Mid-century posters by Abram Games and Hans Schleger republished in Margaret Howell calendar

Fashion label Margaret Howell is republishing classic posters for London’s historic Design Centre in its 2017 calendar. Featuring artworks by influential graphic designers such as Abram Games and Hans Schleger, the posters were originally commissioned to promote the work of the centre, and themselves exemplify mid-century modernist design.

Launched by the Council of Industrial Design (now the Design Council) in 1956, the Design Centre was a showcase for contemporary British product and furniture design. It closed in 1994. At the time, the posters were displayed at the venue in Haymarket and around London.

They have been selected from the University of Brighton Design Archives and, as well as featuring in the calendar, will be shown in an exhibition at the Margaret Howell store on Wigmore Street from 5 – 20 November 2016.

“The Design Centre was a shop that wasn’t a shop,” says Margaret, “a calm gallery that only sold ideas, promoting the values of good modern design. Its exhibitions didn’t try to sell like a High Street window. Their exhibitions gave selected items their own space to tell their own story. The Design Centre helped open my eyes to product design.”