Trying to identify '50s-ish fabric from the film TOMMY (1975)

sunny dunes

sunny dunes

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Hi! I am trying to identify a fabric used in a scene in Ken Russell's film TOMMY (1975). As some of you may remember, the film starts just post-WW2. Tommy is born on V-E Day. At a young age, he witnesses his father's murder and is traumatized, spending his youth in a dissociated isolated state of being deaf, dumb, and blind, much to his mother's dismay, until he wakes out of it and becomes a pinball champion and youth cult leader. (!)

In this scene (the song "Amazing Journey"), he's about five years old, so it's meant to take place about 1950. Tommy (Barry Winch), his mother (Ann-Margret), and her boyfriend (Oliver Reed) are all wearing outfits made from the same blue '50s-ish eclipse/space/satellite fabric. I'm wondering if that was an actual existing vintage fabric at the time. Of course, the film was made in 1975, so it could also be a '70s fabric harking back to the space-race era. The film's many elaborate costumes were designed by director Ken Russell's wife, Shirley, so it's also possible the fabric was custom made, but my guess is it was a real fabric that was made into costumes for the scene.

Note: It's a British movie, so most likely it's a fabric from that part of the world.

Anyway, I figured if anybody could help identify this fabric, or narrow down anything about it, it would be you all!

I'm attaching a few screen grabs, but look at the scene to see it better:

Thank you!!!
 

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I don’t know how much help it is but I recognised the the four pointed star as the design used on various the 1951 Festival of Britain posters at the time, and with flags to the side (upside down Brittania’s ‘head’, and in a different colour way, but certainly that’s what it is based on I think!)

I don’t recognise the fabric per se, but maybe that element will help with your searching :)

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-festival-of-britain
 
Hattysattic said:
I don’t know how much help it is but I recognised the the four pointed star as the design used on various the 1951 Festival of Britain posters at the time, and with flags to the side (upside down Brittania’s ‘head’, and in a different colour way, but certainly that’s what it is based on I think!)

I don’t recognise the fabric per se, but maybe that element will help with your searching :)

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-festival-of-britain
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That is so interesting! It's such a specific reference that certainly relates in terms of the storyline, that maybe it *is* a custom fabric they made. Hard to imagine that there was a Festival of Britain fabric made, though I will now begin searching for that! Thank you.
 
Hattysattic said:
You’re welcome! Hope it’s of help. I agree with Maggie that the fabric does have a bit more of a 70s feel - so perhaps it was custom printed for Tommy, as you say.
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Is it possible to say what material the fabric (whether custom or not) is made of?

 
I would hazard a guess at a poly cotton blend. It has a kind of light starch and sheen I would associate with that, but it's a complete guess.
 
GemGem said:
I would hazard a guess at a poly cotton blend. It has a kind of light starch and sheen I would associate with that, but it's a complete guess.
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Would it have been feasible at the time (film was shot in spring 1974) to have custom fabrics made? I'm not sure how that was done at the time.
 
sunny dunes said:
Would it have been feasible at the time (film was shot in spring 1974) to have custom fabrics made? I'm not sure how that was done at the time.
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Oh I’m sure, printing has been around for a very long time. With a film budget it would not have been difficult, especially since it seems the outfits were the main ones for the film.
 
GemGem said:
Oh I’m sure, printing has been around for a very long time. With a film budget it would not have been difficult, especially since it seems the outfits were the main ones for the film.
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There's some other custom things in the film, like wallpaper designs, so yeah, it seems they went the extra step in terms of printing fabrics and designs.

Thank you all for your help! I am guessing it's not going to turn out to be an actual fabric of the time, so I'll probably stop searching. But the choice/symbolism of the Festival of Britain design is very cool. That seems to be the effect they wanted. Post-war patriotism everywhere, on posters and shirts, the war casting a shadow even 5–6 years later.
 
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