Victoria and Albert Museum: Archive of Art and Design

Marjorie Janko, lingerie designer, papers, 1885-[1974?]

Introduction and summary description

Context

Marjorie Janko was born on 12 May 1909 in London. She was educated in London, attending the Haverstock Central School and then Barrett Street School for Hairdressing. She subsequently worked freelance for British Celanese in London from 1927 to 1929. In 1929 British Celanese employed her on a permanent basis. She went on to found the company's design department in London and design sections at other plants including Congleton, Spondon and Wrexham. She also set up the company's showrooms, the first of which was at Hanover Square. She quickly shifted her own design expertise to designing lingerie, and some underwear for children and men. She worked under the name Miss Marjorie Marene, signing her work MM. During the Second World War, British Celanese temporarily relocated its headquarters in Nottingham. Marjorie Janko's department was responsible for making military tents and garments which conformed to British Utility Standards.

Although she continued to be employed by British Celanese, and subsequently Courtaulds when it took over British Celanese, until her retirement in 1974 she also undertook commissions for other companies, including Marks and Spencer plc. During the 1940s and early 1950s she was a columnist for The Maker-up, writing articles on pattern laying and lingerie trends. She produced a history of lingerie, completed in 1951. Although the history had a publisher it never appeared. In the 1960s Marjorie lectured on the history and development of lingerie. She also conducted a number of surveys of the lingerie industry and analysed the differences between the stock of many large department stores. She travelled to shows worldwide in order to keep up with fashions.

Marjorie Janko became a Fellow of the Clothing Institute in 1950, a Member of the Lingerie Standards Committee of the British Standards Institute and a Member of the Council and Qualifications and Education Committee of the Clothing Institute.

Scope and content

British Celanese catalogues and price lists (1885 - 1953); brochures and publications for reference (1896 - ca.1974); scrapbooks (1900 - ca.1955); British Celanese shade books (ca.1924); production and operation papers (ca.1927 - 1967); sketchbooks (ca.1935 - ca.1960); articles (1943 - 1951); photographs (ca.1950 - ca.1959); display sheets and lecture papers (ca.1950 - ca.1969); press cuttings (1950 - 1959); correspondence concerning publication of Production of modern lingerie manuscript (ca.1951); Production of modern lingerie manuscript (ca.1951); sketches (ca.1951); papers relating to Spondon Fashion show (1952); advertisements (1954 - 1966);reports (1961); sizing surveys (ca.1962 - ca.1963); design sketches (1964 - ca.1966); designs, sketches and patterns (1964 - 1967); designers' reports (1965 - 1967); surveys of nightwear and lingerie (ca.1966 - 1967); advertising photographs (undated); fabric samples (undated); painted designs (undated); study of other designers' work (undated).

Organisation

The original working order of these archives has been lost. They have therefore been organized into four broad thematic groups: design and production papers; surveys and design reports; publications, lectures and written material; reference material.

Provenance

Gift of Marjorie and Elizabeth Janko, 1998.

Access

General information on access to material in the Archive of Art and Design is available on the archive pages of the NAL website.

Catalogues and indexes

This online catalogue is a complete description of the archive to file level. A summary description is also included on the National Art Library computer catalogue, and in the published Guide to the Archive of Art and Design

Detailed catalogue