Literary Lunch with Justine Picardie
Wednesday 23rd September | 12.00 for 12.30 | Drawing Room | £65.00
With awards and acclaim for her biographies of Coco Chanel and Christian Dior’s sister, Catherine, among other works, Justine Picardie is one of fashion’s most distinguished and substantial writers.
A longstanding friend of the Rag, join the author for a literary salon-style lunch focusing on her most recent book, “Fashioning the Crown: A Story of Power, Conflict and Couture“. This is a consideration of how the House of Windsor, from its birth in 1917, has featured leading women – Queen Mary, the Queen Mother, the Duchess of Windsor, and Queen Elizabeth II – and sartorial decisions, alongside those of their royal husbands, taken to project power and perpetuity, diplomacy, and defiance alongside those of their royal husbands.
During times when the Crown has faced crisis of abdication and assassination, revolution and the rise of fascism, the threat of invasion and all-out war – behind this, is a cast of many including Hardy Amies, Cecil Beaton, Norman Hartnell, and Edward Molyneux. In her book, Justine traces the ways in which visual iconography safeguarded the Monarchy even when seemingly hanging by a thread.
More than 100 images underscore Justine’s research and observations. Join her at the Drawing Room table for lunch during which she will share in conversation the genesis of this book and her others, as well as her unique approach to writing with roots in her editorship of Harper’s Bazaar and Town & Country, and formative years on the Sunday Times news desk.
Professional tools and a gift for words have all been deployed in bringing Fashioning the Crown to life, with Justine drawing on original research in the Royal Archives and her own experiences at Balmoral, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. Amid espionage and exquisite couture, alongside family feuds and international conflicts that challenged the Crown, the author reveals the undercover lives of the creators behind the facade and how royal fashion is wielded as a weapon with this narrative explored over a lunch of both fine food and food for thought.
Click here to purchase ‘Fashioning the Crown’ – use code Event30 for a 30% discount on your purchase.