Who's Who

Valerie Cumming BA, CCHD, FMA: Chairman

After postgraduate training at the Courtauld Institute of Art, Valerie Cumming spent 10 years as a costume and textiles curator. From 1981 to 1997, she was the Assistant Director, then Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Museum of London.

She is also Chairman of the Olive Matthews Collection of Dress and Textiles at Chertsey Museum and a trustee of the Daphne Bullard and Kathy Callow Trusts at the Museums Association.

Her research interests include 17th century dress and society, royal and ceremonial dress, and 19th century theatre costume. These passions are reflected in a wide range of publications – seven books, numerous articles, catalogue entries, essays and reviews.
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Susan North: Vice chairman

Susan North is curator of 17th and 18th century dress at the Victoria and Albert Museum. She studied art history as an undergraduate and has an MA in dress history from the Courtauld Institute in Dress History. Susan's passion is material culture: surviving garments and the fascinating lives they have led.





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Sylvia Ayton: Vice chairman

After a very thorough training at Walthamstow School of Art and Royal College of Art, Sylvia left in 1961 to start her own company before teaming up with Zandra Rhodes to run a short-lived but exciting business. Sylvia joined Wallis Fashion Group as outerwear designer in 1969 and in 1990 was awarded the MBE for services to the fashion industry, whilst continuing to work as an external examiner and part time lecturer to many BA (Hons) fashion courses.

In 1980 she became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Member of the Jury of RSAS Student Design Awards (Fashion), and is joint Vice Chairman of The Costume Society.

"Her passion is The Costume Society as it enables her to have a wide insight into the many aspects of costume which have inspired and influenced her as a designer."
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Penelope Ruddock MA FMA: Secretary

Penelope Ruddock was Curator of the Assembly Rooms, Museum of Costume & Fashion Research Centre in Bath until her retirement in 2002.

She read Modern History at St Andrews University followed by a postgraduate degree in the History of Dress from the Courtauld Institute of Art.

She is the author of several books on the history of dress (written under her maiden name, Penelope Byrde) and her particular interest is in 19th and 20th century fashion. One of her passions is dress in English literature, especially the works of Jane Austen.

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Imogen Stewart: Archivist

Imogen has recently retired from the department of Learning & Interpretation at the Victoria & Albert Museum where she worked for 33 years. She has had many passions in that time but her current one is plants in textile design.






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Chris Godfrey: Treasurer

Chris Godfrey is a retired certified accountant who has kept his brain active since 1995 looking after the society's accounting, during which its funds have grown tenfold. He reflects the passions of his wife, Kent Costume Trust's chairman Janet Godfrey, who gives talks on her large collection of early to mid 20th century costume and accessories.





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Cally Blackman: Trustee

Cally Blackman got her MA in History of Dress fom the Courtauld in 1997.Since then she has lectured extensively on fashion, written several books (100 Years of Fashion Illustration forthcoming 2007) and taught at her alma mater Central St Martin's where she is currently acting as Pathway Tutor on the Fashion History & Theory BA course. Passionate about dress history from the Renaissance onwards, the breadth and scope of the discipline is a constant source of amazement and inspiration. Chairman of CHODA (Courtauld History of Dress Association) for five years, she has been a Trustee of the Costume Society since 2005.


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Liz Booty: Trustee

Liz is a lecturer in Fashion and Textiles at Wiltshire College, Trowbridge and at present is a trustee of the society. Meeting like-minded people with a shared interest has been one of the joys of being a member of the society along with attending the very varied events organised. Liz's passion lies with 20th century costume and Eastern ethnic dress.





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Maria Hayward: Assistant Editor - Costume

Maria Hayward is Head of Studies and Research at the Textile Conservation Centre, University of Southampton and Director of the AHRB Research Centre for Textile Conservation and Textile Studies. She is currently working on a book called Dress at the Court of Henry VIII to be published in 2005/6 and a long term research project on pre-reformation English liturgical textiles.





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Philip Warren: Events Sub-Committe Chairman

Philip Warren is Keeper of Cultural Life for Leicestershire County Council Environment and Heritage Service. He is responsible for the Fashion and the Fine Art collections and manages the service’s Collections based Renaissance projects. He is the author of The Foundations of Fashion (2001) and was responsible for the creation of the Fashion Gallery at Snibston and the subsequent exhibitions displayed there since it opened in 2005.

A graduate of, and former tutor at, the University of Leicester his interests include the relationship between fashion marketing and the consumer and the influence of sports clothing on fashionable dress since the end of the C18th.

Judy Tregidden: Events Sub-Committee Vice Chairman

Judy was educated at the Royal College of Art, Fashion Department and as a designer created fashions for the newly emerging teenager market of the 1960s. Judy combined designing and education through the next decades in her career as a lecturer in Fashion Studies and the History of Dress at Westminster College, London. She was a founder member of the Costume Society and has been a trustee of the Executive Committee on several occasions. Was Chairman and now Vice Chairman of the Programme Sub-Committee and has co-ordinated the annual symposium from 1999-2006. Judy is an associate of Courtauld History of Dress Association (CHODA). Her passions are the history and theory of dress, the 20th century and the creative art of fashion.

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Bridget Marrow: Newsletter Editor

Bridget enjoyed a long career in Radio Drama (not much scope for costume there!). Since retiring she has made costumes for amateur drama as well as replicas for the Museum of London. She has worked as a volunteer at the Globe Theatre and Gunnersbury Park Museum. Her passions include all aspects of dress and textiles - past, present and future - and she makes lace.





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Anna Buruma: Trustee

Anna Buruma trained as a theatre designer at Central School of Art and Design. She worked in the theatre and later as a costume designer for television and film. In the mid 1990s she studied for an MA degree in the History of Dress at the Courtauld Institute. She is now the archivist at Liberty and works in the Central Saint Martins Museum Collection. She is interested in all aspects of textiles and dress, but because of her work is particularly drawn to the late 19th and the 20th centuries.



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Pat Poppy: Membership Secretary

Pat Poppy is a librarian at Bournemouth University, where she helps provide subject support to courses as diverse as Computer Animation and Forensic Archaeology. She has been a member of The Costume Society for 30 years, and Membership Secretary for the last 10 years. Her passions are the early modern period (1500-1800) and re-enactment, preferably combined.





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Lindsay Evans Robertson: Yarwood Award Co-ordinator

As a graduate of the Royal College of Art, Lindsay Evans Robertson began his career designing in London for couture and later for ready-to-wear. Lindsay has been involved with education in fashion and textile design and fashion technology at Honours Degree level and has also been a free-lance lecturer on twentieth century dress for many years. Lindsay joined the Costume Society in 1978. He has been Honorary Secretary (1997 - 2002), a trustee, an appointed officer and has been closely involved with the Education and Programme sub-committees. Lindsay is currently the coordinator of the Yarwood Award.



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Dr Ann Saunders: Honorary Editor, Costume 1967-present

Ann Saunders read history at University College, London (where she was elected Fellow in 1992). Her PhD thesis at Leicester University was published as Regent’s Park. Among her many other publications are John Bacon RA, two re-written volumes on London for Arthur Mee’s Counties of England series, The Art and Architecture of London (now in its 4th reprint) and St Paul’s: the story of the Cathedral (2002). She has edited and contributed to The Royal Exchange (1997) and is co-author of The History of the Merchant Taylor’s Company (2004) and Honorary Editor to the London Topographical Society (since 1975). Ann was awarded the MBE for her services to history. Her passions are history, of which clothing is a part, and buildings.

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Heather Toomer MA: Trustee

HEATHER TOOMER M.A.(Cantab); Dip. Ed. is a freelance author, lecturer, and consultant on antique lace and related textiles. After a degree in science and many years of patent work, she is now devoting herself to her real enthusiasm, lace, and, particularly, its relationship to costume. Over the years she has set up various lace exhibitions including the touring exhibition ‘Lifting the Veil’. She has lectured widely on all aspects of lace history and her books include “Antique Lace: Identifying Types and Techniques” and her own publication “Baby wore white: robes for special occasions, 1800-1910”. As a long-standing member of the Costume Society and now a Trustee, she continues to enjoy the stimulation of lectures on a wide variety of costume topics and contact with specialists in other fields.

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Linda Richards: Symposium Co-ordinator & Minutes Secretary

Linda organised her first international conference in 1993 at the Museum of London and continued managing corporate entertaining at the Museum for six years. It was at the Museum of London that she perfected the costume curator’s instinctive moth-exterminating handclap. Then she moved on to a PA role in central government. Looking back over her career in the public and private sectors, she recalls her time in the West End offices of Howard & Wyndham, theatre proprietors, where she would take any opportunity she could to steal up to the attic workrooms of Madame Kirsta and her staff, to gaze in awe as they created the fabulous stage costumes destined for the famous Five Past Eight reviews on the northern theatre circuit.

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Jenny Lister: Trustee

Jenny Lister is a Curator of Textiles and Fashion at the V&A, with particular responsibility for the 19th century collections. Recent projects include the development of the Specialist Subject Network for fashion and textiles, in partnership with DATS (Dress and Textiles Specialists), and the V&A's 60s Fashion exhibition.

Particular research interests and passions range from eighteenth century milliners to boutiques in 1960s London.

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Nigel Arch : Director, Kensington Palace

Nigel Arch is Director of Kensington Palace—the former home of the late Princess Diana and her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Arch began at Kensington in May 1982 as Curator of the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. He assumed the Directorship in 1986. Arch's early career was in military history museums, first as Head of the Department of Art at the National Army Museum then later as Keeper of Military History at the Castle Museum York. Arch holds a B.A. with honors in Politics and Political History, a M.A. in War Studies, and an A.M.A. in the History of Art and is a widely-traveled lecturer. Arch has been named "Freeman of the City of London" and has been a guest speaker at Pink Ribbons Crusade exhibits since the charity’s creation in 2000. Arch currently lives outside of London and is married with one adult daughter.

Daz Smith: Web Designer

BA (Social Sciences), MA (Post Colonial Texts). Undertook PhD research is English national Identity as expressed in popular music. Now a self-employed multi-media person concentrating on audio recording and mastering, graphic design, web design and photography. Strong intellectual interest in the ideas of post grand theoreticians in Humanities and their relationship to developments in science, music, and everyday life (popular culture). Musician of some 30 years experience, running record labels, playing guitar and singing. Avid reader of science, 20th century music biography, collector of vintage British and American sound equipment and guitars.

Runs these websites Mustard Mastering & Graphics, Music Business For Students, Nottingham Music Solutions and Deadly Beefburger Records.