Design Debate

Perusing Miss Moss I was reminded of a British design classic – that black sheep jumper! Miss Moss was actually featuring the wonderfully characterful dog paintings of Sally Muir, but it sent me straight back to the knitwear company she started with Joanna Osborne. The V&A has one of the sheep jumpers in its collection, which rather confirms its place in design history. Warm & Wonderful began in 1979, with Sally and Joanna selling their knitwear from a market stall in Covent Garden. Their sheep jumper in particular proved a hit: rows of little white sheep with one black sheep standing apart. A young Lady Diana Spencer wore the red version to a polo match in 1981 and it became inseparable from her image. David Bowie and Andy Warhol were amongst the other famous names who wore the design. I can see why it struck a chord. Joanna and Sally tapped into something many of us recognise – that feeling of being the odd one out ...