Jane & Jane (1962-1966)
Upon leaving Jaeger, Muir was approached by David Barnes, a mass-market jersey dress manufacturer, who was keen to have her talents on board as a designer for his brand. Muir declined, as she did not wish to design for the mass market. Undeterred, Barnes offered to fund her own design label, and so Jane & Jane launched in 1962.
In 1964, Jean Muir won the first of her three Dress Of The Year awards for a Jane & Jane dress in printed Liberty silk, which is preserved as part of the Dress Of The Year collection at the Fashion Museum, Bath.
From the outset, Muir's designs demonstrated the pared-down understatement and easy fit that would become her design signature. Jane & Jane was one of the first companies to bring couture standards and quality to the wholesale fashion industry. Muir used Liberty textiles in many of her designs.
After Muir left in 1966 to launch Jean Muir Ltd., the Jane & Jane brand was sold to the ready-to-wear fashion house Susan Small, where it continued for several years before quietly disappearing circa 1970.
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