The forgotten menswear designer responsible for some of the most iconic fashion moments of the 1960s and 1970s, dressing everyone from James Bond to David Bowie to Muhammad Ali!
Thank you for a very enjoyable and informative read Anastasia! I am fortunate to have a small collection of Mr. Fish garments - all very well made with incredible fabrics and more than a little flair. It lifts my spirit to learn that he was involved with Sulka later in life. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you Tim and Anastasia for your interest. I have a few more details from Michael's life that I can share. He came to work as a "consultant" at Deborah and Clare in 1983, and stayed there for approximately 6 months. At the time, the shirtmarker for D & C was Frank Rostron, who owned shops in Manchester and Leeds. Frank made business shirts for businessmen, and as you might guess Michael had very little interest in that! But he stuck around for 6 months or so. There were two partners in the business, Nico Rogerson and Tom Spiers, and they were hoping Michael could bring back D & C to its former glory.
Near the end of this time (1983 or early 84) I went with Michael to visit Jeremy Frye in Bath. Mr. Frye had been one of Michael's backers in the earlier years, and Michael I gather was hoping Mr. Frye would back him again. Unfortunately, it came to nothing.
Instead, Michael had a workshop in his home in Brixton, and he got D&C's main shirtmaker, a lovely woman named Chris Bellingham, to come work for him there. I remember Chris coming in everyday with her assistant from Croydon. At this time, Michael did a show having designed a range of 10-12 silk vests for women. I don't remember what the show was in aid of, but I went to the rehearsal with Michael, which was great fun. A while after that I moved on and lost contact with Michael, but he was great fun and a good person.
I still have a photograph of me in his Mohammed Ali gown. He told me that the original was in the Smithsonian, but he had a copy that was in his house in Brixton.
Thank you so much for sharing Don. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing all of the details of Michael’s life. And how wonderful for you to have tried out that famous Mohammad Ali gown - what a fantastic photo that must be!
I worked with Michael Fish at Deborah and Clare in (I think) 1984. Michael joined Ray Thorn, the tailor, working at Deborah and Clare/Thorns on Beauchamp Place. I think he was there for about 6 months. After this, he worked independently out of his house on Leander Road, Brixton, for a time. I'm not sure what he did after this. Michael was great to work with. Lots of fun.
Thank you Don for filling us in on this time in Michael Fish’s life. Not much is known about it and it’s interesting to hear how long he continued to work for. Working with him must have been a wonderful experience! Thank you for sharing.
What a wonderful article, Michael's impact was huge and yet so few people know about him. The sentence 'not a Tweet from former friends or associates,' is incredibly sad. I used to try and search for information about him and until recently there wasn't even a Wikipedia entry, which felt so remiss. Do you know if his sister still alive? Thank you for this post and highlighting a wonderful man. Ps he was born on 11 May as he shared the same birthday as my mother, and would hand her a bottle of champagne over the garden fence!
Thank you again Matilde for the wonderful details you’re sharing with us. I love the image of him handing your mum a bottle of champagne over the fence! I’m sorry, I don’t know if his sister is still alive unfortunately. Wish you luck in finding her x
What a fascinating life this man lived; such a shame, as you say, that he was not remembered at the time of his death. I bridled reading those comments from the press about his dress styles - typically narrowminded of the day. Mr Styles would've worn Mr Fish.
His story is so interesting isn’t it! I’m glad you enjoyed it too. I agree about the press - I can just imagine it. And I too wonder if Harry Styles has a stylist making these links, since his style does seem to hark back to early Mick Jagger. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for a wonderful read. In the mid 90's I had the good fortune of living with Michael for two years at his home in Brixton. At that time I was a film maker, and we shot 4 hours of video of him at home telling his own story. He also spoke about his life pre and post Mr Fish. It really is a fascinating story which needs to be told. I've completed a first edit and happy to screen share if you want to watch it.
Thank you for a very enjoyable and informative read Anastasia! I am fortunate to have a small collection of Mr. Fish garments - all very well made with incredible fabrics and more than a little flair. It lifts my spirit to learn that he was involved with Sulka later in life. I look forward to reading more.
Thank you Tim for reading! You’re lucky indeed to have some Mr Fish clothing - they don’t make them like they used to!!
Hopefully I’ll be posting more again soon. Thank you for subscribing!
Thank you Tim and Anastasia for your interest. I have a few more details from Michael's life that I can share. He came to work as a "consultant" at Deborah and Clare in 1983, and stayed there for approximately 6 months. At the time, the shirtmarker for D & C was Frank Rostron, who owned shops in Manchester and Leeds. Frank made business shirts for businessmen, and as you might guess Michael had very little interest in that! But he stuck around for 6 months or so. There were two partners in the business, Nico Rogerson and Tom Spiers, and they were hoping Michael could bring back D & C to its former glory.
Near the end of this time (1983 or early 84) I went with Michael to visit Jeremy Frye in Bath. Mr. Frye had been one of Michael's backers in the earlier years, and Michael I gather was hoping Mr. Frye would back him again. Unfortunately, it came to nothing.
Instead, Michael had a workshop in his home in Brixton, and he got D&C's main shirtmaker, a lovely woman named Chris Bellingham, to come work for him there. I remember Chris coming in everyday with her assistant from Croydon. At this time, Michael did a show having designed a range of 10-12 silk vests for women. I don't remember what the show was in aid of, but I went to the rehearsal with Michael, which was great fun. A while after that I moved on and lost contact with Michael, but he was great fun and a good person.
I still have a photograph of me in his Mohammed Ali gown. He told me that the original was in the Smithsonian, but he had a copy that was in his house in Brixton.
Thank you so much for sharing Don. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing all of the details of Michael’s life. And how wonderful for you to have tried out that famous Mohammad Ali gown - what a fantastic photo that must be!
I worked with Michael Fish at Deborah and Clare in (I think) 1984. Michael joined Ray Thorn, the tailor, working at Deborah and Clare/Thorns on Beauchamp Place. I think he was there for about 6 months. After this, he worked independently out of his house on Leander Road, Brixton, for a time. I'm not sure what he did after this. Michael was great to work with. Lots of fun.
Don I would love to hear more about your time with Michael Fish at Deborah and Clare!
Thank you Don for filling us in on this time in Michael Fish’s life. Not much is known about it and it’s interesting to hear how long he continued to work for. Working with him must have been a wonderful experience! Thank you for sharing.
What a wonderful article, Michael's impact was huge and yet so few people know about him. The sentence 'not a Tweet from former friends or associates,' is incredibly sad. I used to try and search for information about him and until recently there wasn't even a Wikipedia entry, which felt so remiss. Do you know if his sister still alive? Thank you for this post and highlighting a wonderful man. Ps he was born on 11 May as he shared the same birthday as my mother, and would hand her a bottle of champagne over the garden fence!
Thank you again Matilde for the wonderful details you’re sharing with us. I love the image of him handing your mum a bottle of champagne over the fence! I’m sorry, I don’t know if his sister is still alive unfortunately. Wish you luck in finding her x
How fascinating - I loved this post, and the concept for your Substack. Excited to follow along with these stories!
Thanks so much Jordan! That’s lovely to hear.
What a fascinating life this man lived; such a shame, as you say, that he was not remembered at the time of his death. I bridled reading those comments from the press about his dress styles - typically narrowminded of the day. Mr Styles would've worn Mr Fish.
His story is so interesting isn’t it! I’m glad you enjoyed it too. I agree about the press - I can just imagine it. And I too wonder if Harry Styles has a stylist making these links, since his style does seem to hark back to early Mick Jagger. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for a wonderful read. In the mid 90's I had the good fortune of living with Michael for two years at his home in Brixton. At that time I was a film maker, and we shot 4 hours of video of him at home telling his own story. He also spoke about his life pre and post Mr Fish. It really is a fascinating story which needs to be told. I've completed a first edit and happy to screen share if you want to watch it.
The link between Bowie's dress on the cover of The Man Who Sold The World and Ali's robe at the Rumble in The Jungle 🤯
If you like making such discoveries and being spoilt with details, I have a feeling that Anastasia's Culture Stories is going to be a must-read.
Salute to designer, peacock and man about town, Mr Fish.
Thanks Amar, that’s such a kind comment. I love finding these unexpected links. Hopefully there will be lots more!