwhelming texture of scrambled egg/omelette (no crunch of pastry or biscuit) is unsettling.

#fannycradock #fannycraddock #fannycradockforchristmas #royalmincemeat #mincemeatomelette

Happy holidays everyone - have the best week possi

Happy holidays everyone - have the best week possible!

#tracyisland

The wonderful photographer @LaurieLewisphotography

The wonderful photographer @LaurieLewisphotography posted this yesterday. It’s one of my favourite pictures, (certainly of my dresses) and so I can’t help regramming it.

#DarceyBussell amidst the newly regilded angels atop the #AlbertMemorial 1998 to promote the restoration by #EnglishHeritage , the #RoyalBallet and #FashionWeekLondon simultaneously. Looking up at the monument now it’s hard to believe we ascended 200ft (by lift and scaffolding) to achieve this little masterpiece; perhaps my queasy face says it all.

Said the photographer:

The ballerina had recently danced at the Albert Hall 200’ below, now in the arms of a gilded angel and glowing in a Neil Cunningham dress, she balanced motionless for a portrait destined for tomorrow’s newspaper.

What a strange commission … it was the idea of English Heritage to publicise the elaborate restoration of the Albert Memorial, to be unveiled by HRH Queen Elizabeth in a formal ceremony at night, with all the customary pomp and spectacle, plus a firework finale.

I photographed @darceybussellofficial debut in The Prince of the Pagodas, and all the dance up until her retirement from the Royal Ballet, onstage, backstage and in the studios, the challenge as always was to catch fleeting moments in subdued light. With a subject lying in repose, bathed in a strong soft light, albeit way up in the sky, it was by comparison, a gift.

Featured from the book ‘Portraits’ @unicornpubgroup © Laurie Lewis 2020

#laurielewisphotography
#neilcunninghamdress
#red

This #BritishVogue from December 2001 was in produ

This #BritishVogue from December 2001 was in production as the Twin Towers came tumbling down in September, diminishing creative spirits to say the least. I’m sure I remember hearing that Linda Evangelista couldn’t face boarding a plane to London to be photographed for this issue. Was delighted that my empire line gown of lilac silk organza was part of this fabulous story: ‘A Right Royal Do’ by the irreplaceable @LucindaChambers photographed by #MarioTestino . The #KateMoss photo by #Nick_Knight would later be nominated by PPA for the cover of the century. Thank you @pjcalder for the reminder.

#neilcunninghamdress
#vogue
#couture
#lilactime

Minnie Mouse is 92 years old today and my Minnie M

Minnie Mouse is 92 years old today and my Minnie Mouse dress is 21! Modelled (right) by @ingridwallinartist photographed by @garthaikens styled by @bryonytoogood for @Cosmopolitan_de for a #babydolldress story.

#minniemouse
#neilcunninghamdress
#garthaikens
#cosmopolitangermany
#bryonytoogood
#babydoll

Trains running as normal but carriages are virtual

Trains running as normal but carriages are virtually empty and stations are clean and glossy. It’s a rather civilised way to travel.

Frosty garden, river of fire – or perhaps just t

Frosty garden, river of fire – or perhaps just the hot breath of university rowers who don’t believe in social distancing! What a divided world we are this morning.

#thamestowpath
#thamesriver
#aroomwithaview
#nofilter

It’s always Halloween in this house with a maste

It’s always Halloween in this house with a masterpiece by @GlennBrownOfficial smiling down at us. Discovered this incredible artist 16 years ago at his Serpentine Galley exhibition and bought this limited edition print. I had to a sign a form that forbade me from selling it on Ebay. As if.

#glennbrown
#halloween

“I walk down the Strand with my gloves on my han

“I walk down the Strand with my gloves on my hand...” Wet empty streets of London this afternoon. We had front row seats for #SundayIntheParkwithGeorge at #Savoytheatre with @JakeGyllenhaal this
past July. Don’t believe the production will come here now but reassuring to see @thesavoylondon in all its gleaming glory. And happy birthday to Burlington Bertie herself @JulieAndrews !

#thesavoylondon
#sundaywestend
#london
#youhavechosenwisely

Thanks for the memory @fgolfar regramming photogra

Thanks for the memory @fgolfar regramming photography @hughstewartgallery for #britishvogue . @skyegyngell cooking in couture @petershamnurseries kitchen and there wasn’t a spot of oil on the dress afterwards!

Styling @emmaelwickbates
Hair @kerrywarnofficial
Make-up @audreybourke

#neilcunninghamdress
#red

Still feeling heartsore at the omission of Hilary

Still feeling heartsore at the omission of Hilary Mantel from the #bookerprize2020 shortlist. A hat trick was unlikely but ignoring one of our own treasures for the final round seems churlish and ungrateful to me.

I recently read her #spellbinding autobiography #givinguptheghost - I can’t recommend it enough.

#hilarymantel
#anticlimax

Remembering Fenella Fielding on the second anniver

Remembering Fenella Fielding on the second anniversary of her death today. I took this photograph of her having tea at #homehouselondon on 10th Oct 2017 just before she was due to give one of her memoir readings. We were also discussing outfit ideas for her upcoming 90th birthday party. It was a well kept secret that she was suffering from the early stages of dementia (she was also very deaf) and most people just thought she was just being a little more eccentric than usual. As soon as she stood in front of the audience however she was as right as rain and sharp as a pin and could answer any random question during the Q&A. My most vivid memory of the evening is watching Fenella meticulously applying her lipstick and nail varnish before the audience arrived.

#fenellafielding
#oneoff

Happy Birthday Barbara Windsor (yesterday). It’s

Happy Birthday Barbara Windsor (yesterday). It’s been a horrible week getting used to the idea of Babs in a care home and we send much love to dear @scott.mitchell3 for his selfless caring these past few painful years.

I took these photos of Barbara on the morning of her investiture in 2016, just before she set off for Buckingham Palace. Hat @racheltrevormorgan hair and make-up @ianmcintoshstyle

#damebarbarawindsor
#barbarawindsor
#ianmcintoshstyle
#racheltrevormorgan
#eyelashes

Couldn’t resist a quick peek at Ghislaine Maxwel

Couldn’t resist a quick peek at Ghislaine Maxwell’s childhood home, Headington Hill Hall on my bicycle ride this morning. Her tycoon father Robert Maxwell rented this 50-room mansion from Oxford City Council from 1958 until 1992 just after his death. He said it was the best council house in the country! I’m guessing he landed his helicopter in the back garden (pictured).

The house was built in 1824 for the Morrell family who were local brewers but the grand extension in 1856 – an Italianate mansion of an add-on – eclipsed the original building. The family lived there for 114 years and apparently Oscar Wilde was a guest at a fancy dress May Day ball given by the Morrells on May 1st 1878 (May Day is a big deal here in Oxford).

The building is now leased to Oxford Brookes University.

#headingtonhillhall
#englishmansion
#italianatemansion
#robertmaxwell
#ghislainemaxwell
#oscarwilde
#salemslot
#pyschohouse

This was the first time @davinamccall had worn any

This was the first time @davinamccall had worn any colour other than black for Big Brother UK and @ajknightstyle wanted full blown couture red for the BB 8 Grand Final, August 31st, 2007. Bias cut silk zibilene dress with ruby slippers @thepatrickcox . Davina photo: Stuart Wilson.

#bigbrotheruk
#bbuk
#davinamccall
#ajknightstyle
#neilcunninghamdress
#patrickcox

One of the (few) good things about my bonkers chri

One of the (few) good things about my bonkers christian upbringing was the absence of racism in our church. When you mixed with Jamaicans and Africans (people you called auntie and uncle) you naturally went out into the world colour blind.
I discovered this album when I was twelve and first started to learn about the history of the struggles of black America, the Klu Klux Klan and Strange Fruit via Billie Holiday.
Of course #blacklivesmatter

Wearing #monsieurlestud this weekend in tribute to

Wearing #monsieurlestud this weekend in tribute to my teenage crush @joancollinsdbe on her birthday. Great idea to be born on a bank holiday weekend!
I bought this #aftershave in #1978 when I was thirteen on my first trip to @Selfridges . Doesn’t smell quite the same after 42 years.

Also a shout out to #thestud himself @olivertobiasactor - haven’t seen you and Arabella since New Year’s Eve @richardyoung110 ‘s - was it 2001?! #joancollins #olivertobias #jackiecollins #fontainekhaled
#seventies #biddu #ronco #soundtracksonvinyl

'Chelsea Bows' by Warner Fabrics 1985. So sad for

'Chelsea Bows' by Warner Fabrics 1985.
So sad for the Chelsea Flower Show exhibitors and my milliner pals at what should have been their busiest time of year.
Back to the 80s: we were instantly drawn to this camp confection of bows and roses on glazed cotton from the ‘Fabric on Fabric collection' by Warner (double chintz!) and couldn’t resist making a ballgown from it (Amadeus and Dangerous Liaisons were still hot). Liberty liked the idea and subsequently took orders in their Liberty prints and featured the gowns in their Regent Street windows.

I subsequently realised that the fabric-print-on-the-fabric was of course Warner’s classic ‘Maryport’ – as chosen by Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire for her sofa and armchairs at Chatsworth. She took them with her when she moved to the Old Vicarage on the estate, ( Debo portrait @simonuptonphotos ) so she must have loved this print very much.

#chintz
#80sdecor
#chelseabows
#chelseaflowershow
#maryport
#warnerfabrics
#warnerfabricsarchive
#warnertextilearchives
#warnervintagefabrics
#englishcountrystyle
#chatsworth
#chatsworthhousestyle
#mitford
#mitfordsisters

The party’s over; we drank tea, made bunting fro

The party’s over; we drank tea, made bunting from old shirts and boxer shorts and polished the silverware.

#veday
#winstonchurchill
#tea
#wedgwood
#cufflink
#cufflinks
#cufflinksdesign
#cufflinkstyle

“The springtime bride is starry-eyed... “ Bela

“The springtime bride is starry-eyed... “ Belated anniversary wishes to one of my most beautiful and elegant brides, Wiggy; marrying William Hindmarch in 2005 (photography @douglasfry )and now a successful designer herself @wiggykit . The bias-cut silk zibeline gown features mint imperial sized ball buttons and an @andrewrtprince brooch made to order.

#douglasfry
#neilcunninghamdress
#wiggykit
#andrewrtprince
#englishcountrywedding
#bride
#bridalgown
#weddingdress
#weddinggown
#whiteanemone
#springtime

RIP Honor Blackman, here wearing my women’s tuxe

RIP Honor Blackman, here wearing my women’s tuxedo and slasher pants suit. Photograph @alanstrutt styling @ajknightstyle 20 years almost to the day, April 2000. She put her enduring beauty and taut face down to drinking lots of water and eating mood enhancing foods.

#honorblackman
#honorblackmanrip
#neilcunninghamdress
#alanstrutt
#ajknightstyle
#womenstuxedo
#womenstailoring
#jamesbond
#jamesbond007
#jamesbondstyle
#jamesbondgirl
#bondgirl
#pussygalore
#goldfinger

Phillip Schofield’s lovely wife Stephanie chose

Phillip Schofield’s lovely wife Stephanie chose this gown to wear for their wedding 27 years ago. It was called “Marrying A Sailor” and she ordered it from my collection at Liberty before I opened my shop.

There are many routes to a happy and successful marriage. Best wishes to you both @schofe
The nautical themed gown was definitely a nod to the designs of #irenesharaff but the collar was actually shawl, not sailor. It was also a tribute to the 1960s empire line wedding gowns I can just remember tailing out in the early 70s.

#neilcunninghamdress modelled by #julietownsend photographed at #hartwellhouse
by #beningham in 1992.

#marryingasailor
#duchessesatin
#bridalgown
#weddingdress
#weddinggown

Remembering the face of the seventies, icon Farrah

Remembering the face of the seventies, icon Farrah Fawcett on her birthday and @ryan_o_neal .

The Many of Moods of Farrah was an art decoration, a box of twelve original 1977 Farrah Fawcett Majors fashion doll heads by Mego. Produced by a doll manufacturing company liquidating its inventory, and distributed by Urban Outfitters and other kitsch art retailers. Ready to hang on the wall. Circa early 1990s.

Photographed in my West End workroom 2003 by @mikegoldwater

#themanymoodsoffarrah
#farrahfawcett
#farrahfawcettmajors
#mikegoldwater
#mego

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly Dynasty calling, but

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly Dynasty calling, but when asked if I’d make a gala gown for Joan Collins for her upcoming stint in the infamous Footballers' Wives TV (2005) series, as far as I was concerned, it was a no-brainer.
Read the full story of dressing the irresistible @joancollinsdbe at http://neilcunningham.com/royal-purple-for-dame-joan/

Thanks so much to @tonywardpix for his beautiful photo (sorry I just had to crop out Zöe Lucker). #joancollins #joancollinsdbe #joancollinsbeauty #joancollinsfashion #joancollinsbeautyforever #alexiscolby #tonywardpix
#neilcunninghamdress #couture #hautecouture #royalpurple #duchessesatin #dynasty #gayicon #legend

Gloomy dramatic skies above Piccadilly this aftern

Gloomy dramatic skies above Piccadilly this afternoon (no filter); as I continued on to Green Park I swear there was steam rising from Buckingham Palace.

Last Supper in Pompeii with @carol_m_lister and #b

Last Supper in Pompeii with @carol_m_lister and #bacchus at the Ashmolean Museum. Last few days in fact.

Our town and country tree with a suitably pagan #t

Our town and country tree with a suitably pagan #thewickerman backdrop. Homemade Christmas pudding baubles (27 years old, made from ping-pong balls and Fimo) and loads from the consistently brilliant @frompaperchase .Can you spot @Bentheoandrews smiling at us through the pine needles too? Happy holidays everyone.

#thewickerman1973

Reposting Wesley Morgan on Instagram: “Throwing

Reposting Wesley Morgan on Instagram: “Throwing way back to 20 years ago. I always loved working for @neilcunninghamdotcom. Such a gentleman who produced classy campaigns to compliment his bespoke clothing. I’m still with @nevsmodels for bookings. 😜

#heidiwichlinski wears #neilcunninghamdress #wez_morgan_fitness wears #hugoboss and
widescreen TV ring by #stephenwebsterjewellery photographed by #bronwynkidd at Highpoint Highgate designed by architect #bertholdlubetkin

Charming sight at Marylebone Station yesterday (Su

Charming sight at Marylebone Station yesterday (Sunday 8.30am) of ten geezers armed with baubles and fairy lights employed by Mitie Landscapes to erect this almighty tree. When we returned at 5pm it was looking very impressive indeed.

#mitielandscapes
#marylebonestation
#marylebone
#christmastreelondon
#christmastree
#london

Posted during the witching hour; this silk organza

Posted during the witching hour; this silk organza empire line gown was the show finale dress for my Autumn/Winter 1999 collection seeing out the century with a deep sense of mourning. Also a nod to the #wickedwitchofthewest (three years before #wickedthemusical )and #margarethamilton – the witch to end them all. Silk tulle draped hat made to match @edwinaibbotson .Photographed in 2003 @mikegoldwater .

#neilcunninghamdress
#mikegoldwater
#edwinaibbotson

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