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Jeff Banks
Jeff Banks CBE PPCSD FRSA
Jeff Banks originally trained at Saint Martins as a textile designer. He opened his first boutique, Clobber, in 1964 in Blackheath, London, the first of a handful of shops leading the fashion revolution.
He opened his eponymous Jeff Banks company in 1969 and at that time was a founder of the British Fashion Council.
Alongside his brand, he opened the first Warehouse shop in Duke Street, London, in 1976. This concept led the way for the global revolution in fashion retailing, with designs produced in-house directly to customers. In 1981 and 1982, he was awarded British Fashion Designer of the Year, and in 1984, British Retailer of the Year.
In 1987 he created and presented the BBC television program ‘The clothes Show’ which aired on BBC1 for 12 years. He also created the spin-off exhibition ‘Clothes Show Live’.
In 1990 he found it Graduate Fashion Week which ran for 30 years under his presidency. He also created the Drapers Award and the Prima High Street Awards.
Turning mainly to menswear in the 1990s he opened the Jeff Banks retail concession in China, Japan and Australia. During that period he also became a resident designer at Debenhams. By the 2000’s he was back in womenswear in both Debenhams and a collection with petite brand ‘Précis’. He still continues to run his design studio licensing his designs and various brands around the world.
Jeff Banks holds four honorary doctorates and ten honorary university fellowships. In 1994, he received the Chartered Society of Designers Medal. He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for services to fashion in 2009.
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