Old Brentwood Sir Edwin Hardy Amies KCVO attended the school from 1919 to 1927. The couture designer was fond of his time at Brentwood and came back in his later years to design the girls’ school uniform, which is still worn today.

For the Royal visit to the school in 1957, Amies was among those who greeted The Queen. Two years later, he gave a dress show of his Spring/Summer collections at the school, raising nearly £400 for the 40th anniversary commemoration fund.

Hardy Amies, who was knighted in 1993 and died in 2003, opened his first couture house at 14 Savile Row in 1946, after a stint in the British intelligence service during the Second World War. Just one year later, his designs appeared on the cover of Vogue, and in 1955 he was appointed official dressmaker to Her Majesty The Queen, an appointment that lasted for almost 40 years.

Although Sir Hardy Amies received recognition, fame and a knighthood, he never forgot his early life and education at Brentwood. Today, the Hardy Amies Design Centre is testimony to his enduring connection with the School.