Next stop… Bus Stop X Joanie!
Created in collaboration with the iconic 1970s brand, this limited collection is inspired by Bus Stop’s incredible archive, featuring some of the most-coveted ‘Lee Bender at Bus Stop’ prints and silhouettes.
As a brand, we always seek to create sentimental heirlooms with a sense of nostalgia, and Bus Stop was also well known for taking inspiration from the past for its designs. From ‘70s-does-30s tea dresses to ‘40s-inspired blouses, this limited collection is filled with retro gems to see you through the seasons with ease.
Born in Berlin in 1932, Lee Burgess moved to London in 1936. She studied at St Martin’s School of Art and the London School of Fashion. While designing, she met entrepreneur and future husband Cecil Bender, and they founded their business together.
The first Bus Stop boutique opened its doors on Church Street in Kensington in 1969. Known all over London for its bright red décor, Lee called her label ‘Bus Stop’ because it was so identifiably British: London buses, telephone boxes, and post boxes were bright red, and red was always one of her favourite colours.
Bus Stop’s shiny brass rails filled with weekly drops of the latest fashions and co-ordinates became Lee’s greatest innovation, and her signature design trick of creating mix-and-match or clashing separates and stocking them alongside handmade jewellery was revolutionary, with customers spending hours trying on her ‘potpourri’ of styles.
Today, vintage Bus Stop pieces are still extremely desirable and remain high in demand on reselling sites. Fourteen of Lee’s pieces are housed in the V&A’s permanent collection, and the brand is often hailed as one of the defining labels of the era.
Sadly, in January 2023, Lee Bender passed away after a short illness. She and Lucy, Joanie's Brand Manager, had worked closely together in the year prior to create this collection, drawing on Bus Stop's extensive archives and Lee's wealth of expertise.
Lee’s designs were often inspired by the 1920s and 1930s, and Bus Stop is renowned for its 1970s take on the classic tea dress. Here at Joanie, we also look to the past for inspiration, taking the best bits of vintage clothing and reimagining them for the modern wardrobe. This collection is steeped in nostalgia, and we couldn’t be more proud of the pieces we’ve created together.
From Camden, the knee-skimming mod-style jersey dress based on a Lee Bender at Bus Stop original micro mini, to Brompton and Muswell, a ‘tea top’ and wide leg trouser co-ord in one of Bus Stop’s most iconic prints, this limited collection is designed to worn season after season, year after year.
All fourteen Bus Stop X Joanie styles are made using a sustainable material, either Livaeco or organic cotton, and the entire collection is available in UK sizes 8-26.
“
I was always a little curious about who Lee Bender was. A name boldly stitched in glorious gold thread on the labels of so many of the iconic vintage pieces that have passed through my hands over the years. Sometimes sexy, always fun, Bus Stop epitomised the spirit of seventies London, as worn by Charlotte Rampling, Joan Collins, Joanna Lumley, Debbie Harry, Jerry Hall, Barbara Bach - a veritable who’s who of fabulous 1970s style, and Lee Bender dressed them all.
We’d been working together on the collection for around six months, creating a retrospective of her designs, painstakingly piecing together the highlights of her design career from photographs, online auctions, and collectors’ blogs, when Lee sadly passed away.
I’m really sorry that she didn’t get to see our project come to fruition, but we had a giggle going back through her sketchbooks, with each design prompting an incredible tale from her past - not all of which can be repeated! I hope we’ve managed to capture some of that ‘vintage magic’ that she brought to the designs for a whole new generation of fabulous women.
With the blessing of Lee’s family and knowing we had Lee’s seal of approval on all our prints and fabrics and the shape of a collar she wanted ‘just-so,’ all lovingly named after only the best parts of London, next stop… Bus Stop x Joanie.
Lucy, Brand Manager
Introducing Bus Stop X Joanie
Next Stop… Bus Stop X Joanie
To celebrate the launch of our latest collection, we’re delving deeper into the history of the brand and talking to some vintage collectors about what Bus Stop means to them!
Shop the Collection
