The Clothes Show cake
Photos from Ivor Williams, no reproduction without permission.
This cake was made to celebrate the 100th episode of The Clothes Show. Ivor Williams was one of the VT editors who worked on the popular Sunday afternoon fashion magazine show. The spelling of IROV on the cake was an in-joke. The ‘SM’ on the cake, I think stands for Steve May, also a VT editor.
The Clothes Show went out between 1986 and 2000. It was executively produced at Pebble Mill by Roger Casstles. Series producers included Colette Foster and Jane Lomas. The show grew out of ‘Pebble Mill at One’ fashion items, and became a huge brand, leading to the BBC magazine of the same name and the annual ‘Clothes Show Live’ exhibition at the NEC.
Breakfast Time’s Selina Scott and designer Jeff Banks were the series’ first presenters. Other presenters over the years included Caryn Franklin, Tim Vincent, Brenda Emmanus, Richard Jobson, and Margherita Taylor. The show included catwalk and high street fashion, including make-overs. The title music was a remix by Arthur Baker of the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘In the Night’ (off the 1986 ‘Disco’ album).
What really set the show apart were the high production values and innovations in digital video editing. The editing team were rewarded with a craft BAFTA award.