1986, the year that The Clothes Show began, was also the year that Casualty and Bread hit the screens. The BBC launched its daytime television service too, which included an Australian soap called Neighbours. The award winning The Singing Detective was broadcast.
The first show set the template for things to come with Jane Lomas reporting on the High Street look and Jan Harvey, star of Howard's Way, giving us a twirl.
Caryn Franklin and Jeff Banks weren't the only ones who had a background in fashion. Before he was famous, Tim Vincent was an Armani model. And we were hoping it was for Calvin Klein�
The theme tune for The Clothes Show was an instrumental version of the Pet Shop Boys track In The Night. The track first appeared on the B-side of the single Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money). A version also appeared on the PSB's album Disco Remix. In 1996 Neil Tenant and Chris Lowe remixed the tune. This new version was released on the Before EP.
St Etienne also produced a theme tune for the show, but it wasn't used. You can hear it on the Built on Sand compilation. The sleevenotes for the track say: "Imagine our horror when we turned on to discover our "theme" has been relegated to incidental music for part of the programme called Wild About Wool. Hey ho. Feel free to use this theme for your own TV extravaganza".
Short-lived presenter Siobhan Mayer, who worked on the 1987 series, went onto have minor success as the lead singer of The River City People. Their biggest hit was a cover of the Mamas and Papas' track California Dreamin'.
During the 1997 series Gary Bushell joined Margerita Taylor and Tim Vincent to review the week's fashion disasters. Some would say this was a bizarre choice.
Two of the entrants in the show's annual model competition went onto being very famous indeed - Jamie Theakston and Cat Deely. After getting through to the final round, Cat was offered a contract by a representative from the Storm model agency. She turned it down to concentrate on her studies.
Since leaving the show Caryn Franklin has returned to writing and has written the books Fashion UK, The Breast Health Handbook and Caryn Franklin on Fashion. She also wrote the novel Woman in the Mirror.
Jeff Banks still continues to work as a designer and in 1998 he redesigned the uniforms for both the Brownies and the Guides. Jeff still supports the Graduate Fashion Week, which showcases new talent in the UK and was recently interviewed for the TV special When Shoulder Pads Ruled The World, a celebration of the 80s obsession with glitz and glamour.
Despite the show no longer being on air, The Clothes Show Live! event still takes place each year at the Birmingham NEC.
