Amber Jane Butchart is a British fashion historian[2] and writer. She has researched and appeared in programmes on the BBC, Channel 4, and Sky Arts.[3] In 2018, she presented the BBC documentary series A Stitch in Time. Butchart teaches at London College of Fashion, and consults with the British police as a forensic garment analyst. She has also published several books on fashion history.
Amber Butchart | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1980 or 1981 (age 43–44)[1] |
| Occupations |
|
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | London College of Fashion |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | History |
| Sub-discipline | History of fashion |
| Institutions | London College of Fashion |
| Website | www |
Education and early life
editButchart grew up in Kessingland, Suffolk,[4] and has an MA in History and Culture of Fashion from London College of Fashion, now part of the University of the Arts London.[5]
Career
editButchart is an associate lecturer at London College of Fashion,[5] and was formerly head buyer for vintage clothing company Beyond Retro.[2] Butchart also acts as a consultant forensic garment analyst to British police forces and crime scene investigators.[6]
Butchart presented a segment in the BBC documentary series Civilisations Stories entitled The First Refugees regarding the silk-weaving Huguenot community of Spitalfields.[7][8] In 2015 Butchart published Nautical Chic and curated an exhibition of the same name at the Fashion and Textile Museum.[9]
Butchart is a regular guest on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.[10] In January 2017 she appeared on Radio 4's The Museum of Curiosity where her hypothetical donation to this imaginary museum was "the colour mauve".[11] She has also produced a two-part documentary for Radio 4 about the history of the vintage fashion industry entitled From Rags to Riches.[12]
Butchart presented A Stitch in Time, a six-part series about the history of fashion broadcast on BBC Four in 2018. The costumes created by Ninya Mikhaila for the show were exhibited at the National Trust's Ham House between February and April that year.[13][14][15] The show was praised for its delivery and accessibility, with one reviewer noting "anyone watching this could gain a real insight into how historical pieces are made and reinterpreted".[16]
With make-up artist Rebecca Butterworth, Butchart presented a six-part series of historic make-up tutorials for English Heritage. The series was part of the charity's efforts to expand its audience, and the campaign led to English Heritage winning the 'Grand Prix' and 'Best UK Breakthrough Advertiser' prizes at the 2019 YouTube Works Awards.[17] The videos spanned the Roman period to the Second World War and were released between 2018 and 2019.[18]
In 2020, Butchart and Clara Amfo presented a podcast series on the history of fashion.[19] The following year, Butchard curated part of the British Textile Biennial, using items from the Gawthorpe Textile Collection.[20]
She regularly hosts fashion events, including Puttin’ on the Glitz: Fashion & Film in the Jazz Age at the British Library in 2014.[21]
She was one half of DJ duo Broken Hearts along with Nisha Thirkell, which had a show on Jazz FM.[22][23][24]
Bibliography
edit- Muir, Robin; Butchart, Amber; Bouhassane, Ami (2021). Lee Miller: Fashion in Wartime Britain. Lee Miller Archives Publishing. ISBN 978-0-9532389-8-9.
- The Fashion Chronicles: Style Stories of History's Best Dressed (2018, Mitchell Beazley ISBN 978-1784723811)
- Fashion Illustration in Britain: Society and the Seasons (2017, British Library Publishing: ISBN 9780712352000)
- The Fashion of Film: Fashion Design Inspired by Cinema (2016, Octopus Books: ISBN 9781784721763)
- Nautical Chic (2015, Harry N. Abrams: ISBN 9781419716195)
- Amber Jane Butchart's Fashion Miscellany: An Elegant Collection of Stories, Quotations, Tips & Trivia from the World of Style (2014, Ilex Press: ISBN 978-1781571385)
References
edit- ^ Jacobs, Bel (1 May 2013). "Amber Jane Butchart reveals her fashion secrets". Metro. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
- ^ a b Jacobs, Bel (1 May 2013). "Amber Jane Butchart: My style can be described as art teacher meets Pat Butcher". Metro. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ "Broadcasting". Amber Butchart. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Chapman, Thomas. "Fashion historian set to present BBC Four documentary series". Lowestoft Journal. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
- ^ a b "Teaching staff: Amber Butchart". London College of Fashion. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ Eva Wiseman (3 March 2019). "'Underwear dates well': how fashion forensics are helping solve crimes". The Observer. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
- ^ "A Stitch in Time". BBC Four. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
- ^ "'Civilisations Stories' programme page".
- ^ "Nautical Chic by Amber Jane Butchart. Display Dates: 22 May – 27 August 2015". Fashion and Textile Museum. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Woman's Hour". BBC Radio 4.
- ^ "The Museum of Curiosity: Series 10, Episode 3". BBC Radio 4. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ BBC, Radio. "From Rags to Riches". BBC Radio 4. BBC.
- ^ "A Stitch In Time". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "A Stitch in Time exhibition at Ham House". National Trust. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "'A Stitch in Time' Exhibition at Ham House, Richmond - The Costume Society". costumesociety.org.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "What We Really Learned From a Stitch in Time". The Costume Rag. 16 January 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
- ^ "YouTube Works 2019: Grand Prix & Best UK Breakthrough Advertiser". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
- ^ "Meet the Experts: Amber Butchart and Rebecca Butterworth". English Heritage. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Wynn, Aiden (4 December 2020). "Clara Amfo's new podcast charts the history of fashion". Stylist. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "British Textile Biennial dates for 2021 announced | British Textile Biennial". Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Shillito, Sophia (21 April 2014). "Puttin' On The Glitz - Fashion & Film in the Jazz Age". Tyranny of Style: A closer look at costume design and the language of clothing. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
- ^ "PRESS | Amber Butchart". Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Mahoney, Elisabeth (20 May 2011). "Radio review: Perppermint Candy". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Broken Hearts". Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 16 June 2018.