Judy Hornby

Judy Hornby, also known as Judith Hornby, is a British-born American-based former model, fashion designer and boutique owner. In 1971 one of her ensembles, designed for her by Graziella Fontana, was chosen as the Dress of the Year. She then went on to become a successful American fashion designer.

Career

Hornby was originally a model, before entering fashion design and retail. She commissioned samples and garments from freelance designers such as Graziella Fontana.[1] The Fashion Museum, Bath asked Serena Sinclair, voted Fashion Writer Of The Year in 1970,[2] to choose the defining look for 1971 to add to their Dress of the Year collection.[3] Sinclair selected one of Fontana's Liberty-print cotton hotpants ensembles for Hornby as her womenswear look, alongside a Blades man's suit.[1]

As a designer, Hornby enjoyed mixing printed textiles,[1] and in 1972, the unisex quality of some of her work was noted by The Baltimore Sun.[4] By 1975, due to export regulations, she had left the United Kingdom to live and work in the United States.[1] She opened a small boutique with only one in-house seamstress on East 60th Street, Manhattan, called Hornby of Plenty, in September 1975, which was well-received by buyers who had formerly had to travel to London to see her wholesale collections.[5] Hornby of Plenty swiftly gained a good reputation due to its dedicated customer service and willingness to alter and even make new garments to fit clients at no extra cost, meaning that by December 1975, Hornby had to employ eight additional seamstresses to meet demand.[5] In 1979, Hornby was selling her work to over 40 shops across the United States, and was described as a master of unexpected colour and pattern mixes which looked anything but haphazard.[1] By the 1980s, she was considered a leading designer alongside Zandra Rhodes and Stephen Burrows.[6] Women's Wear Daily reported in 1994 that Hornby had stepped in to take over the Chicago-based Becky Bisoulis brand after Bisoulis fell ill.[7][8]

Later life

By 2005, Hornby had moved to Connecticut and opened an antiques shop there, also offering antique-buying trips to France for American collectors.[9] Her husband, Jerry Larrabue, is a vintage watch dealer.[9]

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References
  1. Lester, Richard (2013). Dress of the year. Antique Collectors' Club. pp. 50–55. ISBN 9781851497256. NB: Lester incorrectly refers to Serena Sinclair as Serena Sutcliffe
  2. "Serena Sinclair, fashion editor - obituary". Telegraph.co.uk. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  3. "Dress of the Year". The Fashion Museum. 10 November 2014.
  4. "Article on page 17". The Baltimore Sun. 23 Feb 1972. p. 17. Retrieved 16 August 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Stern, Ellen (29 December 1975). "Best Bets". New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC. p. 80.
  6. Owens, Mitchell (5 May 2009). "Connecticut's Litchfield Hills". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  7. Staff, WWD (13 July 1994). "Bisoulis Names Hornby Designer And President". WWD. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  8. Staff, WWD (27 September 1994). "Bisoulis Branches Out". WWD. Retrieved 16 August 2017.(subscription required)
  9. Yaeger, Lynn (5 May 2009). "Antiquing in the South of France". Travel + Leisure. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
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