Barkers Department Store fashion Shows

I am currently studying an MA History of Design and Material Culture at University of Brighton. My topic for my dissertation is a Barkers Department Store Fashion Album from the 1920s that includes photographs, press cuttings, advertising and fashion show programmes. The press book is a significant example of integrated marketing communications and documents the fashions and comments on the lifestyles from the period. The style of photography shows Barkers department store as showcasing court gowns which gives the store a similar profile to its competitors Harrods and Selfridges.

Using archive materials from department stores and London libraries, this project has been highly rewarding and finding out that Barkers sold copies of Paris couture gowns has been very exciting. Parisian theatrical stars were used as celebrities to show the fashions and attract publicity, much like today.