British-Trinidadian designer Althea McNish revolutionised the world of post-war British design with her bold and beautiful prints starting with her very first collection, created as a freelance commission for Liberty Fabrics in 1958.
After moving to England from Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1950s, McNish completed her studies in Textiles at the Royal College of Art. After graduating, she was commissioned by the iconic London department store Liberty and a ground-breaking Liberty range soon followed.
A key member of the Caribbean Artists Movement, which championed and defined the work of Caribbean writers, intellectuals and artists within the UK and beyond, McNish's printed artworks sparked a powerful aesthetic change, appealing to young British consumers who were eager to escape the greyness and gloom of the postwar era.
Her joyful, impasto-like designs appeared not only on dress fabrics for French fashion houses such as Dior and in publications like Vogue, but were even used to dress the Queen during a Royal Tour of the Caribbean in 1966.
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Remaining a powerful creative force throughout her life, McNish passed away in 2020 at the age of 95, having altered the design landscape with a powerful parade of prints that continue to inspire.
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