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Fashion is Betty's bag
Betty Jackson CBE is one of the UK's most celebrated fashion designers. With a multi award-winning career spanning almost four decades, Lara Masters asks amputee Betty how she survives the fashion industry so seamlessly
Betty Jackson was born in Bacup, Lancashire where her Dad owned a
shoe factory. Complications at birth meant Betty's left leg didn't grow
properly and at the age of six she had an amputation.
After studying fashion at Birmingham College of Art under the inimitable Zandra Rhodes, Betty started her career working for designer to the glitterati, Ossie Clark, in the late 70s.
"It was extraordinary meeting these hugely influential designers early on in my career, but when I left college I had the arrogance of youth and wanted very much to make my own statement. I don't think I was interested in doing anything that looked like anyone else's collection. It was important to stamp my own personality on my clothes. Mind you.... the early collections were quite bold and colourful, but not in the same way as Zandra or Ossie."
In contrast, Betty describes her personal dressing style simply as "black", but her collections are vibrant and eclectic.
"I get a lot of my ideas from colour and fabric but I'm mainly inspired by artists, so I do a lot of gallery visits and go to most exhibitions. London is a particularly inspirational city and often just the people on the street can be totally exciting.
And there are so many exciting new young designers emerging at the moment producing really interesting work, but my all-time favourites will always be Japanese designers Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garcons."
Certainly, attributes of the quirky interpretations of classic pieces prominent with these designers are reflected in Betty's designing style, which she describes as: "Easy, relaxed, strong and sexy in an understated way."
Her creations are both comfortable on a catwalk but also very wearable, as Ms Jackson demonstrates: "My current fave piece of clothing is an oversized jacket we first did in 1986! I have it in black grosgrain with a black cotton lace trim on one side and wear it constantly. I also absolutely love my bag from this season's collection. It's a big, simple square shape in thick hide with raw edges and large silver clips on the handle... easily fits everything... and there's no logo on it. It's completely plain with the label on the inside. Perfect!"
I could talk clothes and accessories all day with such an industry icon but, ultimately, fashion is about aesthetics and I ask if having a disability has been a hindrance whilst carving a career in an image-orientated industry.
"I have an artificial left leg and use a walking stick; I walk quite badly. Maybe it's more of a problem for other people. For me, it's not my body that counts... I use my brain when I'm working, not my legs!"
Whilst Betty may dismiss the impact of her body in her line of work, she accepts body-image is at the heart of the fashion industry and joined the British Fashion Council's Model Health Inquiry panel after two models died from eating disorders in 2006.
"Everyone has a responsibility to promote healthy images of women, not just the fashion industry. When the inquiry was launched, it was quite obvious that the sports and dance world are much bigger transgressors than fashion, especially where eating disorders are concerned. At least we are taking steps to find a way to tackle the problem by working with the agencies and giving these girls, especially the young ones, somewhere to get help."
Clearly, Betty feels bodies are somewhat of a distraction altogether; her passion is purely for the adornment of the physical form, so when I ask for any disability-related anecdotes, she brushes me off with; "Too many to mention!"
This tunnel-visioned dedication to her craft has made Betty Jackson one of Britain's most prolific designers with accolades including twice winning Designer of the Year, receiving an MBE (1987) and a CBE (2007) for services to British industry, launching the Autograph range at M&S and redesigning the gowns of the civil judiciary in 2008.
However, Betty tells me that none of these awards are for her most important work; "My greatest achievement is my children. But it's work in progress!"
And I can only think that with Betty's assiduity and ability to produce beautiful creations, her children are surely turning out to be pretty fabulous specimens too.