Jean Muir @ National Museum of Scotland

Though perhaps not as instantly recognizable outside the fashion industry as her contemporary, Barbara ‘Biba’ Hulanicki, designer Jean Muir’s impact on the British fashion scene was every bit as profound. A specialist in fluid yet complex construction, Muir’s silhouettes were built on precision pattern-cutting and a dexterity with fabric, defining the ‘60s and sustaining her own-label collection until her death in 1995.

Starting out in the stockroom at Liberty, London, Jean Muir worked her way through a design stint at Jaeger to the inception of her first label, Jane & Jane, eventually founding the prolific Jean Muir brand in 1966. Also responsible for the era-defining wardrobe (including that catsuit) for Dame Diana Rigg in The Avengers, Muir’s fashion bibliography includes work for long-standing house model, Joanna Lumley, the star of much of Muir’s contemporary publicity imagery.

As a proud Scot-by-lineage, and longstanding supporter of the National Museums of Scotland, Muir’s first ever major exhibition comes first to Edinburgh, offering a glimpse into the workings of one of the UK’s most prolific and influential fashion brands. With an inventory of over 30 finished garments and accessories, the exhibition also includes Muir’s own sketches, pattern pieces, unfinished toiles, and fabric swatches. A rare opportunity to trace the formation and design process of a fashion icon, and to see up close some of the most iconic garments of the ‘60s and beyond – not to be missed.