A Scarf Celebrating Dame Rosalind Savill
Over the years, I have designed many tribute scarves celebrating the lives, achievements, and anniversaries of remarkable individuals — creative spirits, great talents, and figures whose stories deserve to be told anew. Each has been a journey into another world, a chance to honour lives lived with purpose and beauty. Past designs have celebrated the centenaries of Margot Fonteyn and Maria Callas in collaboration with the Royal Ballet and Opera, Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee for Westminster Abbey, and the 300th birthday of Madame de Pompadour for the French Porcelain Society.
My latest scarf is the most personal yet, commemorating the life and extraordinary legacy of Dame Rosalind Savill — a woman I was privileged to know and lucky enough to call a friend. Dame Rosalind was a towering figure in the world of the decorative arts: a brilliant historian, a captivating speaker, and, for nearly twenty years, Director of the Wallace Collection. A tireless champion of Sèvres porcelain, her passion was utterly intoxicating. Hearing her speak about porcelain made it impossible not to be drawn in — her eloquence transformed a painted cup and saucer into a vessel for craftsmanship, taste, and human ingenuity.
My relationship with the Wallace Collection itself dates back to 2008, when I was an intern for Vivienne Westwood. I vividly remember my first visit — wandering the rooms in a state of awe, enchanted by the silks, the porcelain, and the glittering chandeliers. It felt like stepping directly into the world of Madame de Pompadour or Marie Antoinette. I didn’t know it at the time, but this was very much Dame Rosalind’s vision for the museum: a place where the visitor could be transported, enveloped in beauty.
I first encountered Dame Rosalind through the BBC documentary Beautiful Thing: A Passion for Porcelain. She made Sèvres porcelain irresistible. As a result, I joined the French Porcelain Society in 2015, during her presidency. However, it was only in the final years of her life that our friendship truly blossomed, when she asked me to design her daughter’s wedding stationery. Soon, we were sharing dinners, making excursions to great houses, and attending receptions at Goldsmiths’ Hall and the King’s Foundation together.
"I do love an enfilade, don’t you? They are so generous." — Dame Rosalind Savill
Our first meeting to discuss the wedding took place at the Institute of Directors, where I am a member. I took her on a tour of the impressive building, designed by John Nash in 1828. As we walked together through the grand rooms on the first floor, she turned to me and said, "I do love an enfilade, don’t you? They are so generous," in her typically delicious and expressive way. Now, whenever I pass through a gracious sequence of rooms, I think of her and smile. There were many moments gilded in memory, but one in particular stands out: a visit to Waddesdon Manor. After lunch with Mia Jackson, Curator of Decorative Arts at Waddesdon and one of Dame Rosalind’s closest friends, Dame Rosalind led us on a private tour of the house, sharing stories with her usual sparkle.
"Striding towards Sèvres." — Mia Jackson
It was a golden afternoon, and I'm lucky that a photograph from that day captures the three of us walking towards the house — or, as Mia described it, "striding towards Sèvres" — a perfect memory of an unforgettable visit.
Later, in what would be the last year of her life, Dame Rosalind visited me and my husband at home for afternoon tea. It was a very special day, filled with laughter and enthusiasm. She delighted in exploring our humble collections, commenting with her usual generosity and wit.
"A joiner with eighteenth-century France in his bones." — Dame Rosalind Savill
When I proudly mentioned that we had recently found a new joiner for some restoration work, she congratulated me warmly, saying I had found "a joiner with eighteenth-century France in his bones" — a turn of phrase so perfectly hers that it has stayed with me ever since. Before she left, she signed our guestbook with the words:
"I leave full of the joys of you both." — Dame Rosalind Savill
— a message I will always treasure.
When she passed away in December 2024, I knew immediately that I wanted to create something to honour her memory. Together with Mia, we devised a plan: a scarf that would celebrate her life and passions in a way that felt personal and joyful. The finished design features some of her favourite pieces of Sèvres porcelain from the Wallace Collection and Waddesdon Manor; seventy-three delicate Sèvres-style sprigs (one for each year of her life); elegant cocktail glasses as a nod to her inimitable hospitality; and a dove symbolising her daughter, Isabella Dove. The pink and green, Mia assures me, were her favourite colours and can be seen on the spine of her impressive two-volume book Everyday Rococo: Madame de Pompadour and Sèvres Porcelain (Unicorn Press, 2021).
All profits from the sale of this scarf will go to the Attingham Trust to fund the Dame Rosalind Savill Scholarship — supporting future scholars in the field she loved so deeply, a fitting legacy for someone who gave so much to the next generation.
Dame Rosalind may no longer be with us, but her spirit endures — in the rooms she loved, in the scholarship she fostered, and in the countless lives she touched. She signed my copy of Everyday Rococo with a message I will always treasure:
"Madame de Pompadour would have loved you and everything you do for her today." — Dame Rosalind Savill
A typically generous message from a truly unforgettable woman.
If you would like to help continue Dame Rosalind’s legacy, you can purchase the commemorative scarf here — with all profits supporting the next generation of decorative arts scholars.