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·      Went to remaining locations for our virtual tour (Bermondsey and Bunhill Row)

·      Allocated more roles based on our skillsets

·      Me - powerpoint and accompanying notes, also worked on ethical sensitivities and wrote up Danny’s transcript

·      Considered how we would talk about the changing identity of fur and its ethical sensitivities whilst also celebrating and honouring its place in fashion history, particularly in East London

·      Worked under pressure

·      Found a balance between the privacy element of our interview subject and the information we seek to convey. We decided that we will not include the address of Danny Tabi. Also, we will share only what Danny is comfortable sharing, and can measure this by looking at his previous interviews and information already online about him. Whilst we have done a greater level of research, in order to respect him and his privacy, we have not necessarily been able to document all of this.

·      Decided on a date for walking tour and decided a timeframe by which we want to have all our work completed. Negotiated this between us to work around our differing schedules.

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Filming day, reflections and decisions made  - 24/11/2021

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Filming day, reflections and decisions made  - 24/11/2021

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Today, all group members met up at Liverpool Street station to begin filming for our storytelling output of histories of the fur trade in East London.

This proved to be a really effective day. We managed to film outside of each location (directed and recorded by Yiwa) on our walking tour, aside from two which we will film next week. Each group member contributed equally by successfully speaking their parts. We also kept to our time frame.

Also, this was a learning curve. Given the noise, we decided in the moment that we would just film a brief overview of each location and explain their story in relation to East London's Jewish Fur Trade. We will record a longer audio separately to go over reels and to be included in the virtual tour. Hence, the issue of noise was resolved and we were resilient in the way we came up with a successful and realistic solution.

We also decided on our next steps to telling stories of this fashion history. Lea will use contents from the script produced by Gagan and myself to produce captions for our Instagram page and guides.

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General reflection from week commencing 15/11/ 2021 

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General reflection from week commencing 15/11/ 2021 

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Due to the large void in historical research and records of Jewish furriers, myself and Gagan were proactive and resilient in the way we attempted to resolve this. Namely, we reached out directly to curators at the Jewish Museum of London.

Here, we explained our brief and tight deadline, and directly requested images to use in our project. We dealt with the staff in a professional and amicable manner, leading to us building a relationship with them. Thus, my networking and connectivity attributes were developed. A curator also directed us to the Jewish Geneological Society, who could also supply us with images to use in our pamphlet.

Also, this week, our group meetings both online and in person, in addition to our correspondence via WhatsApp, demonstrated that there was a lack of consensus over what the actual output for the project would be. (Interactive online tour, in person tour, Instagram page, accompanying pamphlet)

In turn, this improved my communication skills in the way I had to be clear and more assertive of the output. Still, I remained patient and used a high level of emotional intelligence when specifics were unclear to other group members. This also demanded a level of compromise.

Upon realising that the deadline for collaborative challenge is fast approaching, I was proactive in volunteering to begin writing the script for the audio which will accompany videos of our interactive walking tour, of which Yiwa will film given her background in Film. The audio will additionally be used for Instagram reels, of which Lea volunteered to create, given her background in digital marketing. The script will also be useful for the pamphlet for those locations of furriers we cannot visit in the walking tour.

Deciding to write the script best catered to my writing skillset, given my background in journalism. Gagan also helped write the script given her historical expertise as a Fashion Histories and Cultures MA student. We juggled our roles equally and brought our research together in attempt to fill any gaps we had. Scriptwriting also developed my storytelling skills. We both worked effectively around our busy schedules and under pressure.

Myself and Gagan were also proactive in the way we devised a route via Google Maps for our in person and online walking tours, which demanded a level of proactivity and precision. We had to best plan our route, with times and accessibility borne in mind, particularly for disabled people.

We also decided on what we wish to incorporate into the pamphlet which will also serve as an output for our group. (See below)

Pictures of which are our own, and those courtesy of the Jewish Museum of London, with accompanying captions

The pamphlet will probably only include pictures and short captions because we don't want to distract audience when on walking tour

Within it, there will be a link to instagram

Images we will include will be courtesy of the Jewish Museum of London - (A stein business card, Fur auction at hudson bay’s company, E. Moses printed booklet, Furrier equipment – general, Velvet tallit bag)

Moreover, upon realising that we have more questions for Danny Tabi, the last remaining furrier in Spitalfields, we came up with further questions which Yiwa agreed to ask given her pre-existing familiarity with him after their initial interview weeks prior to this . (See below)

When was Gale Furs founded?

Who founded it?

What fur did they specialise in? Where was it sourced from?

How many people were initially employed? How did it grow?

Where did workers come from (ethnicity)? (London workers, were they from west and east )

Where was the fur sold? Was the role for Gale Furs wholesale or retail?

How were roles delegated?

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This consultancy took place with Abigail as unfortunately Susanna was unable to attend. Nonetheless, this proved to be a very useful session as we presented to Abigail the output for our project. We explained that we will have an in person walk which we will film, as well as a virtual walk, and an Instagram page with a guide accompanying each post. We clarified our concerns about having a private Instagram as one of the subjects of our interviews is Danny Tabi, who prefers to protect his identity in light of the harsh public reception to fur. We were advised by Abigail that this is something we should take up with Susanna. Abigail also asked us about how we have been working as a group and negotiating our ideas throughout. We explained that this has not been problematic for us as we all regularly meet together, whether that be in person or virtually and we keep in daily contact via WhatsApp. Abigail remarked that in turn a huge skillset has developed as we have worked excellently in a team together, using the correct tools of communication.

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In this group call, we clarified our output for the project and plan of action to bring this into fruition. Our output will be short films with a pamphlet, in addition to an Instagram page with guides accompanying each post.

Discussion / Decisions
We decided that on the walk which will take place in person, we will focus on four physical stops/ locations (Elias and Moses, the old site of Gale Furs at Fournier Street, A. Stein in Spitalfields and the new site of Gale Furs). As it would take too long to walk to the factory based in Bermondsey as well as Hudson Bay and S. Festenstein and Sons, we clarified that we will just talk about these locations and reference them in a pamphlet.

We also decided that we will film a short introduction to fur in the East End, as well as specifically outside each place / street of interest whereby we will go into more detail about each business and the people behind it, and the importance of the industry to the individual / Jewish culture / entrepreneurship and wider communities in the East End.

Instagram captions will accompany the script.

Myself and Gagan talked about our visit to the Museum, and explained to the rest of the group that Adam will promptly be sending over pictures which can be included in Instagram posts.

Plan for next week:
Meeting at Liverpool Street Station at 10am for a full day of filming. Myself and Gagan will have produced the full scripts.

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Collaborative Challenge Consultancy 1 - 2/11/2021

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Collaborative Challenge Consultancy 1 - 2/11/2021

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Discussed Yiwa and Lea's interaction with Danny Tabi from Gale Furs
- Danny moved from Gale Furs on Fournier Street to Whitechapel
- Gale Furs is now a private residence owned by Gilbert and George
- Danny worked for big brands, such as Prada, and dressed Kate Moss
- individual manufacturers do not get documented, instead brand names do
- initially, Danny was hostile, sensitive to public reaction to fur and he also may have non-disclosure agreements with brands

General discussion:
- must consider who the space is for in the furrier shops...is it public? Gale furs certainly is not
- history of manufacturing in the East End - brands and designers know to go to the East End, internal industry knows to go, but a commercial customer would not necessarily go here - they would buy their fur in the East End

Format to market project:
- filming, have 6 sites which are close together
- have an additional video on the Bermondsey site, in introduction, we are not expecting people to walk
- story that spreads - cluster - an East End story but ends up in the West End, on Regent Street
- Spitalfields market once sold fur, but now it is banned - it would be interesting to bring the story up to date and address public reactions to fur and how this has changed (real fur is cheaper now, it has lost its luxuriousness - cheap because nobody is buying it anymore)
- second hand fur does well in East London - from a curatorial perspective, collecting something is better than buying new, letting it go to waste or encouraging the new production of something
- need to relate fur industry back to local activity and community in that area

Discussed how the format for the interview with Danny

opening conversation will be about marketing a history, ethically need to explain how the interview will be used

can take any form, transcript and use quotes from it, or existing as an audio to use for podcast

decided on protocol for interview: release form, letter of intent – write out we will have this convo between these two people on this date, will be recorded in this way, you can check it

Clarified output of project
- Creating a walk, pinpoint version on Google, output could be the walk or something independently accessible online, do test run together – could have pins with videos

interactive and personal

can embed video and link in Google maps – individual videos

audio only options for user needs

Susanna recommended historians and fashion curators to look at:
Fashion historians and curators to look at:

Jewish Museum, social history curator, curated Jewish wedding dresses exhibition 2014/15, interest in Jewish fashion history – looking at customers and manufacturers

Edwina Ehrman – fashion curator and historian, formerly at v&a, interested in London jewish fashion history, written books like London Couture – west end, but could give links in bibliography for extensive works on jewish fashion companies in east end

christopher breward – written a lot about London history, west and east and the different kinds of identity, menswear

bethan baid – fashion historian, with Dr lucie whitmore – fashion historians and curators interested in Jewish fashion history – these stories do not tend to be documented

the census or british library has newspaper archive (can access the latter online – can see if this industry was documented in press, interesting narrative and extra voices in this)

^ census brought up too many results and overwhelming – easy literal example of how many furriers there were in the area – could focus on a particular year – could compare to ONE embroidery shop to show how much this dominated

Next steps

decide roles, need to decide on output, how will final pitch/presentation be

email Abi and Tiff for the deadlines

Group discussion

- Bermondsey – fur factory

- Spitalfields – big thing, now forbidden

- British Library Archives or Jewish Museum – get contact – families in east London, exhibition, a furrier

Decided on setting up an Instagram – entitled 'East End Fur', which will be attached with a with guide

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Myself and Gagan visited the Jewish Museum of London
- Here, we went through the spreadsheet provided by Adam, a curator at the museum. We sent a list back to him of the artefacts / photos we would like to view and incorporate into our social media project.
- We also decided on a list of locations for the walking tour,  including Elias and Moses, Commercial Street, A. Stein, whilst just mentioning fur sites in Bermondsey and Festenstein & Sons, Hudson Bay Company formerly based on Beaver House. The latter sites are too far away to incorporate into the actual walk.
- Interactive version of talk - 4 normal stops, plus Bermondsey and Hudson Bay & S. Stein
- We discussed the possibility of including Bermondsey and other sites, which cannot be included in the walking talk, in a pamphlet that we can allude to.

We decided on the contents for the introduction of our walk
- set the scene for Jewish Furriers in London
- why did the Jewish community migrate to this area
- what skills did they bring?
- how did this change the wider community? what did it contribute to?
- what was the significance of the fur trade to jewish identity/ culture / entrepreneurship?

Further decisions made:
- need to be careful with how we mention Danny, in relation to protecting his name and business - this is a compromise we must consider and an issue frequently encountered in the industry
- we cannot film inside his shop
- timeframe - we will film across two days
- also decisions need to be made on who will write script

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Artefacts / documents of interest from list provided by Jewish Museum curator 

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Artefacts / documents of interest from list provided by Jewish Museum curator 

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J. Coff and Co Furriers – the City of London - below is the workshop

Phillips and Green – furriers in the City of London

Furriers at work – Goldberg

Velvet Tallit bag belonging to Hyman Blinder (1869-1951) - a furrier, boarded with a family in Stepney in the East End, passed away in 1951 in Hackney, East London

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Pogroms were directed against Jews between 1800-1927, particularly bad in the 1880s, in the Pale region of the Russian empire (modern day Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, and Moldova.) The event which is regarded as catalysing these catastrophes was the assassination of Tsar Alexander II, which some blamed on Jews. This led to waves of emigration to the US and Britain, particularly in the 1880s. In Britain, many settled in the East End of London.

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- list of furriers in East London that we can research from archives
- general info on fur trade and its centrality to Jewish culture / identity / entrepreneurship
- First waves of Jewish migration
- also why did Jewish people move out of the area - did they take the fur industry with them

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Can you explain how you started?
What was the market like at that time?
How do you work? What tools/ techniques are involved?
For who did you work for?
How was the market evolved?
What do you see as the future for the fur industry?
What can we do to try to keep the history of the furrier unforgotten?
We're trying to capture how important the furrier trade in East London was so what places or place do you think we should include in our East London furrier history tour?
What piece of advice would you give to anyone trying to follow the furrier career path?
What has been your career highlight?
Please can you explain how you go from animal skin to forming a garment and explain the process and how you use your tools?

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Decision to look at Jewish community and their involvement in fur - 2/11/2021

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Decision to look at Jewish community and their involvement in fur - 2/11/2021

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Formerly Gale Furs @ no. 8 Fournier Street

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Formerly Gale Furs @ no. 8 Fournier Street

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The attributes I consider myself most confident in are curiosity, communication and resilience. In terms of curiosity, I am a naturally very inquisitive. I think this stems from my undergraduate degree in History and the level of independent research this required. As a lover of reading, I have always had a wide imagination and the depths of my intrigue have been far-reaching into eastern and western contexts. My inquisitiveness is also reflected in my choice to embark on a masters degree in Fashion Journalism, a course which encompasses non-western and western perspectives, and requires a high level of research and investigation into fashion media. With regards to communication, owing to my various positions in fast-paced customer service environments, I possess excellent verbal skills, of which were also nurtured during my time at university in seminars and group projects. I also possess a high level of emotional intelligence, which I believe stems from my sensitivity and social awareness. This is important when collaborating with others and settling any conflicts which may arise. Resilience is also something I am confident in possessing, as I have had to overcome innumerable personal hurdles, through self-motivation and my inherent drive. My successes have almost always emerged from my setbacks and failures, and addressing my weaknesses have been essential throughout this.

Those attributes which I am less confident in are agility, connectivity and enterprise. In terms of agility, I often can be stuck in my approaches and somewhat regimented. Whilst this can be positive, when something does not go as planned this can make me uneasy. Although I eventually adapt, this may take me longer to come to terms with than others. Connectivity is an attribute I am also less confident in because I often lack the confidence and means to network collaborate with people across different disciplines and those in the industry. Nevertheless, I have managed to successfully collaborate with people from different courses already on this unit.  Furthermore, my supervisor for Fashion on Foot, Susanna Cordner, is someone who I have effectively engaged and collaborated with. She herself is an industry professional and former assistant curator at the V&A. Enterprise is also something I am less confident in myself about because I would not say I possess a business mindset. Also, I am not always comfortable taking risks and am not experienced in measuring various indicators for business strategies. That being said, I am willing to embrace these challenges along the way.

The three most relevant creative attributes I selected include storytelling, enterprise and proactivity. All of these attributes are relevant to my course and particularly Fashion on Foot, in addition to my future career prospects. Namely, storytelling is relevant to journalism in the way it is about conveying information to audiences in an engaging way. The same can be said of storytelling in Fashion on Foot, in that erased fashion histories can be retold and resurfaced in a humanising and unique way, leading to inspiration and new perspectives. Certain fashion stores and garments can also be humanised through storytelling, thus going beyond their tangibility. It is important to remember that fashion is not merely abstract, yet it relates to people's lives in terms of livelihood and leisure. Proactivity is relevant to Fashion on Foot in the way personal drive and ambition is needed to bring this public facing project to life, and in the process give the fashion histories and stories the credit they deserve. The project will not take off by itself, yet needs direct intervention and the courage to interview shopkeepers, residents and consumers in East London. Proactivity is also particularly relevant to my future career as a fashion journalist, as journalists need an inherent courageousness, motivation and adversity to pick up the phone and interview subjects, and to take on challenging subject material.

There is definitely a difference between how I ranked confident and relevant attributes. My confident attributes relate to those which are my strengths and inherent qualities forming part of my character. Such attributes have also been nurtured through practices. In terms of the relevant attributes I selected, those relate to the skills I need to develop to thrive throughout collaborative challenge, which will be encouraged and nurtured through practices.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/immig_emig/england/london/article_3.shtml

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The world in a city

Banglatown In 1976, the building at the corner of Fournier Street and Brick Lane was converted again, this time into a mosque, to serve the growing Bangladeshi community.

Their influence on the area has been such that it is now officially known as 'Spitalfields' and 'Banglatown'. While some may dismiss this as a marketing ploy, it is certainly not an exaggeration, in 2001, 68% of the ward's population was of Bangladeshi origin. Most of these originate from the Sylhet region of the country.

Bangladeshi women

Although Bangladeshi migrants had arrived in Britain before, often as seamen, the real influx came in the second half of the twentieth century. Following major political upheavals in Bangladesh, which started with the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947, they came to find work and security in England. Initially it was mostly working men who made the trip, their dependents following later; reforming their families in these new surroundings.

On arrival they faced many obstacles, overcrowded accommodation, language and cultural barriers, which initially made it harder to go into higher education, and so on. Some found their professional qualifications were not recognised in this country, and had to do their training again. Despite these setbacks, however, the Bangladeshis have certainly made their mark - their culture and cuisine give Spitalfields a cosmopolitan atmosphere.

Cosmopolitan

Brick Lane, in the heart of the community, is a hive of activity. There are innumerable Balti and curry houses on the road, which even hosts an international curry festival, and Bengali foods are on sale in the local shops and markets. The weekly paper, the 'Sylheter Dak' even has an office there.

Dining "al fresco" at the Brick Lane Festival
© Brick Lane Festival

But it is at festival time that the vibrancy and energy of the community really comes to the fore. Each year tens of thousands take to the streets for the Baishaki Mela, celebrating the Bangladeshi New Year with music, food, fashion and dance. Established in 1998, and London's biggest Mela, the festival's steering group says it helps Bangladeshis to take pride in their roots and contribute to the regeneration of the area.

So the Bangladeshis have to some extent made Spitalfields their own. There are, however, still links with 'home'. Many in the first generation still dream of returning to Sylhet, and money continues to be sent back to support relatives in Bangladesh, although this practice is decreasing with time.

The Sylhet region too has been changed by its association with the English capital, with new shopping centres, and other building projects funded by 'Londoni' money. In fact Sylhet is now one of the richest towns in Bangladesh. These continuing associations mean that even today, London is still seen by some Bangladeshis almost as a utopia, even though in reality, life there can still be extremely difficult.

Your comments

1 Eve (aged 10) from London - 26 October 2003
"It is good that you have got main cities, but what if something happened in an area in London - like where certain prisons, or where religious ceremonies / buildings were held / placed? Or roads which were a major part of history in that place; and we can never forget where places like weaponry shops or where the merchants stalls were set up. Thank you for reading my comment "

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BBC - Legacies - Immigration and Emigration - England - London - The world in a city - Article Page 3

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The world in a city Banglatown In 1976, the building at the corner of Fournier Street and Brick Lane was converted again, this time into a mosque, to serve the growing Bangladeshi community. Their influence on the area has been such that it is now officially known as 'Spitalfields' and 'Banglatown'.

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Visit with Gagan to former sites of Furriers 2/11/2021

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Visit with Gagan to former sites of Furriers 2/11/2021

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Myself and Gagan walked around Spitalfields, White Chapel and Brick Lane, looking at former sites of Furriers, specifically Jewish Furriers. We discovered that at no. 8, Fournier Street, formerly Gale Furs, this site is now a privately owned house, and has been since 1994. From my reading of Rachel Lichtenstein's 'On Brick Lane', I have found that Furriers left the area in 1939. I can only presume this is because of the rise of fascist movements in the area and the move of the Jewish community to Essex. We also walked to Bunhill Row, where we expected to find the former site of S. Festenstein and Sons at no. 31 & 33, however social housing now lies in its place.

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Important points:

government regeneration grants in 1990s - to create a 'corporate creative culture'

such schemes included the 'City Challenge' regeneration scheme (1991-1996)

in 1997 an area of Brick Lane where Bangladeshi curry houses are concentrated is renamed Banglatown - marketing ploy?

proximity to City - local governments understand this and Brick Lane cultural gateway to eastern culture such as Bangladeshi - curry houses for City workers, curry houses staying open til midnight for people after being in nightclubs

street festivals

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As the Bangladeshi community in and around Brick Lane grew and became more established in businesses and local politics, the idea for a new commercial concept called Banglatown emerged.

The development of Banglatown was underpinned by regeneration money in the 1990s, with the involvement of Cityside Regeneration and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, to explicitly transform the area as a restaurant and cultural quarter.

The idea to rebrand Brick Lane along these lines originally came from a small group of local Bengali restaurateurs and community activists. Their community-oriented vision included plans for a 'Banglatown' shopping centre on Brick Lane selling ethnic food and crafts, more social housing and land for a community trust. The aim was to create a cultural quarter in the East End that would replicate, at least in part, the social and economic success of Chinatown in the West End and mark the presence of Bangladeshis. Their plans, however, stalled.

In the early 1990s, the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in partnership with local businesses and third sector organisations, successfully bid for government regeneration grants to facilitate the development of Brick Lane into an 'Emerging Cultural Quarter. The 'City Challenge' regeneration scheme, which ran from 1991 to 1996, was worth £7.5 million a year for five years. Its successor scheme, the Single Regeneration Budget (1994-2007), which operated through partnerships between the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and the City Fringe Partnership (1997-2002) and 'Cityside' (1997-2004), had a total programme spend of approximately £42 million in the area.

These schemes sought to redevelop Brick Lane, along with Whitechapel Art Gallery and the Rich Mix centre, as a cultural destination for young and affluent visitors from nearby offices and other parts of London; to strengthen the area's links with the City; and to encourage diversification of the local economy. The aim was to draw on Brick Lane's diversity and distinctiveness to create a 'corporate creative culture' in the area. Under the local authority, the Banglatown concept stood for the restaurant sector alone, rather than reflecting the full, rich, historical and cultural contribution of Bangladeshis in the area.

In 1997 the London Borough of Tower Hamlets officially renamed the short stretch of Bangladeshi restaurants that crowd the southern end of Brick Lane as 'Banglatown'. The Banglatown development brought 'Eastern'-style gateways to the street, painted streetlamps, measures for increased public safety, grants to upgrade the facades of existing shops and restaurants, and business advice for their owners. The Banglatown brand was used as a marketing tool to promote new annual street festivals on Brick Lane: the Boishakhi Mela, the Brick Lane Festival and the Curry Festival. In 1999, the borough's planning office also permitted the conversion of shops in the central section of Brick Lane into restaurants, designating the area a 'Restaurant Zone'.

The 'Restaurant Zone' designation prompted a boom in the number of Bengali-owned curry restaurants on Brick Lane. A Brick Lane restaurateur who converted his shop into a curry restaurant in the 1990s said:

'the restaurant trade was coming slowly, picking up, so I thought, you know, 'I'm going to have a go at this and see how it works.'

A former local resident and community worker said of this period:

'And then come, I guess, '90s, you know, the clothing business went down and the Bengalis became more creative and acquired some of the ground floor outlets and converted them to the Indian restaurants that we know of today'.

Other than a few restaurants like Café Naz and Bengal Cuisine, which offered more upmarket menus and service, and a few cafés like Café Grill, Graam Bangla and Sweet & Spicy, which served 'home-style' Sylheti food, the vast majority of curry houses on Brick Lane served similar Anglo-Bangla dishes, adapted for a British customer base, at a more or less identical cost.

The proximity of the street to the City of London meant that, during the day, office workers could easily walk to Brick Lane for a cheap and tasty lunchtime or after-work curry. One Bengali restaurant owner, who opened his Brick Lane establishment in the late 1990s, estimated that around 60% of his customers were City workers. He said:

'when we opened, we used to have booking from many big offices from the City. Also, from the [London Stock] Exchange.'

Another restaurant owner said:

'It was the trendy thing to come to Banglatown to have a curry and so on. All the City people used to come here. And while there, they used to spend money and so on.'

The redevelopment of The Old Truman Brewery and the opening of Vibe Bar in the mid-1990s saw the simultaneous birth of Brick Lane's creative and vibrant night-time economy. A younger, predominantly white, middle-class, 'creative' crowd was now drawn to Brick Lane. These people frequented Brick Lane's new late-night leisure spaces, where they drank and danced the night away before heading for a curry in the early hours. This provided an opportunity for some Bangladeshi-owned restaurants to open after midnight.

By 2003 there were 46 curry restaurants on Brick Lane, and at its peak the number of such establishments in and around the southern end of Brick Lane reached over 60. It became the biggest concentration of curry restaurants in Britain, known as 'the curry capital of Europe'.

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As the Bangladeshi community in and around Brick Lane grew and became more established in businesses and local politics, a new commercial concept called Banglatown emerged.

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Areas where the fur trade was/is in East London 

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Areas where the fur trade was/is in East London 

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Commercial Road (in 2018, it was found that real fur was being mis-sold as fake fur here, along with places in Camden Market)
Gale Furs - Fournier Street
S. Festenstein and Sons, 31 &33, Banner Street, Bunhill Row, EC1

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Mis-selling of fur as fake fur in East London 

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Mis-selling of fur as fake fur in East London 

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https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvfru/823/823.pdf

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Old Spitalfields Market bans sale of fur from January

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Old Spitalfields Market bans sale of fur from January

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https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/old-spitalfields-market-bans-sale-of-fur-from-january-a3714396.html

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ne of the capital's most historic markets has banned the sale of fur from January next year.

Old Spitalfields Market, in east London, has asked traders not to sell fur products from the start of 2018.

A statement, posted on the market's Facebook page, read: "Following a review carried out by the Market, we have taken the decision to request stall holders do not offer animal fur for sale from the beginning of next year."

It added that the "exact details and wording" of the ban were still under review.

The announcement has been hailed a victory for animal rights campaigners who called for fur to be banned at London Fashion Week in September.

Old Spitalfields Market rings in Christmas 2017

Director of Corporate Projects at animal rights group PETA Yvonne Taylor said: "The British public is saying no to fur - and Old Spitalfields Market has listened.

"Today's consumers want cruelty-free fashion - and PETA urges those markets still peddling real fur of any era to follow in Old Spitalfields Market's footsteps so that they, too, can become shopping destinations fit for Britain in 2018."

The ban comes following an announcement by Gucci to go fur-free in Spring next year.

Demonstrators chanted "Shame on Canada Goose" in protest over the sale of coyote fur / Rob Berry

Yoox Net-a-Porter, the internet fashion giant behind Net-a-Porter, Mr Porter, the Outnet and Yoox.com, announced it was going fur-free in June.

Last month, animal rights campaigners took to Regent Street in protest over the opening of US clothing store Canada Goose.

Crowds marched on the UK's flagship store in protest of the sale of coats made from coyote fur, which animal rights group PETA claim are caught in the wild in steel traps.

PETA alleges the coyotes are then shot or bludgeoned to death. The group also claims the geese, whose feathers are used in the company's jackets, are mistreated.

A spokeswoman for Canada Goose told the Standard: "PETA and other animal activists are grossly misinformed about our animal welfare practices.

"Canada Goose remains deeply committed to the responsible use and ethical sourcing of all animal materials in our products."

The Standard have contacted Old Spitalfields Market for further comment.

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Old Spitalfields Market bans sale of fur from January

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ne of the capital's most historic markets has banned the sale of fur from January next year. Old Spitalfields Market, in east London, has asked traders not to sell fur products from the start of 2018.

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-49647949

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"This ban on the sale of animal fur in Islington's iconic markets will help clear up any confusion, and give consumers confidence that what they are buying is faux fur," executive director Claire Bass said.

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"This ban on the sale of animal fur in Islington's iconic markets will help clear up any confusion, and give consumers confidence that what they are buying is faux fur," executive director Claire Bass said.

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https://spitalfieldslife.com/2010/04/02/danny-tabi-furrier

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Danny Tabi, furrier

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Rachel Lichtenstein, On Brick Lane, 2008 - Contextualisation (28/10/2021)

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Rachel Lichtenstein, On Brick Lane, 2008 - Contextualisation (28/10/2021)

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Interesting contextualisation and Jewish perspective on the regeneration of Brick Lane and the surrounding areas. This involves oral histories from the Jewish community who lived in Brick Lane or had relatives that did. There is also minor discussion on the fur industry which I found particularly useful.

“intensive regeneration of the area changed everything.”

·      “In the early 1990s parts of Cheshire Street, the densest section of the Brick Lane weekly market, were closed off as whole rows of dilapidated cottages were renovated into designer shops.”

·      “Then the lorries and cranes moved in and an intensive period of building works began. The market shrank…Rents for stalls went up and so did the rents for local businesses, residential property and the studios in the brewery complex.”

·      high rent prices meant that many artists had to move out of the area

·      “Higher-paying tenants soon moved in – web and fashion designers, production and internet companies.”

·      “”Brick Lane disappeared behind a wall of scaffolding and once-empty shops re-emerged as coffee bars, estate agents and smart new galleries. Pavements were dug up and replaced with fake cobblestones. Leather manufacturers became vintage-clothes stores, selling at hugely inflated prices the second-hand stuff you could have bought from the Sunday market at a few pence.”

·      “Many Asian businessmen and some of the remaining Jewish traders couldn’t resist offers to sell up and move on.”

·      “Peeling Yiddish shop signs were torn down and bright new neon ones hung in their place. Remnants of the past were left lying in skips dotted along the street. A lot of the characters that had originally drawn me into the area started to leave Brick Lane in droves. They couldn’t recognize it any more: it had become something  other, a zone which they no longer belonged.”

·      history of settlers – Jews, Bangladeshis, Irish

·      “Huguenot silk weavers who came to Spitalfields in the seventeenth century, escaping persecution from Catholic France.”

·      “”…Irish labourers who arrived in the 1840s to escape the potato famine…”

·      jewish pogroms at end of 19th and start of 20th century led many jews from Ukraine, Russia to flee to East End

·      “The area became the hottest new film and photographic location in the country. It was being recorded and rewritten by documentary makers, news crews, tourists, and photographers…They all came to document and consume in London’s ‘newly discovered’ and heavily marketed ‘ethnic quarter’.”

·      “vibrant and chaotic Jewish East End”

·      “It will never again be the first stop for the next new wave of migrants in London. The dockside, where many first arrived, is now accessible only to a privileged few who can afford apartments with private walkways and river views. Dilapidated properties in Spitalfields, once split into multiple rooms for cheap rent, have been restored and refurbished and are now worth millions. The Hasidic men in long dark coats with beards and sidelocks who occupied street corners, exchanging gossip and discussing business, were replaced by groups of Asian elders doing the same, wearing long white kaftans and open-toed sandals, their beards stained orange with henna. You will see these men shuffling quickly past the bars and clubs, trying to reach the mosque further down the road without attracting unwanted attention. Scuffles sometimes break out as racist abuse is hurled across the street as partygoers drink late into the night.”

·      “The latest arrivals in Brick Lane, the ‘haircuts’ (as some of the locals like to call them), are the ones buying up old warehouses and turning them into vintage-clothing stores…”

·      “The weekends also see thousands of other incomers descending on Brick Lane from across London to visit the many bars, clubs and restaurants.”

·      “The noise outside the old brewery site steadily increases throughout the night as clubbers queue to into the Vibe Bar of 93 Feet East.”

·      “Resentment is building: last year a group of Asian men petrol-bombed a pub off Brick Lane known to be the haunt of white locals.”

·      “Brick Lane continues to be rewritten and reimagined but primarily with a focus on the violent and grim aspects of its history. Magazine features and television programmes report repeatedly about heroin addiction and gang warfare.”

·      author of this book – ‘So many memories of this street have already been erased or forgotton: hidden behind newly erected buildings, buried under recently paved streets like unexcavated archaeological treasures. I have tried to exact them through a series of walks, conversations, archival research, sound recordings and photographic outings.”

·      “I have heard how the street has changed from a thriving Jewish community to an area abandoned to violence and vandalism to Banglatown and currently a tourist and heritage site.”

Fur:

·      resident of brick lane area, Jack Kaye speaking in 2004, “I worked in a workshop in Brick Lane from the time I left school until 1939. Brick Lane, Hackney, Virginia Road, Shoreditch, Gibraltar Walk, it was a cabinetmakers’ area. Fournier Street was full of the fur trade and Brick Lane was mainly tailoring.”

·      Rachel Lichtenstein adds to this, “When my grandparents lived in Brick Lane every shop in the street was occupied. There were printers, hairdressers, drapers, greengrocers and tobacconists. Milliners, leather manufacturers, wine sellers and boot repairers among others. Most of the shop signs were written in Yiddish and English and the street was known as ‘Little Jerusalem’. When war broke out everything changed, the East End of London was badly bombed and many left for safety in the countryside.”

·      interesting point: “I learned that the Latin inscription ‘Umbra Sumus’ above the great mosque, which was once a synagogue and before that a church, translates as ‘We are Shadows’.”

·      Leslie Kay speaking in 2002, ‘The Brick Lane I knew as a child was all Jewish places, herring people with their barrels, delicatessens, the whole street was Jewish. The hoardings above the shops weren’t long enough for the names: Hertzberg, Rosenbloom, Egelnick, Waxenblatt…After the war and that bombing the Jews moved away and it’s all Banglatown. I know why the Asians want to live here, same as us, because they’ve always had enemies and when you’re young you feel safe. When I was a child Brick Lane was my refuge.’

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Walk around East London with Susanna and both Collaborative Challenge Teams, 27/10/2021

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Walk around East London with Susanna and both Collaborative Challenge Teams, 27/10/2021

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Here are my notes taken whilst walking around areas and streets rich in fashion history in East London.

It is important to consider sites which exist or those which don’t anymore - telling the histories behind these places - constantly evolving

Contrast between east & west london

divisions

East london, connections to city - wealthy

Also connects to creativity & migrants

West london is seen as more elite, traditional london - upper class west end

Can we dispel this & tell new stories or continue this

Victorians saw east london as other & separate to actual london - seen as slums, people living in poverty

West london - more space, more cares for, more sanitary

Station - liverpool street - since mid 19th c, connected city because of trains/ undeground

People could live in other areas & people from different socio economic areas could mingle in these connected environments

Saville row - by 1890s workers lived 4-5km away - very connected

Connections to wider city - clothes from east london sold in west end

What stories can be told

West end & east end - Charles Booth - east end seen as slums, nonskilled workers, west seen as elite, regulated pay

If working in fashion in east end, workshop, zero hour contract, paid by peices you produce, west end - full garments not factory lines, elite workforce

His quote shows distinction between areas

76% of factories had small workforces

30-40,000 jewish migrants in areas - changes in 20th century - irish & Bangladeshi community then hipsters / artists

East end was seen as completely separate, not London - this has completely changed in past 120 years - due to transport & communities / activities that have happened here

Site of Alias, Moses & Son

·      Building erased but history is not - site of Alias, Moses & Son - well lit shot, price tags, no haggling, ready made stock, alias also bought in bulk, stocking up, same way as high street companies do today, tailors, hosiers, mens clothing & womens/ children’s outerwear, 1000s of employees, major employer in the area - entrepreneurship & the way businesses reflect change, individual man behind it - big figure in jewish migrant community, moved sites around the east end & sell in west end - successful business man, production history, jewish entrepreneurship and its meaning to jewish identity, ready made clothing industry reflects the growth of technology, 1860s onwards - sewing machine, emergence of factory lines & high street - sewing machines allowed you to comission a homeworker, working class woman could pay by installments to have sewing machine @ home & fit work around home commitments

·      Ateliers in west end followed old form of one man to one garment, in east end built up schlopp trade - factory line, one person on sleeves etc, paid by number of peices produced - mechanisation

·      Sweating! Reflected small work places & lots of people working together

Walk - consider noise, is there space for people to stand

Spitalfields market

·      this area’s market have always had second hand clothing

·      17th century

·      Brewery - changed identity of the areas

·      1680s - hugenots sought refuge here - changed atmosphere, had expertise in silk weaving, french styles & therefore to london fashion - technology, community history, changed style

·      Industry & it’s relation to an area

·      Followed by Irish weavers - building on what French had built here

·      Place of artistry & production

·      Humble residential address for hugenot family - now a fancy shopping area

Street is significant in way silk weaving was woven into area

Different to sweating

Seen as elite industry, & connected to a distinct community

What was the culture like to live here as people mixed?

·      Not all buildings survive for multiple reasons - bombing, or investment

·      Hackney Wick - warehouse conversion

Petticoat lane market - part of wider discussion, markets are a key site / space of a particular fashion history in london - strong second hand shop history, not just a vintage movement today

London metropolitan archives have a great photography archive - shows range of people shopping together in 1900s

Interest in street names of area -

We tend to think of reselling in terms of sustainability today, it actually started in east end in rag trade & second hand market - normally just elite society that we consider reselling & exchanges amongst families - eg fancy garments passed down, this actually happened in east end in rag trade

Commercial Street

was a major area for female dressmakers, tailoresses

Important area for women’s working history

Whole city of Leeds versus women working here

Production trade increasingly focused on womenswear - in 19th century

·      1880s onwards, more demand for full pieces

·      Styles changed more quickly, more consumption

·      By 1939, 50% of women’s outwear/48% women’s daywear was produced in this area of London

·      More character here, things which have survived, more nooks & cranneys

·      Was more council houses, council flats - 1980s Leigh Bowery lived here - major figure in 1980s club scene, weekly appearances at taboo, major club in west end, constructed amazing costume outfits & bodypaint, he saw this is a distinct idea - east end was where he was able to live a domestic & anonymous life, west end in covent garden was very different & other, interesting to consider the way this area welcomed different communities of people- 1980s, this was still an area where there was not the creative/ artistic culture there is today - Leigh recognised its potential but could only enact this aspect of his personality in west end

^ he would produce on commission - went to Bangladeshi communities in brick lane - pulled on his own looks - another style exchange

This was an area of major employment/ production but place of living

“Club to Catwalk”

Brick Lane

famous for its arts, vintage, bangladeshi community - it’s restaurants and fabric shops

Streetart - political etiquette, changes frequently

·      Leigh Bowery lived in between brick lane & commercial street - east end as day, west end as night - in 80s still that distinction- in 1990s, creative culture changed - artists moved to area, warehouse spaces turned into cheap studios and accommodation- to move young people into area - fashion - people from saint martins - influx of people consciously moving, networking - leads to new creativity- creates culture - new club culture & nightlife - people would stay here to socialise - late 90s/ naughties to now people come to visit

·      East end has something completely different - people no longer go to west end

·      Place of production to celebrated creativity - a pilgrimage – eg: school trips, people interested in fashion, artists – rite of passage to visit here

·      Subculture, migrant experience, start of fast fashion, rag trade, individual entrepreneurs

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First Group Discussion about Potential Research Areas 27/10/2021 

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First Group Discussion about Potential Research Areas 27/10/2021 

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After meeting with Susanna and walking around various areas and streets in East London including Spitalfields Market, Petticoat Lane Market, Commercial Street and Brick Lane, as a group we talked over our individual, initial points of fashion history interests in the area. Discussion pointed towards the exploration of the young, fashionable Bangladeshi community in and around Brick Lane, particularly relating to jewellery production and fabric shops. The idea of humanising a store and looking at the family history involved, which may or may not have been erased, was of particular interest to myself. Additionally, given that we could interview shop keepers, along with buyers, the possibility of tracing the history of a particular garment was a point of shared interest amongst all group members. However, by the end of our discussion, we all agreed that we wished to direct our research towards the history of fur and furriers in East London, in relation to how fur came to this part of London and its presence now.