GARMENT MANUFACTURING

Lee Cooper

Morris Cooper (d.1940) was a tailor who emigrated from Lithuania to South Africa. There he established a business making fancy waistcoats. He came to realise that he could probably make more money if he moved to Britain and made workwear. In 1908 he established The Morris Cooper Factory in Brick Lane. Before the outbreak of the First World War the business was already employing several hundred people. During the conflict it manufactured uniforms. In 1931 the business was renamed M. Cooper (Overalls).

In 1937 M. Cooper (Overalls) acquired premises in Stratford. During the Second World War the firm again supplied the military with uniforms. Following the establishment of peace, Cooper's son Harold Cooper (1918-2008) took control of the business. At the time there was a coupon system for clothing under which people were assigned 30 coupons. A suit used 25 coupons whereas a garment made from denim used only one. In response to this situation, he switched the business to the leisure sector, launching the Lee Cooper brand. In the 1950s the association of denim with rock- n roll proved to be a profitable development for it. The business expanded further and moved out to Essex. Initially, the firm s introduction of front-zipped women's slacks was initially held to be a tasteless development. The business was renamed Lee Cooper; the Lee derived from the younger Cooper's wife's middle name which was Leigh. To appeal to Mods Lee Cooper conjured up a non-existent Italian fashion designer who was dubbed Alfredo Angelous.

In 1989 the Cooper family sold their interest in Lee Cooper.

Website: www.leecooper.com

Ladybird

During the 1930s the Pasold family created the Ladybird brand.

In 2001 Woolworths acquired the Ladybird brand.

In 2009, following the collapse of Woolworths, Shop Direct acquired the Ladybird brand.

The London Sewing Machine Museum

Location: 292-312 Balham High Road, SW17 7AA

The West End

The premises of the garment trade in the West End were in large part taken over by the advertising industry.

David Backhouse 2024