Shirley Craven: Influential British Textile Designer

Shirley Craven (b. 1934) is a British textile designer whose innovative work in the 1960s and 1970s revolutionized the field. Her bold patterns and vibrant colours captured the essence of the swinging ’60s, making her a pivotal figure in post-war design. This article delves into her education, career, and lasting impact on the decorative arts.

Education – Shirley Craven

Craven’s journey into the design world began with her painting, sculpture, and textile studies at Kingston upon Hull and the Royal College of Art in London from 1955 to 1958. Her multidisciplinary education provided a solid foundation for her later work, blending the aesthetics of painting with the functionality of textiles.

Biography

In 1960, Craven started working as a consultant designer for Hull Traders, a company known for its avant-garde approach to textile design. By 1963, she had become the chief designer and a director. Under her art direction, Hull Traders became synonymous with hand-screen-printed fabrics featuring bright, fashionable designs. The company consistently won the Council of Industrial Design Award for printed textiles, including one in 1968 for Craven’s design “Shape” (Byars, 2004).

Craven’s approach was characterized by spontaneity and a sense of freshness. She often worked directly from sketches and developed several related designs simultaneously, allowing her to maintain a dynamic and evolving portfolio that resonated with the contemporary aesthetic of the time.

Style Shirley Craven

Craven’s designs were groundbreaking in their scale and colour. According to the Textile Society, she pioneered an aesthetic more akin to painting than traditional textile design, breaking all the rules and revolutionizing post-war furnishings. Her work was commercially successful and critically acclaimed, embodying the bold and dramatic style of the 1960s (Shirley Craven: Messums London, 2020).

Recognition for Shirley Craven

Throughout the 1960s, Craven received numerous awards from the Council of Industrial Design. Her designs for Hull Traders, including “Le Bosquet” in 1961, “Division,” “Sixty-Three,” and “Shape” in 1964, and “Simple Solar” and “Five” in 1968, were all recognized for their innovation and artistic merit (Byars, 2004).

Craven also contributed to the “Pop” design movement, which dominated textiles during the decade. Under her leadership, Hull Traders specialized in vibrant, hand-screen-printed fabrics that adorned public buildings such as hotels and working men’s clubs.

Case Study: “Angle 6” by Shirley Craven

One of Craven’s notable works is the furnishing fabric “Angle 6,” (see below) designed in 1965 for Hull Traders Ltd. This design exemplifies her bold use of colour and large-scale patterns. “Angle 6” features three printed heavy cotton satin colourways: pink/blue/yellow, blue/purple/ochre, and purple/pink/orange. These vibrant combinations reflect Craven’s ability to blend artistic spontaneity with commercial appeal. The fabric’s dimensions are 1282 mm in width and 1353 mm in length, making it suitable for various furnishing applications.

The Later Years and Legacy

After Hull Traders closed in 1980, Craven’s work fell into obscurity. However, her contributions to textile design have recently been revived through exhibitions and the efforts of design historians like Lesley Jackson. Jackson’s research and exhibitions have brought Craven’s work into the spotlight, recognizing her as a significant figure in modern textile design (Shirley Craven: Messums London, 2020).

Conclusion

Shirley Craven’s work remains a testament to the transformative power of design. Her bold and innovative approach not only revolutionized textile design in the 1960s but also continues to inspire contemporary designers. As her work is rediscovered and celebrated, Craven’s legacy as a pioneer of modern textile design is firmly cemented in the history of decorative arts.

Sources

Albert Museum, V. A. (n.d.). Five | Shirley Craven | V&A Explore The Collections. Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O17412/five-furnishing-fabric-shirley-craven/

BBC News. (2009, October 2). Hull to be home to new digital art gallery. BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/humberside/low/people_and_places/arts_and_culture/newsid_8287000/8287804.stm

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing. https://amzn.to/3ElmSlL

Crowther, L. (2012). Award-Winning British Design 1957-1988. Kiribati: Harry N. Abrams

Did Britain Make It? British Design in Context, 1946-86. (1986). United Kingdom: Design Council.

Shirley Craven : Messums London. (2020, March 31). Messums London. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://messumslondon.com/artists/shirley-craven/

Shirley Craven | Portraits: Women Designers. (n.d.). Shirley Craven | Portraits: Women Designers. Retrieved October 3, 2022, from https://blogs.brighton.ac.uk/womendesignersportraits/2015/11/10/shirley-craven/

Wilcox, C. (2010). Shirley Craven and Hull Traders: Revolutionary PostWar Fabrics and Furniture 1957-1980. Textile History, 41(2), 244–247.

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