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Jeff Banks PPCSD (born Jeffrey Tatham-Banks, 17 March 1943) is a Welsh fashion designer of men's and women's clothing, jewellery, and home furnishings. Born in
Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...
, Wales, Banks co-founded the fashion chain Warehouse in the late 1970s. He later created and presented the television programme '' The Clothes Show'', broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...
from 1986 to 2000.


Biography

Banks was born in the
Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...
valleys of
South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...
, at
Ebbw Vale Ebbw Vale (; ) is a town at the head of the valley formed by the Ebbw Fawr tributary of the Ebbw River in Wales. It is the largest town and the administrative centre of Blaenau Gwent county borough. The Ebbw Vale and Brynmawr conurbation has a ...
. His sheet metal worker father left his mother when Banks was eight, and she consequently decided to move to London.My Way: Fashion designer Jeff Banks on how to get on at work
The Independent – 19 July 2007
He was offered a scholarship to independent public school St Dunstan's College, in
Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green (ward), Rushey Green and Catford South Ward (electoral subdivi ...
, south London, but his mother could not afford the uniform. He went to Brockley County Grammar School instead, but still without a uniform. In order to afford a uniform he set up his own business buying paraffin at the bottom of the hill, then pushing it up in an old pram, and selling it for a penny more at the top of the hill. By 13 he was employing a man to drive a lorry-based tanker, and at 15 he sold the business. Encouraged by a teacher to study art and become a painter, he realised his art skills were limited during his first year at London's Camberwell School of Art, and so transferred to studying interior design and latterly textiles at
Saint Martin's School of Art Saint Martin's School of Art was an art school, art college in London, England. It offered foundation and degree level courses. It was established in 1854, initially under the aegis of the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Saint Martin's beca ...
, and then fashion at New York's Parsons The New School for Design. BBC Wales Arts & Entertainment. Archived 20 October 2007. Banks holds honorary degrees from the University of Lancaster,
University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...
, Newcastle University, University College for the Creative Arts, and the University of Westminster, and is a Doctor of Arts. He was awarded the Minerva Medal by the Chartered Society of Designers in 1994 and was the Society's President from 2001 to 2003. In 2009 Banks was appointed as a Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the Queen's Birthday Honours.


Career

In 1964, with money saved from the paraffin business and from his father mortgaging his own home, Banks opened the boutique Clobber in London, which carried his own designs along with other designers' work. It proved such a success that in 1969, he launched his own fashion label. In 1975 he opened the first standalone Jeff Banks shop in London, as well as retail outlets in twenty-two department stores, including
Harrods Harrods is a Listed building, Grade II listed luxury department store on Brompton Road in Knightsbridge, London, England. It was designed by C. W. Stephens for Charles Digby Harrod, and opened in 1905; it replaced the first store on the ground ...
and Harvey Nichols. In the late 1970s, he co-launched the fashion chain Warehouse, as well as continuing to work as a freelance designer. After it was taken over by retail chain
Sears Sears, Roebuck and Co., commonly known as Sears ( ), is an American chain of department stores and online retailer founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosen ...
, he was sacked for being disruptive in board meetings – which he never regrets. In 1979 and 1981 Banks became British Designer of the Year, and in 1980 he was made "British Coat Designer of the Year". During the mid-to late 1980s, he designed a large proportion of the stage-clothes for musician Howard Jones. Banks's standing as a commercial force in retail fashion led to his presenting over 320 episodes of '' The Clothes Show'', the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's long-running fashion show, alongside Selina Scott and Caryn Franklin. The show's success in often gaining over 10 million viewers, led in 1989 to the first "Clothes Show Live" event at the NEC
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, as well as the launch of the Clothes Show magazine. Having been asked to create corporate design wear for many organisations Jeff Banks created his own corporate clothing company in 1996. Incorporatewear is now one of the largest companies in the United Kingdom producing corporate clothing. With partners Rob Pollock and Brian Lamb the company produces a wide range of clothing for various types of companies. In 2000, he signed a deal to design clothes for the UK chain
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
. The installation of Jeff Banks stores within Sainsbury's outlets proved successful, but a dispute led to the early termination of his contract. The resulting lawsuit was resolved with Sainsbury's agreeing to pay a reported settlement of £1 million, plus a box of truffles every week. In April 2007, Banks mocked
Kate Moss Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an English model. Arriving towards the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her t ...
's design range for Top Shop, saying: "Can Kate sharpen a pencil, do an impression of a cow or draw a matchstick man? I would put money on it, though not very much. I'll bet ate Mossjust grabbed one of her many Prada bags, rifled through her wardrobe ... and turned up at Topshop's head office in Oxford Street for a quick hour's briefing with the in-house designers and buying staff." Banks has continued to work as a designer with designs for the Guide Association, the England football team, and for London's 2012 Olympics bid, which were modelled at the launch by Sir Bobby Charlton, Sir Steve Redgrave and Denise Lewis. Banks continues to be heavily involved in corporate clothing and uniform. In May 2010 he offered to design the match-day 'walk-on' suits for the cash-strapped Portsmouth F.C. team for their FA Cup final appearance. Banks's own fashion design influences are Hardy Amies,
Giorgio Armani Giorgio Armani (; born 11 July 1934) is an Italian fashion designer and a billionaire. He first gained renown working for Cerruti 1881. He formed his company, Armani, in 1975, which eventually expanded into music, sport, and luxury hotels. By 200 ...
and Alice Temperley.


Personal life

Banks has been married twice: firstly to the 1960s pop star Sandie Shaw (1968–1978), (with whom he has one daughter), and subsequently to Sue Mann, a model and film makeup artist. Banks is a lifelong member of Catford Cycling Club, and a sponsor of their racing team ''CatfordCC Equipe/Banks'', an amateur under-23 squad having British National 'Elite' team status.British Cycling Elite National Teams
British Cycling Org, retrieved 22 May 2014
Banks accepted the honorary position as Lord Lieutenant of the Ben Gibbons charitable Society of Farnham in March 2024.


References


External links

* * *
incorporatewear

ICW tailored by Jeff Banks

Jeff Banks Australia

Jeff Banks Official Online Store
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Jeff 1943 births Living people Alumni of Saint Martin's School of Art Chartered designers Converts to Buddhism People educated at St Dunstan's College Parsons School of Design alumni People from Ebbw Vale Welsh fashion designers Welsh Buddhists Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Buddhist artists