Utility by Lukestephenkeen

UTILITY DESIGN 1941 - 1951

‘Britain can make it’

This book explores developments in British design between 1940 and 1952, focusing on the contrasting styles of Utility and the flowering of design, which occurred as a result of the Festival of Britain. To understand the impact of the Festival it is important to understand the post war context, the period of austerity that was the legacy of a long period of warfare. In design terms this was manifested in austere designs, typical of what became known as Utility design. The book is divided into two parts, Utility and Festival of Britain. Each section contains nine chapters ranging from WW11, the visual characteristics of utility design and the development of the National celebratory festival itself. The chapters explore in depth the organisation and aesthetics of both periods and look into the overall influence and effect these have had on modern day society.

Above Reproduced CC41 logo produced by authors. Following page Displays a British supply ship being bombed during WW11.

Contents Introduction

History

Propaganda 11 ‘Beginnings of Utility’

CC41 19 Utility Furniture

‘Britain Can Make It’

Utility Clothing

CC41 Luxury

Conclusion 41

Introduction

Prior to World War II Britain was heavily dependent on imported raw materials and food. World War II caused major disruption to flow of imports and as the war progressed resources in all areas were depleted, due to the difficulty of carrying necessary supplies to Britain. Government and the people had to work together to support the war effort and manufacturing and the supply and use of raw materials had to be prioritized and rationed. Rationing was introduced not only for food and clothing but also for the supplies needed for furniture manufacture and the rebuilding of houses, as large numbers of people were homeless due to the blitz.

What was accepted in wartime became more difficult after the war when rationing continued for some years. To make best use of materials and to encourage people to accept limited resources, the Government introduced the Utility scheme so that Britain could continue to rebuild despite the shortages and to allocate limited resources to the people most badly affected by the war. The boundary between these two eras, Utility and the Festival of Britain marks a point of change in Britain’s social, cultural and political development and can be seen as a significant turning point in the acceptance of Modernism.

Left Titled ‘The Blitz Hits London’. Birds eye view of German Bombers over the River Thames, 1942. Right An orginal WW11 standard motor fuel ration book, 1950.

History

Previous page Shows a destroyed street due to the Blitz, 1940.

Left A family clutching their gas masks, entering the Anderson shelter during WW11.

Right Westwick Street after the destruction of WWII.

Far Right London was in ruins after the Blitz, St. Augustineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s School on Waterloo Road, 1942.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;For this is total war, and total war is war right inside the home itself. Emptying the clothes cupboards and the larder, screaming its threats through the radio at the hearth - burning and bombing its way from roof to cellar.â&#x20AC;? J B Priestley,1940.

In order to understand the concepts and aesthetics behind Utility you have to understand its background. The Second World War began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland on the 3rd September 1939, subsequently forcing Britain to declare war to prevent the Nazi control of Europe. Six years of sustained warfare had consequences for Britain despite the eventual victory on May 3rd 1945. Wide scale evacuation disrupted families, the Blitz (September 1940) devastated many cities including huge damage to London and the ports and destroyed many homes. Despite eventually ‘winning’ the war, Britain was in an economic crisis. Being so reliant upon imports meant Britain was not able to be selfsufficient. The need for self-sufficiency became ever more necessary, the Government had to make drastic changes to rebuild the country, to make its people feel a sense of recovery and to celebrate the spirit of Britain.

Left German bomber releasing shells over London during the war.

Following page Shows an orignial piece of rationing propaganda titled ‘A Fair Share’.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Less than a third of the food available in Britain at the start of the war was produced at home. Enemy ships targeted incoming Allied merchant vessels, preventing vital supplies - including fruit, sugar, cereals and meat - from reaching the UK. Because of this, and to ensure fair distribution of supplies, the Ministry of Food issued ration books to every person.â&#x20AC;? (BBC) Official rationing started on the 8th January 1940 and continued to the 4th July 1954.

Propaganda

Left ‘Make-do and Mend’, it encouraged the reuse and fixing of clothing, issued by the Board of Trade, 1943

Above ‘Grow your own food’ poster was to encourage Britain to be selfsufficient.

During and after the war propaganda campaigns such as ‘Dig For Victory’ and ‘Make Do And Mend’ became a major addition to the recovery of Britain. This positive economic propaganda encouraged civilians to save materials and hinder wastage, helping the war effort and supporting the crisis at hand. It became a means to place self-sufficiency at the forefront of the everyday mind, resulting in an overall collaborative effort of both the Government and people. Britain as a nation was led by these Propaganda designs, a constant reminder to support the recovery of the country. Media in which the Government propagated this idea of selfsufficiency was extensive; designs came in the forms of newsreels, posters, leaflets and books. The extensive designs all consist of similar composition with a collaboration of images and persuasive language. The image is combined with a heading of a influential nature placed upon a background of faded colour and this combination is seen and replicated throughout all the designs. This reproduction means it is recognisable from a distance with even the slightest glance. Providing Britain with a strong method of persuasion within its civilians, it was an essential structure in winning the war and supporting the troops.

Above War Propaganda campaign (poster) to encourage people to farm food and to help the British economy called ‘Dig for Victory’, 1939.

Beginnings of Utility

The style that came to be known as Utility was a direct result of the shortages of materials due to World War II as it became increasingly difficult to bring raw materials to Britain by ship and basic materials such as timber and fabrics were needed for the war effort. The war depleted resources to such an extent that the British Government Introduced rationing to ensure that supplies lasted and were fairly distributed to all who needed them rather than being bought up by those who could afford them leaving others with nothing. Rationing continued for several years after the war and actually got worse in the years immediately after the war than had been the case in wartime as Britain struggled to rebuild after the devastation of wartime. National campaigns were used to drive selfsufficiency and help with the war effort. Everything had to be rationed due to a lack of materials, which meant people couldn’t be wasteful.

Previous page An orignial piece of rationing propaganda titled ‘A Fair Share’ in 1943.

Left An orginal WW11 motor fuel ration book.

CC41

Previous page A label for Utiliry clothing and furniture named controlled commodity 1941.

Right A photograph of three men with emphasis on mens Utility trousers 1943.

Following page A photograph of a utility room during 1943.

Utility is defined as “useful, profitable, or benificial” (Oxford Dictionary, 2011) and the design style known as Utility came about because the British Government realised that they needed to take steps to impose controls and standards through the Board of Trade to ensure decent quality furniture and clothing which could be fairly distributed and which made the best use of the limited materials. In response, the Utility scheme was introduced to monitor the materials being used in production. Utility furniture and clothing were produced marked with a CC41 logo, which proved that the product met the regulations of the government and were of the required quality. CC41 stood for “Controlled Commodity” and 41 represented the year of which the scheme began. The logo was designed by Reginald Shipp, a commercial artist who was presented with the original brief to create a logo using a double ‘C’ image so that it would be easily recognisable to the public. The symbol itself became known as “The Cheeses” due to the visual reference between the appearance of the c’s and two wheels of cheese. Before the introduction of this government controlled utility mark, poor quality shoddy goods were in circulation and prices were soaring.

Utility Furniture

Left A selection of images showing four pieces of original Utility furniture,1948.

The furniture designs were gathered into the Utility Furniture Catalogue grouped into categories, living room, bedroom, kitchen, and nursery and miscellaneous. They were to be manufactured only by authorized companies, a much smaller group than the large number of manufacturers who had previously been making furniture. Only 32 companies were allowed to manufacture the furniture to start with manufacturing a small and regulated number of designs. Because of wartime restrictions only a limited number of firms were permitted to obtain timber for furniture manufacture and they were restricted to manufacturing only a small range of furniture types in order to keep the efficiency of the production line high with the minimum amount of waste materials. The Board of Trade would supply timber to firms who had previously agreed to supply from the list of 22 items that they would be putting into production. They were restricted to a set amount of timber to produce each individual item.

by bombing raids. However towards the end of 1944 the scheme was expanded to include expecting mothers and families. Despite designer’s efforts, after the war ended, the plain and simple designs were discarded as the public wanted colour and extravagant designs. The “Diversified” range was released in 1948, that was based on Scandinavian designs to win over the taste of the public unfortunately it was unsuccessful.

Initially purchase of utility furniture was allowed only to those issued with “units” a form of currency created by the Government specifically for the purchase of utility furniture, these ‘units’ were initially only issued to newlyweds in order to set up their first home or to those who needed to replace essential furniture destroyed

“Atomic patterns, bright colours, sleek angular furniture. The 1950s was when interiors changed forever, when design hit the high street and fashion moved from the catwalk and into our homes.” BBC Homes & Antiques magazine, 2011. Left A cotswold fireside Utility chair from 1950.

Following page An interior photograph from the exhibition ‘Britain can make it’ at the V&A Museum in 1946.

‘Britain Can Make It’

Left The catalogue for ‘Britain Can Make it’ cover design, 1946.

Following page Three women wearing utility clothing, whilst cycling taken is by RogerViollet, 1942.

Despite the idea of utility furniture being all about making the most of the available materials it did contribute to an entire design style in itself, due to the restrictions of the manufacture of it. Post war it was this idea, among others that influenced the Council of Industrial Design (who later became known as “The Design Council”) into having an idea for an exhibition held in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London during 1946. Entitled the “Britain Can Make It” exhibition, it show cased wartime Industrial and Product Design including much of the Utility furniture designs created during the war. Even before the end of the Second World War it was recognised that without widespread acceptance of industrial design as part of the future of British. Manufacturing, it would be extremely difficult to kick start the manufacturing and international trade of exported goods from the United Kingdom once again. The exhibition was held from September to November during the run up to the Festival of Britain. The Victoria & Albert Museum was the perfect place to hold such an exhibition due it being one of the few standing structures left unaffected by German bombing raids during the blitz, as well as it being virtually empty of work as many of the museum’s main exhibits were still in their wartime evacuation storage, outside London. It was also a perfect way to re-attract some of the museums pre-war visitors.

Utility Clothing

Furthest Left A standard hanging male Utility Jacket.

Left Shows the female comparision of Utility Design.

Following page Christian Dior measuring ‘New Look’ Collection on model Dorothy Emms, 1952.

When Utility clothing was introduced to help the economy, the Government took control of the import and production of raw materials and supplied cloth to manufactures. Raw materials, such as cloth, wool and leather, were in very low supply and needed to be preserved. Clothing prices, which were increasing, needed to be lowered so the public could afford to purchase them. Each garment was under strict regulations as to how much cloth could be used, pockets were restricted, the length of men’s shirts was reduced and turns ups on trousers were banned all together as well as the length of the average dress decreasing in order to preserve fleeting fabric supplies. Because of this need to keep prices on utility low, strict price regulations were introduced which not only controlled the price of the retailed items but also restricted the profit that retailers and manufacturers could make from utility items. In 1941 the Government introduced clothes rationing to control the amount of clothes being produced. Coupons were used to buy clothes, and at the start of this scheme each

person received 20 coupons. Each garment was worth different amount of coupons depending on how much material was used to produce it. For example a women’s coat cost 14 coupons, whereas a blouse was 5. In 1942 the Civilian Clothing Order introduced utility clothing and the Board of Trade asked members of the Incorporated Society of London to design four basic outfits that included a top hat, suit, afternoon dress and cotton overall dress. The Board of Trade then selected the most suitable collection that was mass-produced and stamped with the utility logo. As the war continued the rationing worsened, for example in 1942, 60 coupons were issued to each person then in 1943 only 40, and towards the end of the war in 1944, only 48 coupons. The public were told to ‘make do’ as Britain was low on supplies. Rationed leather meant wooden soled shoes were introduced and hats that were once an essential part of an outfit were now unimportant. Slacks became a necessity to a women’s wardrobe and a siren suit became a very practical thing for men, also popular due to Winston Churchill. ‘Make do and mend’ was the Board of Trades slogan that they gave out in the public booklets on how to repair clothing to sway people from buying new clothes as resources were so low.

CC41 Luxury

Introduced during 1945 was another CC41 label and it became known as “The double elevens” logo consisting of a full circle with double lines either side. This was the logo associated with “Luxury Utility” and for was people that were willing to pay more for their clothing, as clothes with this logo indicated the use of increased quantity or quality fabric. Due to this increased use of fabric in what was a country rationing virtually everything, garments with this logo carried around a 25% more purchase tax. This eventually spelled disaster for the originally very popular CC41 label as it quickly started to represent the dull and detail free wartime restricted fashion. In 1947, garments became more rounded with a fuller skirt, which was a massive contrast to the limited material and short outfits. Dior released his spring collection and the world was amazed as now clothing was tight at the waist and with heavy padded pleats and a full skirts that was only 12 inches from the ground. Clothes were now fun and full of life and this style was known as the ‘New Look’. With this new luxury clothing, fashion started to change. Other popular looks included tailored feminine suits, fitted bodices and halter-top sundress, and there was a lot more accessories worn.

Right Example images of Utility women’s fashion from the book ‘Utility Furniture and Fashion. 1941 -1951’

Conclusion

Despite the devastation of the war, it conceived the concept of Utility, including clothing and furniture, manifested in austere designs. The Government had to make drastic changes to rebuild the country to help revive a damaged wartime economy in a time of basic rationing and restrictions. This utility scheme was a way of preserving materials in low supply and high demand. Britain could continue to rebuild despite of the shortages and allocate limited resources to the people most badly affected by the war. Rationing continued for years after the war ended and spirits remained low. The Government decided to develop a new initiative to launch a National Exhibition celebrated throughout Britain called ‘The Festival of Britain’.

Previous page Design on fabric titled, ‘Victory V’, produced by Calico Printers. Following page Photograph of Lancaster bombers over England (1942)

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