Emma Peel

[Mercedes]

Emma Peel from the tv series The Avengers...she wasn't a real person but is without a doubt a style icon.

from http://ddr.theavengers.tv/chapterone.html

The main point behind Emma Peel is that her strength lies in her fantastic intelligence, athletic prowess and razor-sharp wit. Emma Peel is still an icon to many but they are probably two vastly different groups. One chooses her as a role model for her clothes; either the popular kinky leather image or the op-art mini-skirted mod images, and one chooses her for her groundbreaking strength of character, mind and body.

all pictures from: http://www.dissolute.com.au/avweb/fashions.html

 

[Mercedes]

all pictures from http://members.iinet.com.au/~dissolute

from http://www.giaguaro.com/eng/aveng_eng.html

And what to say of John Bates costumes, the top fashion designer of the black and white season with Miss Peel who adapted the black catsuits for her worn Cathy Gale played by Honor Blackman, found by actor Mac Nee and created by Michael Whittaker. Did he really start a world vogue fetish? Bates contributed to the character's metamorphosis, revolutionizing her wardrobe in that Emma Peel used her leather catsuits only for the purpose of combat, whereas during everyday scenes she wore elegant, practical, agile clothes that suited her character.

Thanks to the use of color, for the 1967 season the Avengers were projected into Swinging London, that of Austin Powers. It was costume designer Alan Hughes who reinvented Emma Peel's wardrobe, introducing the miniskirts and the so-called "Emmapeelers", very tight unitards with same colored boots, very similar to those worn by Cat Woman, perfect for silent command missions. For writer-producer Brian Clemens Emma Peels' clothes represented the Beat girl, free from tradition and smartly independent.

 

[Mercedes]

Ohhh I really like the one that's second from the bottom. Thanks again Fab!

from http://ddr.theavengers.tv/chapterone.html

One of the most identifiable factors about Emma Peel is her wardrobe. She was conceived in an era of pop culture and throwaway fashion, at a time when appearance was everything and everyone aspired to a particular template of perfection. The Avengers was certainly stylish and is often regarded as one of the ultimate icons of this superficiality...

Diana practicing judo with her instructor, Steed and Emma

Tough, independent Emma

all pictures from corbis.com

 

[.francesca]

i miss peel! thanks for the thread and pixxx, mercedes and fabulyss!

 

[Estella*]

love the last picture in post #2, #4 and #7. georgeous.
thanks for the thread mercedes, so good to have you back

 

[Mercedes]

From http://www.geocities.com/FashionAvenue/Catwalk/

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]The female main character in the show was played by Diana Rigg from 1965. Her name said it all: M-an A-p-PEAL, Emma Peel. She was famous for the exotic outfits and catsuits she wore on the show. The catsuits were usually made of leather or stretch fabrics and as the show grew in popularity the cut-outs in her cat suit grew larger and larger. Stockings for the series were designed by Echo Hosiery.[/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In 1965 John Bates was given the job of designing Diana Rigg’s costumes. The producers wanted a change of image for the programme; they wanted something up-to-date, slick and slightly aggressive to replace the leather cat suits and flowing gowns of the old series. Bates designed a range of outfits which made front-page headlines in almost every English Daily and boosted viewership for the series. The production team complained that the skirts were too short and lowered the hemlines, so Bates simply stopped leaving a hem. The camera men claimed that the TV sets could technically not cope with the black and white designs, but they were proved wrong.[/font]

[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]After Emma Peel wore a wetsuit-type cat suit on the show the immediate effect was that designers everywhere copied the sleek look. Some of the clothes she wore were influenced by Yves Saint Laurent.[/font]

picture credits
top row: all www.tvacres.com
middle row: http://www.alexia.us, http://www.diesiebziger.net
last pic: www.corbis.com

 

[luxmode]

great thread, mercedes

i loved emma peel, too. she didn't suffer fools, gladly or otherwise

two tiny pics for now...

 

[Mercedes]

I like the last pic you posted Luxm!

More of the marvellously mod Mrs. Peel...

all pictures except red dress photo from http://www.dissolute.com.au/avweb/fashions.html
red dress photo from http://ddr.theavengers.tv/chapterone.html

 

[Mercedes]

all pictures from http://ddr.theavengers.tv/

 

[luxmode]

these are great, mercedes!!! i like the first 2 coats in #12, and her watch is huge! i really like the coat and shoes in the first pic in #13, too, in fact all of the shoes are amazing

 

[Mercedes]

these are great, mercedes!!! i like the first 2 coats in #12, and her watch is huge! i really like the coat and shoes in the first pic in #13, too, in fact all of the shoes are amazing

I completely agree I really like that watch too and I love the gloves in the last pic in #13 and her boots too.
Kind of OT but the jacket in first pic in #13 and the last pic in post #4 reminds me of miu miu fall 2005 rtw.

photo from www.style.com

 

[Fabulyss]

Ohhh the first two in 12! Thanks so much Mercedes!

 

[luxmode]

^^ you're right, they're very similar. hmm...relating the collection to mrs. peel makes me appreciate it much more

i just found these pics on the site you mentioned (that's one of the best fan archives i've seen, btw)

http://ddr.theavengers.tv/biog.html

 

[Mercedes]

luxm, actually for fashion pictures I think that http://www.dissolute.com.au/avweb/fashions.html is way better the pics are tiny but it's very well organized

A quote and a couple more pics.
quote from http://www.swinginchicks.com/

She brought to the show a saucy charm and liberated spirit that perfectly balanced Steed’s conservative old-school mannerisms (she wore leather, he wore a bowler). Emma was a rich, fascinating character, able to pick a lock, karate chop a villain, and read both Basic Nuclear Physics (a book actually shown in Emma’s home) and Advanced Ventriloquism (a book we actually see her reading).

HER '60s LOOK: Hers was an iconic beauty, representing the very best that TV had to offer in the '60s. Her big smile, big cheekbones, and big Breck flip gave her a wholesome, yet playful appeal. Her long lean 5’ 8+" figure was perfectly adaptable to the athletic stunts and varied costumes she displayed on "The Avengers." It’s a toss-up what looked better — Emma in a swingin’ mod outfit, or Emma in her fightin’ jumpsuit — but either way it's easy to see why in July '99 TV Guide voted her the sexiest woman EVER on TV. Interestingly, a costumer for "The Avengers" once said that the tight leather suit Emma was so identified with was rarely worn on the show because it had the tendency to tear during action sequences, but it was such a great outfit that the few times Diana did wear the suit it made a lasting impression on the audience.

all pictures from
http://members.iinet.com.au/~dissolute/

 

[Yppe]

I love all the pictures!
Thanks fot this thread!

 

[emma peel]

that's my girl! B)

 

[Boomer]

Thanks so much for the pics! My original fantasy girlfrien!!

 

[Josephine]

i have a crush on her hair

 

[ballroombeliever]

un-deniably sexy

 

[fashion_freek]