James Wedge

James "Jimmy" Wedge (born 1939) is a British fashion designer, milliner and fashion photographer.

Early life and education Wedge was born into a poor working-class family. Having little education and never having taken an exam, he joined the British Navy. Whilst there, he took a drawing correspondence course and was eventually admitted to Walthamstow College of Art, entering the fashion department. Wedge describes hat design as being "like sculpture". Wedge then did a two-year course at the Royal College of Art.

Hat designer At the first end of year show, he did all the hats and drew the attention of the designer Ronald Paterson, who asked him if we would like to do hats for his collections. As they were all couture hats, Wedge designed extreme creations to showcase his talents and garner publicity. Liberty of London offered him a free workshop if they could have first choice of what to sell in his shop, although he was allowed to sell the rest elsewhere. Working out of a small house at 4 Ganton Street starting in about 1962, his staff grew to seven people.

Influence Wedge helped Marion Foale and Sally Tuffin become established as designers and retailers. According to Tuffin, to make their clothes, they "worked on the billiards table in Jimmy Wedge's flat". According to Foale, Wedge had his offices in Ganton Street and told them about a place round the corner in Marlborough Court with a low rent. Soon, they needed more space, so Wedge found space for them above him, and when he moved out, they took over 4 Ganton Street in its entirety.

Photography By 1970, Wedge and Booth both believed that the King's Road scene was over and Wedge moved into photography, as did Booth soon after. Wedge had become friends with an actress who purchased her clothes from his Top Gear boutique, and she had bought her husband a camera that he did not want, so Wedge bought it from her. The pair had previously worked together during the 1970s, including a cover photo for the Observer magazine for 11 July 1971.