Style In My DNA: 70 years of British Caribbean fashion

About Lorna Patricia Holder

LORNA HOLDER: Born in Jamaica but raised in Nottingham (UK) Lorna has more than 35 years' experience at executive level in the fashion and retail industries cultural events visual and performing arts. She graduated in 1975 from Trent University Nottingham with BA Honours in Fashion & Textiles. She went on to work in the Middle East New York and London in fashion and retail. She worked as a designer for the Birmingham-based design company House of Lerose and was head of fashion during the 1970s and1980s for Davies & Fields one of Britain's largest dress manufacturing companies. Lorna was the executive producer for the first Black Film & Television Awards held in 2002 at Grosvenor House Park Lane. She has delivered six Heritage Lottery Fund productions (2004-2015) based on research and oral histories from Caribbean people and other communities in Britain and has also collaborated with the V&A British Museum Rich Mix BFI Theatre Royal Nottingham and London Metropolitan Archives. Lorna wrote produced and directed the Living Under One Roof stage plays (2003-2007). She also wrote and produced The Ones We Left Behind (2006) and Moving Out (2007) theatre productions and produced and directed the Building Bridges (2008) documentary. She curated the Living Under One Roof (2009) exhibition - Bamako Encounters African Photography Biennia. She produced and directed the Hanging Out documentary (2012) and curated the Hanging Out exhibition at the V&A. She produced and curated the Jamaica Hidden Histories project (2012-2015). Lorna's business archives have been acquired by the London Metropolitan Archives and her British Caribbean photographic collection at Mary Evans Picture Agency. Lorna is a member of the Board of Governors for Nottingham Trent University New Art Exchange in Nottingham and is the managing director for Full Spectrum and Tuareg Productions. Lorna has been married for 41 years and has three grown-up sons.