Alice Cohen
Alice is the imagined wife of Mr A. M. Cohen of Widegate Street, Spitalfields, London. I found reference to Mr Cohen in the All Things Regency blog, where he is described as running a fashion warehouse.
I imagined Alice, while working alongside her husband and identified an opportunity to expand their business. In Regency England, many women made their own reticules (handbags). Alice began by producing plain reticules, then hit upon the idea of commissioning embroidery from the many piece workers in the local area. These were typically women using their sewing skills to bring extra income into the home. Many working-class families completed piece work in their spare time.
Gradually, the idea of embroidered accessories caught on. Alice and her husband launched the brand Alice Cohen, with a wide product range that included reticules, sewing bags, saddle bags, and book bags.
Creative Direction:
We wanted to emphasise craft in the brand, so the logo is inspired by Grinling Gibbons, the early 18th-century wood sculptor. The fashion styling in the imagery leans more toward Edwardian influence than Regency.
Design References
Grinling Gibbons - I concepted the Alice Cohen logo as a shop sign wood carving by the craftsman Grinling Gibbons. Grinling who died 50 years before Jane Austen was born, work influenced decoration in the major houses and religious buildings.
Union Jack Embroidery - With the adoption of the current design of the British Union Jack flag in 1801 and important British military victories of Waterloo and Trafalgar together with the maturing of the British Empire I imagine it would have been used everywhere. Using Historic UK's timeline of the British Empire it's easy to understand those influences on Austen.
Tree of Life Embroidery - The tree of life was an artistic subject for humanity and represented here after I spotted a fantastic dress dated 1810 on the Jane Austens World Blog.
