| Biography | The Incorporated Society of London Fashion Designers, also known as Inc Soc or ISFLD, was a membership organisation founded in 1942 to promote the British fashion and textile industry and create luxury couture to sell abroad for the war effort during World War II. It aimed to build the relationship between government and fashion industry and represent the interests of London couturiers.
Some sources suggest it was established by Harry Yoxall, managing editor of British Vogue, and others indicate it was the idea of Sir Cecil Weir of the Board of Trade.
In March 1942, on the invitation of the Board of Trade, the members of Inc Soc created 34 utility clothing designs, suitable for mass manufacture, to demonstrate how high-fashion elegance could be achieved within the strict rationing restrictions. Known as the Couturier Scheme, the project had a very high profile in the press at the time with a fashion show held to launch the clothes. The prototype models were featured in Vogue magazine and donated to the Victoria and Albert Museum later that year.
Inc Soc organised seasonal showings in each London couture house based on the Parisian couture system. After the war, Inc Soc coordinated their spring and autumn collections in London with the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture in Paris to allow cash-rich overseas buyers to visit both cities' collections.
The organisation disbanded in the 1970s. |