I don’t know what it was about the photos of young West Indian men sporting zoot suits and trilby hats, standing on the decks of the HMT Empire Windrush when it landed at London’s Tilbury Docks in 1948. They oozed sex appeal as they swaggered rather than walked. Those new Britons stood out in their ‘1940s movie star attire,’ embracing the styles of Black American stars such as Harry Belafonte, Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey. 

But as the awful haze of austerity lifted following World War II, fashion evolved. Men began to leave their trilbys behind, exchanging formal suits and ties for blazers, button-down t-shirts, and khaki trousers. Women too began to abandon their utility suits and dresses in favour of poodle skirts and waist cropped tops sitting just over their waistbands.

Among those leading this fashion awakening was Trinidadian-born Althea McNish, a textile designer, who was born in 1924, and studied at the prestigious Central School and Crafts and Royal College of Art in the mid 1950s. McNish was known for her vivid and colourful fabrics that imbued the sense of beauty and carefree atmosphere of the Caribbean. Her influence was wide with clothing designers from Dior and Givenchy to Mary Quant, the designer of the mini skirt  in the late 60s to early 70s, using her textile designs to create clothes such as the popular A-line flower printed dress.

“Althea McNish was amongst the first, if not the first, designer of Caribbean descent to achieve international recognition. Her designs injected much-needed colour and life into the post-war fashion and textiles industry from the 1950s onwards, ” said Rose Sinclair, a reader In design and Associate Professor at London’s Goldsmiths University who is writing a book on McNish.

Other prominent designers of the time include Andrew Ramroop OBE, a fellow Trinidadian, who started his career in London in the early 1970s. Earning a distinction from the London School of Fashion, Ramroop took over the exclusive Saville row boutique, Maurice Sedwell, in the 1980s after its founder and owner retired. He would go on to design for American actor Tony Curtis and in later years, Samuel L. Jackson.

“In the 70s we were still enjoying the tail end of the 60s when men wore velvet suits, flared trousers and shirt collars over jacket collars. This was an exciting time for sartorial fashion, style and self expression,” Ramroop said.

Today’s Black British designers are acknowledging the work of their forebearers.  Among them is Lorna Holder, a UK-based designer born in Jamaica, and raised in Nottingham. In 1975 Holder became the first Black student to graduate with a BA Honours in Fashion & Textiles from the then Trent Polytechnic Nottingham. And, in 2018, she documented her love of fashion and how the Windrush years influenced her design choices in her book Style In My DNA: 70 years of British Caribbean fashion

Meanwhile prominent young designers are paying homage to the Windrush generation on the runway. Grace Wales Bonner, MBE, a product of an English mother and Jamaican father, used original McNish prints and embroidery to recreate the late textile designer’s creative journey and legacy in her Spring/Summer 2025 collection.

Sinclair is excited about this resurgence. “A new generation has now found Althea McNish. Her legacy is inspiring a new generation of designers,” she said.