# Workers for Freedom

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{{Short description|British fashion label}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox company
| slogan =
| name = Workers for Freedom
| logo = 
| foundation = 1985
| founder    = Graham Fraser and Richard Nott
| location_city = London
| location_country = England
| key_people = 
| industry = Fashion
| products = 
| revenue = 
| operating_income=
| net_income =
| num_employees= 
| parent = 
| subsid =
| homepage = 
| footnote =
}}
'''Workers for Freedom''' was a British fashion label that was launched in 1985 by Graham Fraser and Richard Nott. The brand was awarded Designer of the Year in 1989 at the [British Fashion Awards](/source/British_Fashion_Awards).<ref name="NYT Morris">{{cite news|last1=Morris|first1=Bernadine|title=Qurky Britain in Fashion's Sea|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/03/13/style/quirky-britain-in-fashion-s-sea.html|accessdate=13 June 2015|work=The New York Times|date=12 March 1990}}</ref>

The brand look was described by the ''[LA Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)'' as: "rich-hippie intellectual clothes".<ref name="LA Times McColl">{{cite news|last1=McColl|first1=Pat|title=Weekend Surprises : Fashion: Short was the watchword at the London shows.|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-03-14-vw-357-story.html|access-date=13 June 2015|work=Los Angeles Times|date=14 March 1990}}</ref> ''[The Glasgow Herald](/source/The_Glasgow_Herald)'', on the other hand, summarised it as: "a stylishness based on subtlety and fine construction which stands remote from fashion's general glitzkrieg and the obstructive shoulder pad".<ref name="Glasgow Herald Simpson">{{cite news|last1=Simpson|first1=Anne|title=The Freedom of Choice|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2507&dat=19870514&id=4yo1AAAAIBAJ&sjid=u6ULAAAAIBAJ&pg=3599,3482946&hl=en|accessdate=13 June 2015|work=The Glasgow Herald|date=14 May 1987}}</ref>

Workers for Freedom's design signatures included flowing shapes and ethnic-inspired details. It was particularly known for [appliqué](/source/appliqu%C3%A9) (widely copied on the high street) and intricate tie fastenings on garments such as shirts. Initially, its range was aimed at men but it soon expanded to womenswear.<ref name="The Times 63706">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Stylish revelations take on a global application|issue=63706|work=The Times|date=15 May 1990|page=19}}</ref> Some of its strongest early sales were with buyers from the United States, Italy and Japan – it had over 30 overseas clients by 1987.<ref name="Glasgow Herald Simpson"/><ref name="The Times 63706"/>

In the wake of its British Designer of the Year award, ''[The Guardian](/source/The_Guardian)'' noted that the label had: "built a reputation for wearable, beautifully made clothes always incorporating something surprising".<ref name="The Guardian Rumbold">{{cite news|last1=Rumbold|first1=Judy|title=Up the Workers!|work=The Guardian|date=19 October 1989|page=38}}</ref>

==Establishment of the label==
Graham Fraser and Richard Nott founded Workers for Freedom in 1985; the name sounded radical but they said it was chosen because they hoped it would give them the freedom to work for themselves.<ref name="Chicago Tribune Anderson">{{cite news|last1=Anderson|first1=Lisa|title=Princess Diana Crowns British Gala a Success|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1989/10/18/princess-diana-crowns-british-gala-a-success/|access-date=13 June 2015|work=Chicago Tribune|date=18 October 1989}}</ref> Describing the inspiration for the name in 1987, Fraser said it was about: "artistic and financial freedom to develop without the restraints imposed by big business".<ref name="Glasgow Herald Simpson"/>

The duo were in their 30s when they established the brand, and with substantial fashion industry experience. Richard Nott had been a fashion lecturer at [Kingston Polytechnic](/source/Kingston_University), before which he worked for [Valentino](/source/Valentino_(fashion_designer)) in Italy. Graham Fraser, meanwhile, had worked for a variety of fashion retailers, including the boutique Feathers, culminating in a merchandising role at [Liberty](/source/Liberty_(department_store)) where he was handling a budget of £10m.<ref name="Glasgow Herald Simpson"/>

Both had, at one time, worked with the leading 1970s designer [Christopher McDonnell](/source/Christopher_McDonnell) – Fraser was in a business partnership with him at Marrian-McDonnell for a short period while Nott spent a nine-month spell as assistant.<ref name="Guardian Modlinger 130373">{{cite news|last1=Modlinger|first1=Jackie|title=Label Fable|work=The Guardian|date=13 March 1973|ref=p.13}}</ref><ref name="The Times Glynn 58396">{{cite news|last1=Glynn|first1=Prudence|title=Going Private|issue=58396|work=The Times|date=8 February 1972}}</ref> Indeed, ''The Times'' fashion editor [Prudence Glynn](/source/Prudence_Glynn) tipped Nott for the top in 1972, describing him as: "an exceptionally promising new design talent" and noting that his graduation show had attracted considerable interest from [Marc Bohan](/source/Marc_Bohan) at [Dior](/source/Christian_Dior_S.A.).<ref name="The Times Glynn 58396"/>

Fraser and Nott were partners in their private and professional lives; in a feature about successful fashion couples – also featuring the husband and wife behind [Clements Ribeiro](/source/Clements_Ribeiro) – ''The Guardian'' said the pair had been a couple for a decade before finally deciding to work together on their own brand.<ref name="The Guardian Storey">{{cite news|last1=Storey|first1=Helen|title=A perfect fit? London fashion week is over and the world knows it|work=The Guardian|date=3 March 1997|page=A4}}</ref>

A 1990 profile, by which time Fraser was 41 and Nott 42, gave a bit more detail about their industry experience. Fraser had trained as an accountant and worked at both high-end and mass market retailers – with stints as a buyer for [Harrods](/source/Harrods) and [Wallis](/source/Wallis_(retailer)) – before joining Liberty. Nott had trained at Kingston Polytechnic before working in Italy and then moving into academia back at Kingston.<ref name="The Times 63706"/> A loan of £15,000 from a bank had enabled them to set up a small company – initially producing men's shirts and sweaters – before the label expanded into womenswear.<ref name="The Times 63706"/> They also had a private financial backer and the label was founded with hands-on assistance from ex-[Calvin Klein](/source/Calvin_Klein) staffer Sarah Mayhew-Coomber and her husband Stephen.<ref name="The Guardian SJ Hoare">{{cite news|last1=Hoare|first1=Sara-Jane|title=Leading Men|work=The Guardian|date=23 February 1986|page=53}}</ref>

The brand's store was at 4/4a Lower John Street, [Soho](/source/Soho).<ref name="The Times  62658.">{{cite news|title=Keeping on course at the sales|issue=62658|work=The Times|date=6 January 1987|page=11}}</ref> It comprised just 280sq ft of selling space.<ref name="The Times 62694.">{{cite news|title=Swamp fever takes a trip|issue=62694|work=The Times|date=17 February 1987|page=11}}</ref> Their first catwalk show took place in March 1987.<ref name="The Times 62694."/>

===Early design hallmarks===
Early ranges that came to the attention of the national press included tasselled waistcoats, peasant-style skirts, chunky jumpers and cardigans and fringed woollen shawls worn with deep-crowned felt hats.<ref name="The Times 62338">{{cite news|last1=Tyrrel|first1=Rebecca|title=Hot tips for cold comfort|issue=62338|work=The Times|date=7 January 1986|page=13}}</ref> Describing their global inspirations, ''The Times'' wrote: "They started with middle-European cowboys, travelled through Mediterranean ports and Bavarian hunting lodges and are about to wade through a Mississippi swamp. This may sound like an excerpt from an Indiana Jones movie but is, in fact, a run through the themes Workers for Freedom, the London designers, have used for their collections and shop decor since they opened in October 1985.<ref name="The Times 62694."/> Noting that the label's biggest seller in autumn/winter 1986 was a double-layer chiffon skirt and the current season's reprise of this concept was a [shirtwaister](/source/Shirtdress) in chiffon and lace, the article said that the label had proved that: "young fashion need not be outrageous, unflattering or unaffordable". It also said that Fraser and Nott had, thus far, avoided PR launches and other attention-grabbing tactics only to find themselves at the centre of media interest.<ref name="The Times 62694."/>

==International expansion==
The excitement surrounding the brand was international. By 1987, Workers for Freedom was opening a store within [Bergdorf Goodman](/source/Bergdorf_Goodman) in New York, set to feature a mural of the [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi_River) on the walls and with an opening party to be attended by [Cher](/source/Cher) and [Tatum O'Neal](/source/Tatum_O'Neal).<ref name="The Times 62664.">{{cite news|title=People|issue=62664|work=The Times|date=13 January 1987|page=11}}</ref> At this stage, the brand was stocked in [Browns](/source/Browns_(fashion_boutique)) in London, a designer store in [Beauchamp Place](/source/Beauchamp_Place) and [Glasgow](/source/Glasgow) boutique Ichi ni San, with over 30 overseas accounts mainly in Japan, Italy and the US.<ref name="Glasgow Herald Simpson"/> The following year, Workers for Freedom featured at Harrods as part of a promotion of British design for London Fashion Week, alongside names such as [John Galliano](/source/John_Galliano), [Jasper Conran](/source/Jasper_Conran) and [Paul Costelloe](/source/Paul_Costelloe).<ref name="The Times 63027">{{cite news|title=Galliano. Azagury. Ronay. Klein. Have British names every been more fashionable? (advert)|issue=63027|work=The Times|date=15 March 1988}}</ref>

By 1988, it was reported that Workers for Freedom's garments were being made in Japan.<ref name="The Times 63207">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Designer-wrapped for the world|issue=63207|work=The Times|date=8 October 1988}}</ref> By 1989, the company had a lower-priced diffusion range called White that featured some of its higher-end best-sellers.<ref name="The Times 63341">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Don't worry, be positive|issue=63341|work=The Times|date=14 March 1989|page=18}}</ref>

===Designer of the Year Award===
''The Times'' tipped three names for the Designer of the Year Award less than a month ahead of the British Fashion Awards – Workers for Freedom, the previous year's winner [Rifat Ozbek](/source/Rifat_Ozbek) and rising star [Joe Casely-Hayford](/source/Joe_Casely-Hayford).<ref name="The Times 63509.">{{cite news|title=Who will be top name?|issue=63509|work=The Times|date=26 September 1989|page=13}}</ref> Workers for Freedom picked up the prize, which was presented by [Princess Diana](/source/Diana%2C_Princess_of_Wales), Summarising the brand's appeal, ''The Times'' said it had: "romantic folkloric style that remains in essence very British".<ref name="The Times 63528.">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Royal follower of fashion|issue=63528|work=The Times|date=18 October 1989}}</ref> In the succeeding fashion season, Workers for Freedom experienced an upturn in orders and interest, with Graham Nott saying: "You gain a little bit of confidence".<ref name="The Times 63650">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Nice work if you can find it|issue=63650|work=The Times|date=10 March 1990}}</ref>

Workers for Freedom's spring 1990 showing featured more styles in this feminine vein, including: "flounced skirts, ribbon-trimmed jackets and shirts in suede as well as wool". However, there were fewer buyers in London due to retailing problems worldwide. [Katharine Hamnett](/source/Katharine_Hamnett) and John Galliano had chosen to show in Paris, while Rifat Ozbek screened a video rather than a holding a full catwalk show.<ref name="The Times 63652.">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Putting zip into this sporting life|issue=63652|work=The Times|date=13 March 1990}}</ref>

==Later years==
In 1990, Fraser and Nott signed a marketing agreement with Marco Rivetti's Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT), the Italian company that had promoted names such as [Armani](/source/Giorgio_Armani), [Montana](/source/Claude_Montana), [Ungaro](/source/Emanuel_Ungaro) and Valentino to international audiences during the 1970s. Under the terms of the deal, Workers for Freedom would be promoted across North America by GFT.<ref name="The Times 63706"/><ref name="NYT Saxon">{{cite news|last1=Saxon|first1=Wolfgang|title=Marco Rivetti, 52, Marketer of Italian Designer Labels|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/19/world/marco-rivetti-52-marketer-of-italian-designer-labels.html|accessdate=14 June 2015|work=The New York Times|date=19 July 1996}}</ref> It was also reported that Workers for Freedom had produced another 10 tiger-print silk shirts for [Paul McCartney](/source/Paul_McCartney)'s world tour (to add to the 40 or 50 in his collection) and it had some copyright cases to pursue, with ''The Times'' noting that: "The pirating of Worker's [sic] stylish appliquė shirts has become an industry sport".<ref name="The Times 63706"/>

By this stage, the company's clients included [Diana Ross](/source/Diana_Ross), [Duran Duran](/source/Duran_Duran) and [Vanessa Redgrave](/source/Vanessa_Redgrave). [Doris Saatchi](/source/Charles_Saatchi), it was reported, ordered their silk robes in multiples.<ref name="The Times 63706"/> Fraser and Nott ended their Designer of the Year reign with a fashion show at [Dayton Hudson](/source/Dayton's) in [Minneapolis](/source/Minneapolis), where they showed alongside [Yohji Yamamoto](/source/Yohji_Yamamoto), [Jean-Paul Gaultier](/source/Jean-Paul_Gaultier) and [Geoffrey Beene](/source/Geoffrey_Beene).<ref name="The Times 63836.">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=What a wonderful swirl|issue=63836|work=The Times|date=13 October 1990|ref=p.33(s)}}</ref> Fashion editor Liz Smith said the brand's signatures such as embroidery and appliqué were what attracted American store buyers, adding: "Here are two designers who ignore the trend towards high hemlines and go on doing their own thing".<ref name="The Times 63838.">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Yes, that was the Sixties, that was|issue=63838|work=The Times|date=16 October 1990|page=19}}</ref>

In 1991, it was reported that continued financial pressure – worldwide recession, poor exchange rates and the [Gulf War](/source/Gulf_War) – had cut the budget of many high-spending foreign buyers who traditionally headed for London Fashion Week and Workers for Freedom, Jasper Conran and [Bruce Oldfield](/source/Bruce_Oldfield) were among those who chose not to stage a traditional catwalk show that spring – the official line to the press being that this was a curb on "unnecessary hype", rather than an economy.<ref name="The Times 63963">{{cite news|last1=Smith|first1=Liz|title=Polishing up the British act|issue=63963|work=The Times|date=12 March 1991|page=18}}</ref>

In 1994, Fraser and Nott took a break from the business, returning to designing two years later after securing a new backer.<ref name="Independent Blanchard">{{cite news|last1=Blanchard|first1=Tamsin|last2=Rickey|first2=Melanie|title=London Fashion Week: A Capital A to Z|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/news/london-fashion-we-ek-a-capital-a-to-z-1280322.html|accessdate=13 June 2015|work=The Independent|date=23 February 1997}}</ref> In 1998, Fraser and Nott sold Workers for Freedom, taking on the tenancy of the [National Trust](/source/National_Trust) property [Stoneacre](/source/Stoneacre%2C_Kent) in Kent. Fraser had begun a garden design course and Nott was focusing on his painting.<ref name="The Times 68070">{{cite news|last1=Gatti|first1=Anne|title=Floral freedom|issue=68070|work=The Times|date=8 May 2004|page=37(s2)}}</ref> Nott had a solo exhibitions at the Rebecca Hossack Gallery in London in November 2018, titled ''Tidying Up''.<ref>{{cite web|work=MMDesign|title= Richard Nott|url=https://www.mm.design/collections/richard/nott}}</ref>

===Legacy===
Workers for Freedom clothes are in several archives, including the [Metropolitan Museum of Art](/source/Metropolitan_Museum_of_Art) and the [Victoria and Albert Museum](/source/Victoria_and_Albert_Museum). In 2013, Workers for Freedom – along with [BodyMap](/source/BodyMap), Katharine Hamnett and [Betty Jackson](/source/Betty_Jackson) – featured in the V&A's ''From Club to Catwalk'' exhibition, which charted the influence of street styles on British high fashion.<ref name="BBC Dowd">{{cite news|last1=Dowd|first1=Vincent|title=How '80s club culture came to the catwalk|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-23259509|accessdate=14 June 2015|publisher=BBC|date=11 July 2013}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
* [http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw79887/Workers-for-Freedom-Graham-Fraser-Richard-Nott Graham Fraser and Richard Nott portrait by Trevor Leighton, National Portrait Gallery]
* [https://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/175401 Workers for Freedom dress at the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art]
* [https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1193046/shirt-workers-for-freedom/ Workers for Freedom men's shirt at the V&A archive]
* [https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O360377/waistcoat-workers-for-freedom/ Workers for Freedom waistcoat at the V&A archive]
* [https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O202107/drawing-unknown/ Workers for Freedom embroidered shirt (drawing) at the V&A archive]
* [http://www.thewomensroomblog.com/2011/06/25/we-love-richard-notts-dresses/ Recollection of 1990 Workers for Freedom fashion show from The Women's Room]

Category:1985 establishments in England
Category:Companies based in the City of Westminster
Category:High fashion brands
Category:1980s fashion
Category:1990s fashion
Category:British brands

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Workers for Freedom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers_for_Freedom) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers_for_Freedom?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.