A TRIBUTE to Warrington legend Ossie Clark has received glowing reviews from the arts world and put the town back on the fashion map.

A retrospective of the flamboyant fashion designer's life and times opened last week with a star-studded, glamorous preview at the Museum and Art Gallery. Major players in the worlds of art, fashion, music and media gathered to view the first exhibition to the man credited with being the most influential fashion designer of modern times.

Born Raymond Clark in Ostwaldtwistle, Lancashire, he moved to Sandy Lane West, Orford, in 1949, aged seven. He spent his formative years as a choirboy at St Oswald's Church, Winwick, before swapping his robes for bright pink socks and leather jackets, hanging out at the Rendezvous Coffee Bar on Sankey Street.

His talent was first spotted by an arts master at Beamont Technical School who encouraged him to attend Saturday classes at Warrington College of Art.

He remained close to the town and his family throughout the heady years of his success and the turbulent years of his demise. Loving notes and letters to his mum and dad are on display together with family snaps and personal photographs.

Ossie breathed new life into the world of fashion. He was the first designer to stage theatrical shows with dancing models attended by top names from music and fashion. Twiggy, Bianca and Mick Jagger, David Hockney, Eartha Kitt, Marianne Faithful, Andy Warhol - he knew them all, mixing in their glamorous, fast-living circles.

Cherry Grey, the gallery's keeper of art, who married in one of Ossie's designs, has dedicated months to putting together the fascinating exhibition. She draws comparison with another talented idol who broke the mould.

"I see Ossie as a George Best of fashion. He loved life to the full and he was part of the whole scene. He was an artist and a showman who loved the attention. But beneath that lay a quite extraordinary talent."

Stella McCartney, designer at Chloe, is one of many whose words are used to pay homage to the designer. She said Ossie was "an example of British imagination and ingenuity. He designed clothes for rock chicks during a particular creative era for both music and fashion.

"I am inspired by the way he used fabric and the symbiosis of print, textile and silhouette."

Ossie was stabbed to death by his lover in 1996 and for a time his murder overshadowed his immense talent and achievements. This wonderful exhibition is a celebration of Ossie's life, placing the emphasis on his work, where it belongs, in a place where his genius and innovation first started to blossom.

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