Autumn 2015 Highlight - Dress and Textile Specialists

Autumn Newsletter 2015
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Contents
Page
Exhibitions and Events
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Books
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Front cover image: detail of a Schiaparelli dress from 1937. ©Platt Hall
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Exhibitions and events
DATS conference: (Re) Introducing the New
Thursday 12th and Friday 13th November 2015 at the Whitworth Art
Gallery, Manchester.
Book now at www.dressandtextilespecialists.org.uk
(Re) Introducing the New
In response to comments from last year’s conference, the broad theme for 2015 is
working with contemporary fashion and textiles: collecting, displaying, storing and using
collections in new ways for the 21st century. The venue is the Whitworth Art Gallery, with
its award- winning sustainable gallery and storage areas, completed in 2014.
Fashion exhibitions are a proven draw for large and new audiences and increasingly
are found outside traditional decorative arts museums. We hope that this year’s DATS
conference will provide a chance to share the challenges and opportunities presented
by the demand for fashion, particularly in the current climate of budget cuts and
financial targets.
DAY 1 Thursday 12 November 2015
9.30-10.00 Registration and coffee
10.00 Welcome and Introduction
10.00-11.30 Session 1 (Re) Connecting: New ways of engaging with collections
and objects
· Dr Jane Webb (Manchester School of Art)
Reintroducing the Old, Creating the New: slow scholarship, imagination
and the archive
· Shelley Tobin (Head Costume Curator Killerton House, National Trust Exeter)
Re-inventing the past: partnership projects with a local FE college
· Judeth Saunders (Collections Assistant, Alfred Gillett Trust),
Manufacturing authenticity: the search for the Clarks Polyveldt
11.10-11.30 Questions
11.30-12.00 Tea and coffee
12.00-13.00 Session 2 (Re) Introducing: Digital platforms, social media and showcasing
collections
· E-J Scott (Assistant Costume Curator Killerton House, National Trust Exeter)
Re-defining the future: social media, virtual museums and object VLOGS
· Jane Seddon, Rebecca Shawcross and Julie King (University of Northampton,
Northampton Museums and Art Gallery and University of Northampton)
Virtually Shoes: Digitising and making accessible 14,500 shoes
12.40-13.00 Questions
13.00-14.00 Lunch (provided)
14.00-17.30 Session 3 (Re) Presenting: Exhibitions, displays and new galleries
· Ali Bodley (Senior Curator History and Archaeology, York Museums Trust)
Shaping the Body: New exhibition for York Museums Trust
· Georgina Ripley (Curator Modern and Contemporary Fashion & Textiles,
National Museums Scotland)
Fashion and Style: A new gallery at the National Museum of Scotland
14.40-15.00 Questions
15.00-15:45 In Conversation: curator and designer using collections as inspiration
· Brigitte Stepputtis, (Head of Couture at Vivienne Westwood) in conversation with
Beatrice Behlen (Senior Curator of Fashion & Decorative Arts, the Museum of
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London) on using historic collections as inspiration for contemporary fashion
design.
15.45-16.15 Tea and coffee
16:15-17:15 (Re)Introducing the New, challenges and successes in collecting,
displaying and interpreting dress for the 21st century
· Panel discussion between Miles Lambert (Gallery of Costume Manchester),
Joanna Hashagen (Bowes Museum), Grace Evans (Chertsey Museum), Dennis
Nothdruft (Fashion & Textiles Museum), chaired by Edwina Ehrman (V&A Museum)
17.15-17.30 Round up of the day and discussion.
Optional – Visit to Thursday Late event at the Manchester Art Gallery,
followed by a meal in a local restaurant.
DAY 2 Friday 13 November 2015
9.15-10.00 AGM/Registration and coffee
10.00 Welcome and Introduction
10.00-11.30 Session 1
· Ann French and the team at the Whitworth Art Gallery
New displays and storage at the Whitworth Art Gallery – Tour, talk and
introduction to the new facilities and displays
11.30-12.00 Tea and coffee
12.00-13.00 Session 2
· Phillip Sykas (Research Associate, Manchester School of Art)
The Beauty of Experiment, Shadow tissues
· Helen Wolfe (Collections Manager, Textiles, British Museum)
London – Paris – Palestine: Ethnographic textiles inspiring the world of fashion
12.40-13.00 Questions
13.00-14.00 Lunch (provided)
14.00-17.00 Session 3
Delegates will be able to choose between trips and tours including:
· Museum of Science and Industry
Manchester Textiles Industry: Then & Now – Working loom demonstration,
followed by introductory curator talk about MOSI’s current displays on medical
and technical textiles
· Manchester’s Cotton Industry: Walking tour
Guided walking tour around central Manchester, exploring the key sites of the
cotton
industry and its history
· Gallery of Costume, Platt Hall
Miles Lambert will kindly provide an introduction to the Gallery and its collection.
Delegates will also be able to view the displays and exhibitions currently on
display.
#reintroducingthenew
@WhitworthArt
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London
Survival and Revival: Clothing Design that Survives and Fashion Trends that Are
Revived. International Conference of Dress Historians.
Saturday, 31st October 2015
The Art Workers’ Guild, 6 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AT
The Keynote Address ‘Tailored Menswear: Survival and Revival of Designs and Trends’
Will Be Delivered By Timothy Long, Curator of Fashion and Decorative Arts
The Museum of London
To purchase tickets, please visit www.dresshistorians.co.uk/calendar.
For more information about the conference, please contact Jennifer Daley, ADH Events
Secretary at [email protected].
Royal School of Needlework, Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey KT8 9AU
www.royal-needlework.org.uk
Whitework until December 2015.
Delicate antique collars, sleeves and cuffs; christening robes and baby caps; fine
underwear and Sunday-best table linen and handkerchiefs exemplify some of the most
intricate pieces of Whitework embroideries to form part of the Royal School of
Needlework (RSN) exhibition from its Collection from now to December 2015.
Co-curated by Dr Clare Rose (RSN Degree Contextual Studies Lecturer) and Dr Susan
Kay-Williams (RSN Chief Executive) this exhibition demonstrates how Whitework was
once part of everyday life with women and young girls spending hours creating these
intricate works of art for very practical uses.
Dr Clare Rose comments, “In the past, Whitework embroidery was big business, with
professionals producing monogrammed underwear sets for Princesses – and for lesser
mortals. Ayrshirework christening gowns and women’s accessories were worked on by
teams of embroiderers, with apprentices doing the edging and the most highly skilled
doing the delicate needlelace fillings. The value of Whitework can also be seen in the
care that was taken to maintain it, from starch glazing and ironing after every wash, to
meticulous darns to repair torn muslin ruffles. Whitework is one of the most
international techniques, and the exhibition will feature pieces from Bengal and the
Philippines.”
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Although the exhibition features one embroidery technique there is a great variety in the
pieces on show, for example, an exceptionally fine handkerchief from the Paris
Exhibition of 1867 representing the Egyptian Pavilion; a set of miniature garments made
in 1844 comprising skirt, boned bodice, bloomers, petticoat, nightdress, shirt and socks;
a toddler gown featuring the Prince of Wales Feathers and Ayrshirework, a tea cosy in
pulled thread work and bedding featuring a cottage scene.
Dr Susan Kay-Williams says, “The quality of work is exquisite and features several of the
Whitework techniques including Carrickmacross, Hollie Point, Cutwork, Pulled threads,
Hardanger and Ayrshirework.”
Contemporary applications of Whitework will be represented by examples from RSN
Diploma students and graduates showing how these delicate techniques can be used to
create an amazing variety of patterns, textures and designs all without any colour.
The exhibition takes place at the RSN’s base at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey on set
days each month and pre-booking in advance is essential. Tours are 1.5 hours and cost
£16 per person and groups are welcome too. You’ll listen to a short illustrated lecture on
the RSN and Whitework and then be shown around the exhibition by volunteer tour
guides.
Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Street, London SW7 http://www.vam.ac.uk/
Shoes: Pleasure and Pain 13 June 2015-31 January 2016
This exhibition looks at the extremes of footwear from around the globe, presenting
around 200 pairs of shoes ranging from a sandal decorated in pure gold leaf originating
from ancient Egypt to the most elaborate designs by contemporary makers. It considers
the cultural significance and transformative capacity of shoes and examines the latest
developments in footwear technology creating the possibility of ever higher heels and
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dramatic shapes. Examples from famous shoe wearers and collectors are shown
alongside a dazzling range of historic shoes, many of which have not been displayed
before.
The School of Historical Dress, 47 Charles Square, London, N1 6HT
www.theschoolofhistoricaldress.org.uk
Winter courses.
Pockets for Men & Women c. 1600-1900. 2 day Course - 28th & 29th November
Good Plain Sewing – The craft of the home dressmaker. 2 day course – 5th & 6th
December
The Nature of Fabrics c.1400 – 1800. 2 day course – 12th & 13th December
1860s & 1870s Dress Decorations. 2 day course – 19th & 20th December
To purchase a course please go to the online shop https://shop.theschoolofhistoricaldress.org.uk/
The South East
Chertsey Museum, 33 Windsor Street, Chertsey, Surrey KT16 8AT, Tel. 01932 565764.
Fashion Accessories Gallery featuring shoes, fans, hats, bags, parasols, lace, shoe
buckles and jewellery with items from the 17th century to the present day. Look out for a
beautiful linen cap featuring exquisite black work embroidery and dating from 1700 –
1720.
Fashion Exhibition
50 YEARS OF FASHION. 19th September 2015 until 3rd September 2016.
To commemorate 50 years of Chertsey Museum, stunning examples of women’s wear
from the 1960s to the 2000s will be on show. The exhibition includes a broad range of
pieces selected from the Olive Matthews Collection of dress, many by seminal designers
such as Hardy Amies, André Courrèges, Bill Gibb and Alexander McQueen. A large
proportion of the pieces are new to the collection and have never been exhibited before.
Admission to the above displays is FREE
Look out for information on events associated with this exhibition
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For further information on any of the above contact Grace Evans, Keeper of Costume on 01932
565764 or email [email protected]
The South West
The Fashion Museum, Bath Assembly Rooms, Bennett St, Bath, BA1 2QH
Tel: +44 (0) 1225 477789 www.museumofcostume.co.uk
Great Names of Fashion
On display until 3 January 2016
Dior and Balenciaga, Vionnet and Yves Saint Laurent – the history of modern fashion is
signposted by a handful of major designers whose work shaped the look of a generation. This
new display at the Fashion Museum showcases beautiful evening dresses by a number of these
great names of fashion history from the early 20th century to the present day.
From the jewelled key motifs on Elsa Schiaparelli’s (1890 – 1973) powder blue evening dress, to
the strapless gown with a skirt made of metres of knife-pleated white silk organdie by Christian
Dior (1905 - 1957), this display is a must-see for all those who are fascinated by the history of
20th century fashion. Prepare to be wowed!
Great Names of Fashion 1: Elsa Schiaparelli – Hyacinth blue silk evening dress decorated with
pearl latticework and embroidered crossed key motifs in pearls, diamantes and gold beads,
about 1936.
©Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council
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Great Names of Fashion 2: Great Names of Fashion display case at the Fashion Museum, Bath
©Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council
Great Names of Fashion 3: Yellow silk chiffon evening dress embroidered with yellow floss silk,
sequins, bugle beads and yellow brilliants, about 1926. Worn by Molly Tondaiman, The Rani of
Pudukkottai
© Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council
Behind the Scenes
This special display has been refreshed for 2015 and showcases one hundred years of fashion,
from snowy white embroidered muslins from the time of Jane Austen through to the new
column-like shape of dresses from the time of the First World War.
The display includes an original dress worn by Queen Victoria, along with other Victorian
fashions, such as a grey silk taffeta dress, worn over a cage crinoline.
'Behind the Scenes' blurs the traditional museum boundaries between collections on display and
those held in store. The gallery is, in fact, the museum store, and the original fashions are
presented against a backdrop of collection storage boxes.
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Behind the Scenes: Dress and train of fine cream silk decorated with diamantes and gold and
silver metal thread embroidery, 1903. Worn by Lady Curzon, Vicereine of India
©Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council
Twilight Talk – Fashion in… The Illustrated London News from the 1840s to the 1890s – 8
Oct, 6.00 pm
Fashion archives curator Karina Virahsawmy - assisted by Jean Scott - will talk about the ‘fashion
finds’ and discoveries about the intricacies of Victorian dress that they have come across during
a project to catalogue a collection of fashion pages torn from The Illustrated London News (the
first illustrated newspaper). The magazine pages are now part of the collection at the Fashion
Museum.
Royal School of Needlework Embroidery Workshop, Crossed Keys of St Peter – 17 Oct, 10.00
am – 4.00 pm
In this one day workshop you’ll be introduced to a selection of techniques that will allow you to
create an embroidered sample inspired by the Schiaparelli dress on display in the Fashion
Museum galleries. The crossed keys of St Peter motif used on the dress has been interpreted by
RSN tutor, Deborah Wilding, to create an original design exclusively for this workshop.
Twilight Talk – Fashion in… 1969, Ossie Clark and the Beautiful People – 22 Oct, 6.00 pm
Fashion writer Judith Watt, regular contributor to Vogue and author of Ossie Clark, 1965-1974
(V&A Publications 2003), will speak about fashion designer Ossie Clark, darling of the late 1960s
London scene, whose 1969 chiffon printed trouser ensemble is part of the Dress of the Year
collection at the Fashion Museum and currently on display in the museum galleries.
In Conversation… with Hormazd Narielwalla – 30 Oct, 6.15 pm
Join us for an after-hours talk with artist Hormazd Narielwalla, who works in collage and uses
bespoke Saville Row tailoring patterns to create artworks exploring the body in abstract form.
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Killerton House, Broadclyst, Exeter, Devon, EX5 3LE
Telephone: 01392 881345
http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/killerton
Open daily from Saturday 15 February
From a 150-year-old crinoline to a 60s mini, garments have shaped not only their owners but
also the face of fashion. Our latest costume exhibition ‘The F-Word: the changing language of
fashion’ opens on Saturday 14 February and explores how fashion has responded to the latest
innovations and made its mark across the centuries.
Zips, buttons, elastic – items now taken for granted were revolutionary in their day. They
changed what could be worn and also helped people dress faster and with ease. The language of
fashion is often bound to the technology and materials used to produce it and we explore how
elements of clothing were named in the past. Whalebone and then steel hoops, elastic, rubber
and plastics transformed the way clothing works, and created fortunes for inventors and
manufacturers.
‘The F-word’ draws on the wealth of the costume collection at Killerton, and uses special items
to tell the story of how and why fashion has evolved over the years. The collection has grown
over time, to include men’s, women’s and children’s clothing dating from 1690 to the 1970s.
Rare treats in the exhibition include…
• Man’s coat, made of silk woven with metallic thread in about 1690
• Jacquard woven silk afternoon dress, about 1860, highlighting advances in silk weaving (the
Jacquard looms, with punched cards controlling the pattern weaving, inspired Charles Babbage
who came up with the idea for the first computer)
• Woollen wedding dress, knitted on a domestic knitting machine in1971, when the trend for
home knitting machines was at its peak
• Mini dress made of Crimplene (one of the new synthetic fabrics) in a bright psychedelic print.
Minis were at their shortest by about 1969
• Elegant mini and jacket by Emanuel Ungaro, about 1966
• Gold nylon and lurex ballgown by Maryon, late 1940s. Nylon and lurex were new man-made
fibres developed in the 1930s.
The exhibition also highlights methods of pattern-cutting and decorative techniques, and fabrics
and clothing that were revolutionary in their time. The first water-powered mills, rotary printers
and synthetic dyes and materials eased what was a cottage industry into the world of mass
production and fashion for all.
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This year, the exhibition showcases new work from an open competition for designers, with their
garments on display alongside historic pieces from Killerton’s renowned fashion collection.
Designers of all ages submitted new designs and work on the theme of innovation.
North of England
Textile Society Conference and AGM ‘Textiles and Architecture’
Friday 6th – Saturday 7th November 2015 Whitworth Art Gallery, University of
Manchester, Oxford Rd, Manchester
The closing date for bookings is Friday 30th October 2015
Lotherton Hall, Lotherton Lane, Aberford, Leeds LS25 3EB
www.leeds.gov.uk/ageofglamour
Age of Glamour – fashions from the Fifties
On until 31st December 2015
Leeds City Museum, Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 8BH
www.leeds.gov.uk/tailored
Tailored – A Very British Fashion
On until 3rd January 2016
Study day - British Tailoring and the Leeds Tailoring Industry
Leeds City Museum
Tuesday 20 October 2015
The day will explore aspects of the history of British tailoring and the Leeds tailoring
industry through a series of talks and a chance to get up close to items from our
collection. £30 including refreshments and lunch.
Booking essential – call 0113 2243726 or email [email protected]
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Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight Village, Wirral, CH62 5EQ.
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever Telephone 0151 478 4136
Putting on the Glitz: 1930s Eveningwear
16 October 2015 – 28 February 2016
A display of 20 costumes, plus shoes, hats and other accessories, from the collections of
National Museums Liverpool. The show reveals how the glitz and glamour of Hollywood
was reflected in the fashions of the period.
Also on display will be a set of striking fashion illustrations by Wirral-born illustrator
Winifred Aileen Brown (1907-1993), which she produced in the 1930s for Liverpool
department store George Henry Lee & Co., now part of the John Lewis group.
Free entry
Open daily 10am-5pm
Walker Art Gallery, William Brown Street, Liverpool, L3 8EL
www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/walker. Telephone 0151 478 4199
Transformation: One Man’s Cross-Dressing Wardrobe
24 October 2015 – February 2017
A display of 16 outfits on loan to National Museums Liverpool from the collection of local
costume enthusiast and cross-dresser Peter Farrer.
Peter was born in 1926 and has been cross-dressing since he was 14.
Peter’s interest in women’s period costume has led him to collect extensively and he now
has a huge number of garments, mainly taffeta evening dresses made between the 1930s
and the 1980s. He has had a wardrobe of taffeta dresses created for him to wear by the
Brighton-based dressmaker Sandi Steyning, owner of the Kentucky Woman Clothing
Company.
This ground-breaking display, the first of its kind in a British museum, will feature
garments from Peter’s historic and modern collection of cross-dressing clothes.
Free entry
Open daily 10am-5pm
Gallery of Costume, Platt Hall, Rusholme, Manchester M14 5LL
Manchester City Galleries www.manchestergalleries.org
Elsa Schiaparelli and Thirties Fashion.
8 October 15 – April 16 – preview 8 October
This show forms an exploration of the most important Surrealist fashion designer of all,
and the most significant female couturier of the 1930s. The Gallery has acquired several
important outfits designed by Elsa Schiaparelli over the last few years, and following
conservation, they form the centre-piece of this overview of cutting edge female fashion
during the 1930s. There will be 25 mannequins showing some of the most striking
fashion of the pre-war decade, pieces either by Schiaparelli or showing her influence.
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1936, Paris label
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1937
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1936, London label
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1937, Persian tunic, London label
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The Quilt Museum and Gallery, Peasholme Green, York. The Quilters' Guild of the
British Isles.
Tel: 01904 613242
Quilt Art: Dialogues until 31st October
To celebrate its 30th anniversary, Quilt Art is mounting a touring exhibition of new work
entitled ‘Dialogues’. The artists have been working closely with Dr. Susan Marks, quilt
historian, and her dialogues with them will form the basis of an accompanying book.
Back in Time: Patchwork and Quilting until 31st October
An exhibition exploring the changes in development and approach to patchwork and
quilting in Britain over the last three centuries. Includes works from The Quilters’ Guild
Collection not previously exhibited and some new acquisitions.
Scotland
Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AG
www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums
A Century of Style: Costume and Colour 1800–1899
25 September 2015–14 February 2016
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This beautiful exhibition of 19th-century clothing comes from Glasgow Museums’
collection of European costume. Showcasing some rarely seen examples of
womenswear, menswear and children’s clothing, it considers how such clothes were
made and where they were sold, as well as revealing the stories of some of the people
who wore them.
The displays features dresses and outfits made with delicate embroidered cottons and
elaborate woven silks, as well as beautiful wedding dresses and opulent evening gowns.
Leading Glaswegian department stores and dressmakers are represented in the
exhibition, alongside an exquisite beaded couture dress from Paris. There is also a wide
range of accessories on show, including delicate jewellery, bonnets, colourful shawls,
purses and even a metamorphic parasol.
Glasgow Museums’ 19th-century costume collection reflects an important period in the
history of Glasgow and the West of Scotland. During the 1800s the Strathclyde area was
a leading textile manufacturing region and Glasgow was a major retail centre. As there
are currently no long term displays of this part of the costume collection in any of our
museums, meaning this exhibition offers a fantastic opportunity to see some fabulous
and rarely shown gowns, accessories and jewellery.
Further information can be found online at
http://www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/kelvingrove/exhibitions/Pages/Nextexhibition.aspx.
We will also be releasing our e-labels as an app for tablets and publishing a new
souvenir guide showing some of the highlights of our European costume collection.
Books
Fashion in Focus, 1600 – 2009, Treasures from the Olive Matthews Collection by Grace Evans.
A beautifully illustrated 152 page book featuring in-depth information about the very
best pieces from the Olive Matthews Collection of dress at Chertsey Museum. Price £11.99. Call 01932 565764 for details of how to order. www.chertseymuseum.org
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