The most memorable collection of clothing designed by John Bates, who has died aged 87, had just 35 garments plus a few inspired accessories, all of which could be put together into unrepetitive combinations. It was designed very impromptu in 1965 for an imaginary wearer – Emma Peel, heroine of the television series The Avengers, played by Diana Rigg – and deserves all its many entries in style histories for its high concept, and for marking a major change in fashion.
Bates’s great commission nearly did not happen. The wardrobe of the previous Avengers lead actor, Honor Blackman as Cathy Gale, had been created for the earlier series by Frederick Starke, an establishment designer of womenswear. Blackman’s clothes mixed an old-movie glamour with Paris Left Bank beat fashion, including long boots; for fights, she was clad in heavy black leather.
