Emma Cecilia Knuckey (née Campbell; 14 December 1912 – 12 December 1998) was a pioneering New Zealand fashion designer, known for her evening gowns. Her work is currently held at

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

Te Papa The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is New Zealand's national museum and is located in Wellington. Usually known as Te Papa (Māori language, Māori for 'Waka huia, the treasure box'), it opened in 1998 after the merging of the Nation ...

and the

MTG Hawke's Bay MTG Hawke's Bay Tai Ahuriri (formerly Hawke's Bay Museum & Art Gallery) is a museum, theatre and art gallery (hence the name) in Napier in New Zealand. MTG Hawke's Bay occupies three buildings that were redeveloped in 2013. History The first ...

Early life

Knuckey was born in 1912 in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

. Her grandmother owned a drapery shop and her mother was a seamstress, their influence led to her interest in design. Without any formal training Knuckey began to design garments. In the mid-1940s Knuckey sent some of her designs to London designer Frederick Starke, founder of the London Model House Group. He invited her to London to meet with British designers and study under them. In 1949 she went to London with her husband to study at the Model House group. Through her studies she learned pattern making and was also heavily influenced by the atmosphere of designers studios and the style in which design labels were launched.

Career

In 1950 she opened her first salon 'Gowns by Emma Knuckey.' She modeled the opening of the Salon off what she had seen in London, 'I opened my business with an exciting fashion show – rows of small chairs, invitations, flowers, soft lights and music." Shortly after opening Knuckey formed a business partnership with Betty Clarke, one of her employees. Due to limits on the quality of fabric that could be sourced in New Zealand Knuckey imported the majority of fabric used from overseas. She imported material from England, Switzerland, Ireland and Scotland. The emphasis of her designs was on the quality of the fabric she used. In 1959, 'Gowns by Emma Knuckey' closed as the business partners moved to sell their clothes through wholesale. Their garments were sold through New Zealand's main department stores which included

Milne & Choyce Milne & Choyce was one of the first department stores in Auckland, New Zealand. The upmarket department store grew from a draper's and milliner's first acquired by Mary Jane and Charlotte Milne in 1867. In 1874 the store moved to larger pr ...

, Smith & Caughey's and

Kirkcaldie & Stains Kirkcaldie & Stains (known informally as ''Kirkcaldie's'' or ''Kirks'') was a department store in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1863 by John Kirkcaldie and Robert Stains with a capital of £700. The first store was opened on L ...

. Knuckey returned to retail in 1971 as she opened a new store of her own on Darby street, not far from the original salon. This opening saw a change in the style of clothes sold as mini skirts and hot pants began to be incorporated into Knuckey's designs. She retired from fashion in 1974 and died in 1998. In March 2017 Emma Knuckey's work was exhibited in ''Walk the Walk: A History of Fashion in the City'' at Smith & Caughey’s in Auckland where Knuckey's clothing was once sold.

References

External links

Hawkes Bay Museum

Te Papa

Auckland War Memorial Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knuckey, Emma 1912 births 1998 deaths New Zealand fashion designers New Zealand women fashion designers Date of death missing People from New Plymouth