Kahn & Bell was a

fashion label The term "fashion brand" (or "fashion label") includes all the brands that operate within the fashion industry. A fashion brand combines symbolism, style, and experiential elements, and it needs to differentiate its products and coordinate its supp ...

and

boutique A () is a retail shop that deals in high end fashionable clothing or accessories. The word is French for "shop", which derives ultimately from the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in anc ...

established by Jane Kahn and Patti Bell in

Hurst Street Hurst Street is a street located along the edge of the Birmingham Chinatown area of Birmingham, England.BBCDavid Parker, "Chinese People in Birmingham: A Brief History by Dr. David Parker," January 2003 accessed 19 March 2012 The Birmingham B ...

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 ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1976. At the forefront of the emergence of the look of the

New Romantic New Romantic was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New Romantic mo ...

movement they designed clothes for notable bands including

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

and

Shock Shock may refer to: Common uses Healthcare * Acute stress reaction, also known as psychological or mental shock ** Shell shock, soldiers' reaction to battle trauma * Circulatory shock, a medical emergency ** Cardiogenic shock, resulting from ...

Simon Le Bon Simon John Charles Le Bon (born 27 October 1958) is an English singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the new wave band Duran Duran and its offshoot Arcadia. Le Bon has received three Ivor Novello Awards from the Briti ...

wrote the

song Khanada about Jane Kahn. Kahn and Bell's elaborate and theatrical style brought together a wide range of influences, including

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

, African and

Far Eastern The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In modern times, the term ''F ...

art, and combined them with elements of

futurism Futurism ( ) was an Art movement, artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects such as the ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

. While Kahn & Bell were frequently one step ahead of the capital, they received little attention for this, and "when similarities to London designers were seen in their collections it was considered that Birmingham had copied London," the New Romantic journal New Sounds New Styles observed in 1981. ''

Blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842. The process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

'' reviewed their importance in 1988: It has been argued over the years by many fashion magazines that Kahn and Bell never reached their true potential as London was always considered the capital of UK fashion. They perhaps missed their "window of opportunity" for global success as they, unlike many designers, never "licensed" their brand, never relocated, as Kahn and Bell, to London and would not compromise their unique "style". Kahn and Bell eventually went their separate ways in the 1980s. Kahn relocated to London and enjoyed a measure of success alone but was never able to recreate the inspirational "look" that Kahn and Bell had achieved previously. Bell went on to enjoy continued success with her outlandish, inspired and thought-provoking collections. With clients and customers from all over Europe, SE Asia and Japan, Bell remained a "grass roots" designer, and would appear every weekend at London's

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...

, whilst remaining a resident of Birmingham. She died in January 2024.

References

1970s fashion 1980s fashion Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands {{Fashion-company-stub