Secretariat

Mrs Doris Goerner, ATIDes

As, sadly, many members will already be aware, Mrs Doris Goerner, leading textile designer and former Lecturer in the Department of Textile Industries, died on 4 July 2013.

Born in Bavaria in 1928, Doris Goerner embarked on an apprenticeship in textile technology and handweaving with a German studio in 1946.  This she successfully completed in 1948, remaining with the studio for several years afterwards as a designer and weaver.  In 1951, she had the opportunity to expand her knowledge and expertise by spending time in Sweden, where she attended the Swedish Textile School in Visby and worked as a designer for several different studios and workshops.  In 1955, she and her husband Sigi, himself a gifted designer of woven fabrics, moved to the UK.  For the next two decades, Doris Goerner was to be the chief designer of Team Valley Weaving Industries Limited and Margot Fabrics Limited, based in Gateshead-on-Tyne.  Responsible for the creation of many ranges of fashion materials, suitings, curtains, upholstery and fabrics, she became one of the best-known and most respected designers in the textile furnishings industry.  Her designs graced multiple locations, including British Rail carriages, the Stratford-upon-Avon Shakespeare Theatre and the Hilton Hotels in Tehran and Tunis, as well as passenger vessels including the QE2.  As a freelance consultant from 1976 onwards, she continued to be a prominent designer, her commissions including the creation of seat fabrics for Concorde.  Doris Goerner’s rich creative vein found further expression in a number of art fabrics and tapestries which were widely exhibited throughout Europe and also adorn the interiors of a number of public buildings and private homes.

Appointed to a Lecturership in Woven Textile Design at Leeds in 1979, Doris Goerner brought a wealth of expertise in design and cloth construction to her new responsibilities.  During her time in post she specialised in the field of structured textiles with an emphasis on tapestry techniques and woven fabrics.  She produced two important volumes designed to assist students and practitioners of textile design: Woven Structure and Design, Part 1 – Single Cloth Construction was published in 1986, and Part 2 – Compound Structures in 1989.  To all that she undertook she brought considerable energy and resolution and was unfailingly tenacious in looking to resolve any problems being experienced by students or colleagues.  The Department was also
the beneficiary of her skills as gardener, cook and baker; her pot plants provided a wealth of light, shade and colour whilst she was also a generous hostess at her end-of-term parties.  She was made an Associate of the Textile Institute (ATIDes) in 1980 and retired from the University in 1993.

Doris Goerner is survived by her daughter, Alma, her husband and son having predeceased her.

The funeral is being held on Monday, 22 July 2013 in Ober-Roden, Rödermark, Germany.  On that day, the flag will be flown at half-mast on the Parkinson Building in memory of Mrs Goerner.