Bates was born in
Ponteland,
Northumberland, on 11 January 1935. From 1951 to 1952, he worked as a trainee journalist and office assistant in London. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the British Army. Since 1956, Bates apprenticed under
Gérard Pipart at Herbert Sidon. From 1959 he began designing under the name
Jean Varon. Bates' work as Jean Varon in the 1960s was particularly modernistic. He designed dresses with bare midriffs, sheer panels, and very short hemlines, and as early as 1962 was designing high-fashion plastic garments. One of Bates' most influential champions was
Marit Allen, the editor of
British Vogue's Young Ideas spread, who considered Bates the true inventor of the
miniskirt, rather than
Mary Quant or
André Courrèges.
Ernestine Carter also observed Bates' originality, noting that the Paris fashion collections for 1967 contained many looks which Bates had done first. In 1965 Bates designed memorable outfits for
Diana Rigg to wear for her role as
Emma Peel in
The Avengers, including Op-Art mini-coats and accessories in graphic black and white, and a silver ensemble comprising a bra bodice, low-slung trousers, and a jacket. He died from cancer on 5 June 2022, at the age of 87. ==References==