This film is one of nine films made by Newfield School in the 1960s and 70s. Newfield School is situated on the south side of Sheffield in the Heeley area near Woodseats. It was opened in 1958 and become comprehensive during the 1960s. The films were made by the School Film Unit. As well as the usual film of school sports and trips out, the collection also includes some imaginative fictional films. They reveal a thriving school, and those involved in making the films show filmmaking skills...

This film is one of nine films made by Newfield School in the 1960s and 70s. Newfield School is situated on the south side of Sheffield in the Heeley area near Woodseats. It was opened in 1958 and become comprehensive during the 1960s. The films were made by the School Film Unit. As well as the usual film of school sports and trips out, the collection also includes some imaginative fictional films. They reveal a thriving school, and those involved in making the films show filmmaking skills together with creative flair and wit. In the early part of the 1960s, the school also produced plays performed in a local theatre, and this background is reflected in the films. 

Among the other films from Newfield School is Launch (1970), which also has a fashion show of sorts, on a smaller scale in the school car park. This time it is only for the benefit of a group of lads sat on the grass, who are obviously being encouraged to act in typical schoolboy fashion in response. Newfield School (1969) includes a comical film about the devil and an angel fighting it out for the soul of a teenage boy. A film from 1965 featuring a Cross Country Championship, together with film of English and Art classes, has a puppet show production of the courtroom scene from Wind in the Willows.

It was not that unusual at this time for schools to film school events, and filming was even taught on some teaching training courses. The YFA has a significant number of films made by schools or teachers acting on their own. Of special note in connection with this film is Ten Years On: Myers Grove School, a film of another Sheffield School made in 1970. This film also features school pupils modelling clothes they themselves had made. The Background Information for this film has some discussion on the educational policy at that time relating to comprehensive schools.

This Needlecraft Exhibition took place in the Grosvenor Hotel which, at the time of writing (May 2009) is under threat from a controversial £500m development of a new Retail Quarter, Sevenstone, in the city centre. The hotel was opened not long before this film was made. Part of the THF group, the Hotel was subject to a famous strike in 1976 and 1977 over pay, union recognition and other issues. 

Although the film has the title of a Needlecraft Exhibition, in fact it mainly features a fashion show being put on by school pupils of clothes they themselves have made and model. The emphasis on needlecraft meant that this was always going to be girls only affair, despite the male presence in the fashion industry. Given that teenage girls are often highly fashion conscious, it is not surprising that some of the outfits on show reflect the fashion at the time. This comes just after the heady days of the mid and late 1960s when there was an explosion of colour in both men’s and women’s clothing, pioneered by designers such as Natalie Gibson. In comparison the majority of outfits on display in this show are fairly sober. In fact it is noticeable that the show seems to cater for women of all ages, as reflected in the audience watching.

The influence of those in the vanguard of the industry at that time, such as Courrèges and Yves St.Laurent, can be seen in some of the designs. This was, of course, famously, the era of the miniskirt, which made its first appearance in 1965, popularised by Mary Quant. Examples of this, and the minidress, can be seen in the film. Even so, the styles that were pioneered at this time remained essentially confined to a minority. Fashion developed to symbolise status and freedom, and has historically catered for the wealthy: it takes its time to work its way through to the majority of the population – forever chasing the coat-tails of the rich and famous. 

Catwalks only really became (selected) public events after the end of the Second World War. By the 1960s, the catwalk had become a very recognisable part of modern life, hence the easy going manner of those modelling the outfits, and the seeming seriousness of the audience. Since that time, the catwalk has become increasingly theatrical, with international press attention and celebrity guests. With the gradual rundown of conventional dress, the way people look has become an increasingly individual affair, giving rise to more freedom but also more anxieties.

The school hasn’t always fared well in the intervening years, and has come under criticism from pupils and parents. At the time of writing (May 2009) a recent Ofsted report identified areas that were not satisfactory and needed improving. However, an Action Plan has been put in place to make these improvements, and new buildings have helped to encourage a positive vision for the future.

References

Bonnie English, A Cultural History of Fashion in the Twentieth Century: From the Catwalk to the Sidewalk, Berg Publishers, 2007.
Rebecca Arnold, Fashion, Desire and Anxiety, I. B. Tauris, London, 2001.
Newfield School