[1][2] After a spell working with Berketex (then a wholesale house) as an assistant within its ready-to-wear department, he showed his first collection in 1963 in a borrowed space.
[2] After this small (for the time) collection of 24 pieces was shown, The Sydney Morning Herald described him as "the man of the moment" in British fashion, also noting that, like his first mentor Michael of Carlos Place, he was tuned into the Balenciaga style.
[5] Clive clothes soon attracted high-profile clients such as Lee Radziwill and a string of actresses – notably Cyd Charisse, Diane Cilento, Susannah York and Barbara Rush.
The collection, which included casual summer suits, dresses with topcoats and jumpsuits, some topped with Graham Smith hats, was greeted positively by The Guardian reviewer, who said it was less bold than his couture designs but comprised "quiet clothes in well-chosen materials" and concluded it was likely to be well received on both sides of the Atlantic.
[8] Indeed, in 1966 it was reported in The Times that he had postponed his London fashion shows and was busy designing costumes for a spy film about a journalist starring Cyd Charisse and Elsa Martinelli.
While he was not known for his menswear designs, the dramatic garments he created led The Times journalist Antony King-Deacon to comment that he wished he would.
A year later, he was working with the fashion house of Dorville and also producing clothes made of tweed from the Isle of Bute for a mail-order catalogue.