Blast from the past

Madge Garland (1898-1990)

photograph by Cecil Beaton

The Australian-born Garland was fashion director at British Vogue under its second editor-in-chief Dorothy Todd. Todd was not only her editor but also her mentor and her lover. Their time at Vogue was brief, 1922-1926. In this short period Garland and Todd forged friendships with some of the more significant members of the Bloomsbury set such as Virginia Woolf and Rebecca West. A reflection of Todd's desire to transform Vogue into a magazine more about literary content than about stays and . . . petticoats.

Todd was sacked by Conde Nast in 1926 for what was perceived to be an all too bohemian bent. Todd's career never recovered. Garland, on the other hand, went on to become a leading fashion journalist and textile expert. In 1947 she was appointed to London's Royal College of Art as the first Professor of Fashion Design. 

In the latter part of her career Garland wrote numerous books on art, the history of fashion and gardening. 

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