Victor Alan Herbert

Victor Alan Herbert




Victor’s family were evacuated from London to Leicestershire, where he was born in 1944. From an early age, it became clear that he was very imaginative and creative. By the age of nine he had undertaken his first commissions, a picture of ‘Launde Abbey’ (oil on paper) and a painting of a bull (oil on glass) for the local butcher.

Through the RAF, he gained a scholarship to Loughborough College School, to specialise in Art, where he boarded until the age of eighteen. After graduating from Loughborough College of Art and Design, he was invited to attend the Royal College of Art (RCA) in 1965. He left the RCA with a first-class honours degree and their medal for ‘work of special distinction’.

During his time at the RCA he was known to infiltrate many of the specialist departments in his quest to create a range of fashion designs that used neither patterns nor stitching. The resulting products made instant headlines, which led to the designs being shown at the “Body Covering” Exhibition at New York’s Museum of Contemporary Crafts. This paved the way for a two-pronged career

On the one hand, he was designing for some of the world class fashion houses, including ‘Joseph’ and ‘Marithe & Francois Girbaud’, while dressing celebrities like Terrance Stamp, Peter Sellers, Britt Ekland, Anthony Andrews, Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard’, Bill Wyman, Selina Scott and Lady Diana Spencer.

At the same time, the other part of his career saw him creating innovative ideas and solutions for other industries. These included footwear, underwear, hosiery, sports equipment, yarns and fibres, plastics, retail stores, media and television.
In 1980 he won the “Designer of the Year” award at a ceremony, which was televised.

Victor’s approach to his work has always been consistent, his philosophy being ‘to make something out of the ordinary, out-of-the ordinary’. His exceptional drawing skills have enabled him to communicate his ideas to a wide ranging international audience. Once his energies could be channelled away from commerce, it was inevitable that he would return to his “Art” and now, consumed by new ideas, he is painting again in his distinctive, figurative style.

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