I've been out this morning at the opening day of the Jean Muir exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. Photography wasn't permitted and the selection of cards very limited, but if you follow that link you'll see more of what's on show. Her classic, beautifully cut, fluid garments are there of course, as are sketches, toiles, swatches, even chalk samples for precise colour matching in dyeing fabrics and exquisite, craftsman-made fastenings.
Her clothes are described as "elegant and sexy, yet demure", and she herself called them "evolutionary not revolutionary". She was serious and professional, a creative pragmatist, concerned with every detail, and of the skills required to make her clothes she said "we must not think that if you do something with your hands it is not with your mind as well".
Apart from her trademark black and navy blue jersey dresses which drape and skim the body so beautifully, there are many examples of her work in cashmere, soft leather and suede, and some of her prints, too. There's also a short film of her talking about her work - she didn't like the noun "fashion", much preferring the verb - and on a Sunday morning, designing a collection in her large pure white bed, glass of champagne to hand!
How sad that she is no longer here to create such beautiful things.
