Edwardian Britain, vintage fabrics collection. By Manchester fashion designer Collette Costello.
My second collection was inspired by old postcards, I found in a stone terrace house. From the 1910s, 1920s, featuring old photographs and messages of love. Read the stories and see the fabrics below.
Invitation for the Lady
An invitation for the lady for afternoon tea, such an honour. A fine spread to be had, Victoria sponge cake, jellies from moulds, lace dollies and blouses to match.

Remember Me
Take this token of love, to remind you of me. Since seas divide, take a piece of me, so you will forget me not and remember me. A symbol of my deepest affection.

Dear Alice
Dear Alice, I do wish I could take you by the hand in the good old fashioned way and walk along the lanes of our childhood. Where hedges were fragrant with wild roses, honeysuckle and the breeze came to us bringing the perfume of the clover fields and grass-meadows”

Day to Remember
It was a day to remember, a day we thought would never come. Dancing in the street, bunting up high. We laughed, we cheered, we partied, long into the night.

Edwardian Lady, Day in the Life
Below is a story of a women living in Edwardian Britain. Based on true stories and facts. That inspired the fabrics above.
Penelope Berrycloth born of a family that once had wealth. Earned from the cotton mills in British towns. Now the family is middle class, they are comfortable at a time when others are not. Educated she attended a girls finishing school, funded by her Great Aunt. The daughter of a book-keeper. Manners, following the strict rules of etiquette. would give her chance to climb the class ladder again.
Dressed in a lilac satin skirt and waist dress, with lace triangular insert. Penelope is free from the constraints of the corset. Dressing in the style of french designer Paul Poiret. She has completed her look with long gloves and a large hat. Made in the famous hat making town, Stockport, Manchester. The hat is wide brimmed, a picture hat designed to frame the face. Decorated with silk bows, lace and feathers. Penelope is attending a fundraiser at Kendals. For the women’s right group “The Suffragettes”. A letter been received, addressed “an invitation for the lady”. An invite to afternoon tea with Manchester’s women of influence. Penelope needs to dress for the occasion, dress to impress.
Victoria sponge cake is served during high tea, at the ladies lunch. Edith Holden, the author of the “Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady”, is one of the guests. Her beautifully illustrated books featured nature, flowers from the British countryside. Books filled with romantic stories for the changing seasons in the British countryside. Where small villages are nestled, celebrating nature with a yearly well-dressing festival.
The ladies talk about politics, how war is looming, the 1st World War is in sight. Penelope holds her love token tightly in her hand. A romantic gift from her fiancee, they are divided by sea. Would she ever see him again?
The Edwardian history of Manchester, was researched at the institutes below. I designed this collection as part of studying for a Textiles MA at MMU. Read more about my studies, “Collette Costello School of Art MMU”.
Edwardian Fabric Prints UK
The Edwardian era was an optimistic age. Following on from a Dickensian, Victorian Britain. People had more money, recovered now from World War 1. Glamour, music and fashion was everywhere.
It was the age of invention and excess. The world of the roaring 20s, as found in the novel “The Great Gatsby”. People wanted things bigger, better and more luxurious than ever before. The Titanic, the largest ship ever made, set sail and famously sank. Skyscrapers were being built everywhere in cities. Departments stores such as “Harrods” and “Selfridges”. Became symbols of sophistication, stocked with glamours, luxury goods.
Like during the Victorian era, in the Edwardian era. Printed fabrics were used mainly for interior textiles, as upholstery fabrics. 1920s fashion fabrics were usually woven or embroidered instead. In art deco and art nouveau styles. Decorated with repeat patterns, inspired by shapes in nature. The shape of a seashell, was a popular print design during this period. To reflect luxury, gold was a colour used a lot in 1920s printed patterns. Often printed onto a dark backgrounds to make the gold stand out more.
Sonja Delaunay was a famous fabric designer in the 1920s. Her textile prints were brightly coloured and hand-painted onto fabrics. She used repeat, geometric patterns in her printed. Sonja’s designs were inspired by cubism, abstract art styles. Taken from her own paintings. Fabric prints designed by Sonja Delaunay and other textile designer in the 1920s. Influenced textile design in the 1960s, 1970s. Art nouveau patterns can be found in 1960s psychedelics prints. Geometric, repeat pattern in mid-century 1970s fashion fabrics.
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