In the post-war years, the acknowledged centre of design was New York. Both Parsons School of Design and the New York School of Design were founded in the Twenties as Private Schools, and have a well-deserved reputation for quality of style and teaching standards.

Some of the most successful American decorators were alumni and, significantly, people as distinguished as William Pahlman lectures at Parsons, giving their services freely in order to encourage young designers and enhance the status of their profession.

In England, however, the famous names of the Thirties - Syrle Maugham, Sybil Colefax and Mrs. Hourigan - who all worked for rich aristocratic clients, were decorating rather than designing, without any prior qualifications save for their own discriminating tastes allied to a flair for business.

The profession remained unstructured until the Sixties, when designers such as David Hicks (trained as an artist), Michael Inchbald (trained as an architect) and John Bannenberg (yacht designer) made headlines promoting the concept that interior design was more than a matter of fashion, and was indeed a skill now challenged by fast-moving technology, a public demanding both elegance and practicality, and an increasing awareness of other countries and other cultures. The Inchbald School of Design opened its doors in 1960, and what had seemed to be little more than a sensible idea proved to be a resounding success, answering both the demand for more and better knowledge, and filling a previously unidentified gap in the market.
Before this, polytechnic education had concentrated on training designers to deal with public spaces, ignoring the possibility that there might be a wide potential for designers in the field of domestic interiors.

Perceptions changed gradually; Kingston Polytechnic (now Kingston University) was one of the first publicly-run establishments to offer a program of interior design, followed by Brighton Polytechnic (now Brighton University). By the mid-Seventies, it was clear that interior design was firmly established as a profession that required all the disciplines and structured education that accompanies such status. It was the aim of the Inchbald School of Design to provide such a background.

Schools in major cities could not necessarily answer the widespread demand that involved amateurs as well as would-be designers. The New York School has run a successful Correspondence Course since the Twenties, and in the early Sixties, the Rhodec School was started in England, teaching students specific drafting and design skills without emphasis on fashion. Inchbald, meanwhile, progressed to diploma courses dealing with both domestic and commercial premises, and eventually opened a Garden Faculty. Both Inchbald and Rhodec flourished on the basis of good market research and quality of educational standards. Inchbald now offers MA courses in both interior and garden design, in conjunction with the University of Wales.

Under Sir Hugh Casson, the Royal College of Art developed the interior design program, which, like Inchbald before it, took account of historic development and style on the understanding that a client's tastes are eclectic, and it is vital that the interior designer not only understands this but can identify and interpret such requirements. With this new interest in English educational centres, there was a shift in international perceptions in fashion, and by the Eighties there was much talk about an 'English Style'. America has always been susceptible to English tastes, and the 'English Style' was readily embraced by luminaries such as New York designer Mark Hampton, once an associate of David Hicks. Parsons, now part of New York University, still offers Interior Design courses in the American modern tradition; the New York School prospers in larger premises, and the Fashion Institute of Technology has introduced an interior design program into its curriculum.

In the early Seventies, the Kensington Leisure Centre started with day groups catering to amateur rather than professional interests. These developed into 10-week courses in decoration. KLC now run both 10-week and Year courses, as well as part-time programmes. Later, a small school was established at the Chelsea Physic Garden to instruct both amateur and professional garden designers, and The English Gardening School now offers long and short courses on a part-time basis. In 1980, another London school was started by Iris Dunbar. Called The Design School, it offers a variety of intensive courses specialising in contemporary design, with some reference to historic interiors.

In recent years there has been extensive and significant development in English educational design programs. London has undoubtedly established itself as an international centre for the Arts, and with its unrivalled cultural resources, allied to an architectural circle at the cutting edge of modernism, an educational program in this city must surely be the ultimate stimulating experience.

Author:
Jacqueline Duncan
Principal
The Inchbald School

Contact Addresses:

Inchbald School of Design,
Interior Design
7 Eaton Gate
London SW1W 9BA
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7730 5508
Email: interiors@inchbald.co.uk

Inchbald School of Design,
Garden Design
32 Eccleston Square
London SW1V 1PB
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7630 9011
Email: gardens@inchbald.co.uk

Rhodec International
35, East Street
Brighton BN1 1HL, UK
Tel +44 (0)1273 327476
Fax +44 (0)1273 821668

KLC
KLC School of Design
Unit 503 The Chambers
Chelsea Harbour
London SW10 0XF
Tel: + 44 (0)20 7376 3377
Fax: + 44 (0)20 7376 7807
Email: info@klc.co.uk

The Interior Design School
22 Lonsdale Road,
Queens Park,
London NW6 6RD
Tel: +44 (0)20 7372 2811
Fax: +44 (0)20 7328 9257

The English Gardening School
66 Royal Hospital Road,
London
SW3 4HS
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7352 4347
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7376 3936
Email: info@egs.dircon.co.uk