John Bates (designer) the Year and donated to the Fashion Museum, Bath, which in 2006 held a major retrospective show of his work. One of Bates' most influential champions was Marit Allen, the editor of British Vogue's Young Ideas spread, who considered Bates the true inventor of the miniskirt, rather than Mary Quant or André Courrèges. Ernestine Carter also observed Bates' originality, noting that the Paris fashion collections for 1967 contained many looks which Bates had done first. In 1965 Bates designed memorable outfits for Diana Rigg to wear for her role as Emma Peel in "The Avengers", including Op-Art mini-coats and accessories
Sophie Robinson (designer) Sophie Robinson (designer) Sophie Robinson is a British interior stylist, designer and journalist. She is a guest judge on BBC 2's "The Great Interior Design Challenge". Robinson attended Kingsley School in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire. Later, she studied 3D design at Brighton University in the late 1990s, intending to become a product or furniture designer. After graduating in 1997, Robinson moved to London where she had a workshop at Cockpit Arts, a social enterprise scheme which supports people to grow businesses. She initially began assisting with interior design projects to help pay her rent, which led to a career working on