By Rebecca,
February 3rd, 2012 at 5:00 am
(Exhibitions, Museum Life)
Opening nights for Assistant Curators are not all glitz and glamour. Although they are filled with excitement these feeling are often overridden by the madness of final exhibition preparations. Cleaning the floor, dusting showcases and sorting out last minute invite lists are some of the things I have done on opening exhibition nights. This usually only leaves a few minutes to get ready!
In 2011 I worked the opening night of Sydney Design as an Assistant Curator for the Love Lace exhibition. With 134 artists I had to remember what they all looked like, what artworks belonged to which artists, where they were from and whether or not they were attending the opening. In addition, each artist received a copy of the catalogue. It was my job to hand out these catalogues and with 700 guests this was no easy task! Far from a casual night of mingling and socialising, it was spent running around trying to identify the artists among other guests. There was no time for champagne or canapés, instead I think I may have run a marathon during the night!
- Rebecca Evans takes a short break from Sydney Design & Love Lace Exhibition Opening, 30th August 2011 Photo: South Bourn, Powerhouse Museum
What to wear to an opening night is also something I think a bit about before hand. Working in the area of fashion and textiles, I feel the pressure to dress appropriately. There are a couple of things I take into account when deciding this: I try and wear something to fit within the theme of the evening (for the opening of Sydney Design and Love Lace I wore a 1960s pink lace dress). It is also important for me not to look like I am wearing the museum’s fashion collection. It’s surprising the number of times I get asked if I do in fact wear the fashion collection, and yet its part of collection management procedure that acquired fashion and accessories should never be worn to preserve them.
Although opening nights can be exhausting and full on, they are one of my favourite parts of working on an exhibition. So far in my working life, nothing comes close to the joy that is seeing all the hard work, countless hours, stress and passion finally come together to make an amazing show! And yes, amongst the chaos there is still time for a lot of glitz and glamour.
Some personal tips for working an opening night:
- Don’t drink! You will need all your concentration
- Eat a big meal before hand. You won’t have time to eat during the evening
- Wear low heals, for all that running around
- Make friends with gallery officers and security. They can let you know of any changed running details
First Images: Sydney Design & Love Lace Exhibition Opening, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia, 30th August 2011 Photo: South Bourn, Powerhouse Museum
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By Rebecca,
January 20th, 2012 at 5:00 am
(Museum Life, Uncategorized)
Physically numbering textiles and fashion is a big part of my job at the moment. I’ve been cataloguing and researching the historic lace collection and basic museum practices include making sure all collection objects have their correct accession or registration numbers attached to them in some way.
With the lace collection this includes sewing small labels with registration numbers onto centuries old lengths of lace. Although I’ve sewn countless labels onto textiles and fashion objects over the years, I still find it slightly daunting. The first time I had to physically number an object I was very nervous and wondered why and how the Registration department had let me loose in the collection! Especially with such old, valuable and significant objects, it is scary to attach labels with a needle and thread to a fashion or textile object.
In this post I’d like to give you a quick run-down and some tips on how I’ve been taught to physically number fashion and textiles. I’d also like to hear from you with any tips and tricks you have used to number fashion and textile objects, or if you have a completely different method all together. My colleagues and I all have slightly different methods for numbering objects and its intriguing to hear of other techniques.
These are the instructions in my official numbering guide for fabric based objects:
- Write the registration or accession number onto the fabric label using a black pen (I use a base and top coat to prevent it marking the object).
Object label for A1471 Cushion cover, 'daisy square' design, St Helena lace, bobbin lace and embroidery, cotton, place and date unknown Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
- Turn in any raw edges, then sew label onto fabric using small running stitches on one short edge. Hold the needle at right angles to the object surface and pass needle back and forth through the spaces of the weave of the object to avoid breaking threads. When possible choose thread to match the background colour of the fabric and choose a soft cotton thread. It is also important to sew the label onto an area of the garment which is not visible on the outside.
Detail of fabric label for 98/165/1-1 Coat, part of ensemble, womens, silk / metal, designed by Collette Dinnigan, Sydney, 1998. Collection: Powerhouse Museum
Do you have any tricks or techniques that you use or have been taught to physically number fashion and textiles in a museum or gallery collection?
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By Monica Murgia,
January 13th, 2012 at 1:25 pm
(Exhibitions, History of Dress, Museum Life, Teaching)
The new year always leads me to reflect on my past so that I can set new goals. This year will mark the start of my third year teaching fashion as an adjunct instructor. Looking back at this experience, I have identified one main key to success. This key will work in any course, across disciplines, and keep your students engaged and learning. So what is this mysterious tenet?
What I’ve learned from my experiences is that keeping students engaged and learning requires you to keep a balance between teaching and entertaining. Consider this your mathematical equation for success:
50% information + 50% entertainment = 100% learning success
Now, that means as an instructor I am ALWAYS searching for new materials, new techniques and ways to reach my students. The classroom is a stage, I am the performer, and my students are the critics.
Entertaining students with factual information isn’t as difficult as it sounds. It usually involves presenting the information, illustrating how that information is relevant to today’s world, and then giving them an activity to internalize the information. I’ve found this formula is particularly helpful when teaching a history of costume course.
Chasuble, late 1500s. Italian voided silk velvet and silk brocade with linen lining. Allentown Art Museum.
Let’s face it: some historical eras can seem inaccessible and therefore boring to students. For example, when teaching the Middle Ages, I’ve found a lot of resistance in discussing monastic dress. Students tend to immediately dismiss this topic as stodgy and completely irrelevant to anything they’d want to design. So it’s up to me to change their minds. Challenge accepted.
Local museums are often a fantastic and overlooked resource. Quite honestly, I sometimes forget to investigate smaller museums, assuming that they are too small to have a costume or textile collection. Yet I was pleasantly surprised by my recent visit to the Allentown Art Museum. The museum had a small exhibit entitled Heaven on Earth: Textiles of the Renaissance and Baroque. I was immediately inspired to create an assignment for my history of costume class.
I’ve found that after lecturing on topics, it’s best to have an activity that reinforces the information you’ve covered. To really drive the point home, I always ask for a comparison to the present day. (You’ll see this in the activity I created below.) Without understanding the evolution of history and it’s impact on today’s world, you’re entering treacherous waters. I never want my students to be wondering “when am I ever going to use this?”. If you can illustrate why topics are relevant and important to your students’ careers, they’ll be much more likely to remember the content of your course.
For this assignment, I would take the class to the museum and conduct a brief review of the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance. Then I would have the class break into small groups and complete the following questions:
- In your own words, describe who would have worn a chasuble and what were its historic origins.
- Even though these textiles were made in Italy, how do they showcase cross-cultural influences? Please discuss where the design motifs originated and how they arrived in Italy.
Detail of Chasuble, late 1500s. Italian voided silk velvet and silk brocade with linen lining. Allentown Art Museum.
- Clothing communicates identity. Aside from the chasuble being a uniform, what did the quality of the textiles used say about the wearer? Please compare the chasuble to the garments of common people at the time and explain how this indicated status.
- One of the major sources of information about dress of the time comes from illuminated manuscripts and religious art. How accurate are these sources compared to the textiles in this exhibition? Please compare and contrast a textile and painting of your choice. (A great source for illuminated manuscripts is the Morgan’s online exhibition, Illuminated Fashion)
Detail of Vestment decoration, c. 1625. Italian silk satin with embroidery. Allentown Art Museum.
- Italy became the velvet capital of the world during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In your own words, please describe the technology needed to make velvet and why it was so “cutting edge” at the time. Compare and contrast this to the leading technology of our era.
Orphrey Fragment of The Annunciation, early 1400s. Italian silk with gilt foil-wrapped thread, brocade weave. Allentown Art Museum.
Before leaving, I would have a discussion where each group share their answers. For homework, I would have them do either one of two assignments:
- Sketch a contemporary garment inspired by the textiles and garments from our museum visit.
- Research a contemporary designer who designed a collection based on textiles and garments from this time period. Write a brief response to their collection, and describe your favorite look. Compare this look to what we saw on our museum trip. (Remember to print image)
Either homework assignment will illustrate how these historical trends can be used today. When I assign a sketching assignment, I only assess it for neatness and connection to the material covered. I wouldn’t grade it in the same manner as a portfolio course. Here is an example of a similar assignment I gave when teaching the 18th Century. My student, Sandra, designed a modern-day take on the chemise a la reine by using a traditional silhouette with contemporary fabrics.
Modern-day take on the chemise a la reine. Illustration by Sandra Church.
Happy teaching!
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By Jenna,
January 11th, 2012 at 5:00 am
(Conferences and Calls for Papers, Events, Exhibitions, Museum Life)
This spring, the Museum of London will host an innovative and timely look at developments in the display of dress, and the evolution of mannequins as surrogate bodies for exhibiting historic dress. It is to be titled: New Approaches to the Display of Dress. I’ll be attending the conference and reporting for Worn Through, but I hope to see those of you in the London area there this March!
Below is the conference announcement by Senior Curator of Dress and Decorative Arts, Beatrice Behlen.
In May 2010 The Museum of London launched the Galleries of Modern London. Two curators, four conservators (some part-time) and many volunteers helped putting the 70 outfits on mannequins which took the best part of two years. Other permanent displays of dress opened or relaunched at a similar time, such as the Gallery of Costume in Manchester and the Fashion & Textile Gallery at The Bowes Museum and temporary dress exhibitions are probably more frequent and popular as ever before.
We thought this would be a good time to bring together speakers from a variety of backgrounds to share their experiences with different types of dress supports. We will look at materials to use and avoid for short-term exhibitions and permanent displays; the different ways of making ‘cut-out’ mannequins including the Body-Thèque – a collection of historic body shapes; how to create character and movement; the reasons behind the use of full-figure mannequins and the advantages and potential issues when working with artists and designers. To put it all into context the day will begin with an exploration of the history of ‘the body in the museum’.
The conference is aimed at curators, conservators, designers and project managers involved in the display of dress. You should come away with a better understanding of how best to tailor your display methods to the ‘look’ you are trying to achieve, your time and your budget. You will also have the opportunity to see more than 60 outfits and 250 accessories displayed in the new Galleries of Modern London.
Download the conference programme here.
Download speaker profiles and abstracts here.
Scheduled for Saturday, March, 17; £40
To book, please call +44 20 7001 9844
View of the Pleasure Garden installation at the Museum of London with metal hairpieces by Yasemen Hussein. Photo courtesy of Museum of London.
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By Rebecca,
January 6th, 2012 at 5:00 am
(Exhibitions, International Fashion, Museum Life)
In 2010 I worked on Frock Stars, an exhibition celebrating 15 years of Australian Fashion Week. A collaboration with IMG Fashion and industry leaders, the exhibition explored the history, highlights, scandals and sensations of Australian Fashion Week between 1995 and 2010. The exhibition design and content of Frock Stars gave the visitor an interactive experience of the different aspects that make up Australian Fashion Week. There was a catwalk with 15 garments, a front row with ‘front rower’ interviews, a backstage area, a VIP bar for visitors to relax in and a replica of fashion designer, Nicola Finetti’s studio. A behind-the-scenes look at Fashion Week, Frock Stars allowed visitors to explore and experience aspects of this industry only, closed-to-the public event.
15 years of fashion, Frock stars- Inside Australian Fashion Week Photo: Geoff Friend, Powerhouse Museum
Front row, Frock stars- Inside Australian Fashion Week Photo: Geoff Friend, Powerhouse Museum
Backstage, Frock stars- Inside Australian Fashion Week Photo: Geoff Friend, Powerhouse Museum
Due to interactive nature of this exhibition, it was designed for a specific space. When it was decided that Frock Stars would travel to regional and interstate venues in Australia there were many questions as to how the exhibition would translate into a touring exhibition. How would the exhibition fit into multiple venues? How can fewer staff install the exhibition? Will the content make sense if reduced? How can audiovisuals be included with limited technical assistance during installation? What about showcases and equipment which, are being used for other exhibitions? Can loan and licensing agreements be extended?
Not everything can travel and it was up to the exhibition team including curators, registrars and designers to work through and find solutions for these issues. There were also some key parts to the exhibition that had to be retained to keep the integrity of the original curatorial concept. This included the front row and back stage spaces which, gave visitors an experience of the entire production of fashion week. These parts of the exhibition however were bulky and unable to travel. The exhibition team had previously talked about different ways that this part of the exhibition could still travel but it wasn’t until the designers came on board that solutions were devised. There can sometimes be natural conflict between the curatorial and design departments when putting together an exhibition. Designers can be focused on the ‘look’ of an exhibition while curators focus on the content. Luckily with this exhibition, on both the original and the traveling versions, the designers understood the importance of the different aspects of the curatorial content and sort solutions to make them work within the exhibition space.
The result for the touring Frock Stars is a slightly smaller exhibition with key components included, but reduced in size. For example the catwalk and front row have become one aspect of the exhibition rather than separate in the original plans. Some of the audiovisual footage will be made into large printed images and the exhibition structure is compact and light. I am constantly amazed by the solutions designers come up to tricky problems and I think that those who see the traveling version of the exhibition will get a similar experience to the original.
Frock Stars will go on the road shortly and it will be a fantastic exhibition to have in regional and interstate Australia, showing how far the Australian fashion industry has come over the last 15 years. Travelling this exhibition has also been a test for the exhibition team, working out how to travel a complex exhibition to fit multiple spaces and equipment. It will be fascinating to see the exhibition as it travels to different venues.
First image: Entrance, Frock stars- Inside Australian Fashion Week Photo: Geoff Friend, Powerhouse Museum
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By Rebecca,
December 23rd, 2011 at 5:00 am
(History of Dress, Museum Life)
A while ago a volunteer asked how to identify the difference between little girls and little boys dresses from the 19th Century. She had an example from her museum collection and wanted me to confirm whether a girl or a boy wore it. It is confronting when you get asked something like this, there are so many nuances in fashion that it is not always easy to identify dress as something in particular. Brenna wrote a post about the use of colour in gender stereotyping for children in the United States during the post World War 2 period. In this post, I want to look at some of the complexities of identifying boys and girls dresses from the 19th Century.
Before the early 20th Century small boys and girls both wore dresses up until boys were breeched. Breeching is the occasion when young boys, between the ages of six and eight were first dressed in breeches or trousers. Popular in Western Europe, it was common up until the early 20th Century. It was the outward demonstration of his passage from the care and guidance of a woman, his mother or nurse, to preparation for his future as a man in the world. When in their mothers care they wore dresses, and once in the care of men, whether father or tutor, they wore breeches. For girls, on the other hand, there was no break with childhood clothes; they moved slowly into adult dress. Breeching clearly expressed the separation between the educations of young girls and boys.
It can be difficult to determine the difference between dresses worn by little girls and boys during the 19th Century. There are, however some subtle differences that can help differentiate. These include the use of slightly simpler embellishment and fabrics in boys dress. This little boys dress from the early 20th Century illustrates this. It is made of cotton velvet; it has a round neckline and square sailor collar at front and back with 6 mother of pearl buttons down the front
Dress, boy's, cotton velvet / silk / mother-of-pearl, maker unknown, made in Australia, 1900-1901, Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Girl's dress, shot striped silk, frills & fringed. c. 1880 Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
This little girls dress, although of a slightly earlier period (c. 1880) demonstrates the use of embellishments in little girls dress. It is made of silk, has a full flounced skirt with lace edging around the neckline and cuffs. This dress is similar in style to fashionable women’s dress of the same period. Some of the differences between these two dresses include the use of lace and silk on the little girl’s dress as opposed to the plainer use of brown velvet and no frills on the boy’s. The boy’s dress also uses a sturdier fabric and is simpler in style.
Dress, boy's wool, late 19th century, early 20th century, Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
On the other hand, this little boys dress from the late 19th Century uses lace decoration at the neckline and around the sleeves. These embellishments are similar to the little girls dress above.
Dress, boy's, burgundy silk velvet, embroidered trim, 1875-1899, Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Similarly, this boy’s dress, dating from between 1875 and 1899 is made of burgundy silk velvet with a gold coloured embroidered trim. It is also an example of an embellished boy’s dress.
Boy's dress, wool flannel, trimmed with cerise velvet tabs and small pearl buttons, England, c. 1860 Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Lastly, this boy’s dress dates from the 1860s, made of wool flannel; it is trimmed with velvet tabs and small pearl buttons. It has a full skirt similar to the 1880s girls dress.
Looking at these examples of boy’s dresses it is easy to see how it can be difficult to determine the differences between boys and girls dresses from the 19th and early 20th Century. Although, as a general rule, boys wore plainer dresses to girls before breeching, there are some examples of embellished boys dresses. This is a reminder that it can be difficult to identify dress. Without provenance you cannot be sure if something is one thing or the other, especially with something as tricky as boys and girls dress in the 19th Century.
For more information on 19th Century children’s clothing, I recommend the following publications:
-Buck, Anne, ‘Clothes and the Child: A handbook of Children’s Dress in England 1500-1900′, Ruth Bean Publishing, Carlton, 1996
-Rose, Clare, ‘Children’s Clothes’, B.T Batsford Limited, London, 1989
-Ewing, Elizabeth, ‘History of Children’s Costume’, B.T Batsford Ltd, London, 1977
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By Rebecca,
December 9th, 2011 at 5:00 am
(History of Dress, International Fashion, Museum Life)
This post is mostly based on a tour I gave of the fashion collection at the Powerhouse Museum for a group of NIDA costume students. It is also inspired by my work on the Australian Dress Register. I am a strong believer that dress and fashion research should include close examination of actual examples of dress. Through my work at the Museum and for the ADR I have learnt much about Australian dress through examining actual examples of dress from the past.
For many people outside of Australia, the image of Australian dress is based largely on ‘bush’ stereotypes such as Crocodile Dundee or the swag man described in the famous song ‘Waltzing Matilda’ . Contrary to these stereotypes, Europeans in Colonial Australia attempted to dress in very fashionable styles.
When the British settled Sydney as a penal colony in 1788 they initially only intended to create a prison for criminals on the other side of the world. The result was a country that in many ways resembled Britain. With dress there was a general adherence to British and European styles.
In this post, I will have a look at some of my favourite examples of early Colonial Australian dress before 1850.
Anna King's Evening dress, c. 1805. Collection: National Trust of New South Wales, Photo: Brenton McGeachie
Anna Josepha King wore this dress from 1805, most probably for evening wear and formal events in Sydney. She was the wife of Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales, was born in 1765 in England and had three children.
Detail, Anna King's Evening dress, c. 1805. Collection: National Trust of New South Wales, Photo: Brenton McGeachie
The Colony had only been settled 17 years when this dress was worn. It is a fashionable style of dress for the period, which saw a move away from the elaborate styles of the 18th Century to a more classical mode. This dress with its luxurious muslin and fashionable cut would have stood in contrast to the worn and frayed working class clothing of the convict population. In the newly created society of Sydney with a large number of convicts, it was important for those in positions of power to demonstrate their authority. The distance between England and Sydney at that period would have made it desirable and even necessary for those in positions of power in the colony to keep up with English fashions.
Ball gown thought to have been worn by Ann Marsden Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Photo: Penelope Clay
Cotton was not only a fashionable choice of fabric but was a suitable choice of fabric for the warm climate of Australia during the early years of the Colony. Ann Marsden, the member of another significant colonial family, wore this dress during the early 1820s and may have been worn to a ball at Government house in Parramatta in 1822. Ann was the first daughter of clergyman Samuel Marsden a prominent figure in the Colony of New South Wales. There are two things that I find interesting about this dress. Firstly, unlike Anna King’s dress, this gown was little less fashionable for the period in which it was worn. By the 1820s Romantic styles began to influence European fashions. Although this dress is quite plain and discreet in style by contemporary standards it would have been suitable for the daughter of a clergyman. Perhaps this dress demonstrates conservatism and piousness instead of wealth and power like Anna King’s dress.
The other interesting thing about this dress is the embroidery at the hem and cuff. The embroidery features a ‘boteh’ motif with a scalloped edge and small-stylized circular flower motifs. This design is Indian in style and may have been added by the maker of the gown. Another dress from the same period provenanced to Ireland also uses a very similar style of embroidery in the hem and cuff of the dress.
Dress, cotton / muslin / lace, maker unknown, Ireland 1815-1825 Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney.
Detail, dress, cotton / muslin / lace, maker unknown, Ireland 1815-1825 Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Photo: Rebecca Evans
Detail of hem, ball gown thought to have been worn by Ann Marsden Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Photo: Penelope Clay
Ackermann's Repository of Arts, 1818. Photo: Rebecca Evans
A9762 Jacket, men's, convict period, felted wool, maker unknown [War Department
Convicts were often issued with jackets such as this rare surviving example. It is made of rough woollen fabric and was designed to be uncomfortable while the miss-matched colours were made to humiliate and punish the wearer.This jacket stands in contrast to the muslin dresses worn by Anna King and Ann Marsden. Instead of demonstrating wealth, this jacket was designed to maintain social order through humiliating the wearer and making them obvious.
Check taffeta skirt worn by Sarah Thomas, c. 1839 Collection: Tongarra Museum, Photo: Rebecca Evans
Looking at a slightly later example, this check silk taffeta skirt is believed to have been made and worn by Sarah Thomas, the wife of a farmer en route to Australia from England in the late 1830s. I talked a bit about this skirt a few years back when I wrote a guest blog post for Worn Through. I believe this dress had a bodice, something like the bodice of this similar dress from the mid-1840s.
Womens day dress, 1840 - 1850 Collection: Powerhouse Museum, Sydney. Photo: Sue Stafford
What strikes me as interesting about this check skirt is that it is a very stylish example of English dress for the late 1830s. This dress was chosen by Sarah Thomas, a member of the working class, to start a new life in Australia. It represents the desire and need to re-create British society on the other side of the world.
Dress during the early Colonial period in Australia was used as a means to re-create British society and to differentiate between those in positions of power and wealth and those who were convicts and of the working class. Rather than creating a disinvite individual style, much early dress in the 19th Century was very European in style.
One of the best parts about working in a Museum is sharing the collection with the public and one of my favourite ways to do this through collection tours. They give curators the opportunity to chat with a wide range of people about collections and visitors often provide more information on objects. Tours are always great fun, the only worry is losing visitors in the stores!
References:
http://www.australiandressregister.org/
http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/
Alexandra Joel, ‘Parade: The story of fashion in Australia’, Harper Collins, Sydney, 1998
Alexandra Joel, ‘Best dressed: 200 years of fashion in Australia’, Harper Collins, Sydney, 1984
Margaret Maynard, ‘Fashioned from penury: Dress as cultural practice in Colonial Australia’, Cambridge University Press, 1994
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By Brenna,
December 6th, 2011 at 5:00 am
(International Fashion, Museum Life)
Image via New York Times
The New York Times recently ran a piece about ‘Creating Museum Pieces Straight Off the Catwalk‘. The piece is mostly a biographical piece on shoe designer Sultan Darmaki, but it does discuss the acquisition of Darmaki’s ‘Lydia’ shoe from his first ever collection by the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, as well as his recent involvement with an exhibition at Abu Dhabi Art.
Fashion Bytes has previous discussed the cross over from design world to museum collection, and particularly Rodarte’s creating custom-made pieces exclusively for museums. There is also the McQueen Peacock dress, a version of which was made specially for FIDM and is currently on display at their FABULOUS! exhibit.
What are your opinions regarding the acquisition of current pieces of fashion for museums? Is it equivalent to the acquisitions of the most recent paintings and sculptures? Is the sudden increase in reporting simply that the public is finally noticing, or has there actually been an increase in museums acquiring current pieces? Is the NYT piece continuing stereotypes about the Middle East with its emphasis on Darmaki’s ‘uniqueness’ in Abu Dhabi, and his grandmother’s bedouin clothing? Or is it simply reporting on his background? Do you have any current or custom-made pieces in your own museum’s collection?
Please share your thoughts.
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By Jenna,
November 16th, 2011 at 5:00 am
(Exhibitions, Museum Life)
Last week I posted on the opening of Shoes for Show: Shoes as Sculptural Objects by javari.co.uk. The exhibition was held to promote the luxury shoe e-commerce site, and to heighten awareness of the beauty of footwear as design artefact. This is how i would describe the dazzling and coherent exhibition, but I am pleased to also bring you the voice of the exhibition’s curator Shonagh Marshall.
I caught up with Shonagh, whom I studied with on the MA Fashion Curation course at London College of Fashion, and asked her about the process and the concepts at the sole of the exhibition, and gained fascinating insights into the experience of curating fashion as a means of brand promotion. Shonagh also holds a BA in Fashion History and Theory from Central St Martins, and since graduating has worked at The Museum of the City of New York and served as archivist at Alexander McQueen for the Costume Institute exhibit and also archived Isabella Blow’s wardrobe.
Link to
WT: How did you become involved in the project?
SM: I was commissioned by online shoe brand javari.co.uk to curate an exhibition centering on the theme of high-heeled shoes through history.
WT: What did javari.co.uk present you with as a brief?
SM: The brief asked me to curate an exhibition that looked at famous high-heels through history. I feel fortunate to be given this scope as it was wide enough to explore different possibilities through research into the theme.
WT: How did you go about procuring the selections and what was the driving force behind your choices?
SM: I wanted to exhibit shoes that may have featured in people’s consciousness before; perhaps in a catwalk image, on the stage or worn by a character in a film. By bringing these objects together it enabled me to weave a new narrative, looking into how shoes are also beautiful objects when their function does not take precedence.
To procure the selection I contacted contemporary designers directly and they were very supportive of the project. I also was lucky enough to borrow pieces from Northampton Museum & Art Gallery’s Shoe Collection; this meant the objects within the exhibition dated back to 1851. The historic pieces gave the exhibition an ability to tell a story through time when each object was placed within specific sections with contemporary pieces.
WT: Describe some of the stories behind your favourite pieces in the show?
SM: The velvet Yantourny slippers, c. 1920, on loan from the Northampton Museum & Art Gallery Shoe Collection are extremely historically signigficant. Yantourny dubbed himself the ‘Most Expensive in the World’, picking his clients based on their gait and style. All his shoes are couture, moulded for each foot and made from antique fabrics. I was honoured to exhibit a pair within Shoes for Show. It is noticeable how small these shoes are when featured next to contemporary pieces. Hopefully this prompts the visitor to question how shoe design has changed over the last century.
The Alice in Wonderland shoes by Nicholas Kirkwod
The Alice in Wonderland shoes designed by Nicholas Kirkwood were made for Parisian department store Printemps in line with the launch of Tim Burton’s film of the same name. A series of designers were commissioned to design pieces based on the character Alice. The shoes designed by Kirkwood are embellished with pieces he found at antique markets.
WT: The shoes were displayed on bespoke sculptural display units. Tell us a bit about more the exhibition design and commissions.
Artist Jamie Bowler's 'tesseract' sculptures were commissioned as part of the exhibition design
SM: I commissioned sculptor Jamie Bowler to come up with the structures that would hold the shoes. The aim was to take the shoes off the foot and place them within a piece of art to urge the visitor to reconsider their aesthetic importance. Bowler’s sculptures were ‘tesseracts’, hypercubes, built from steel piping. For the artist the concept behind them was a comment on the importance of proportion and perspective a shoemaker employs when designing a pair of shoes.
WT: Why do you think exhibitions are an increasingly popular way for brands to promote their products and services?
SM: I think that when brands sponsor exhibitions, in turn making the visitors aware of their name; it gains them a position where they are looked upon as knowledgeable within their field. Javari.co.uk wanted to place themselves apart from other brands that sell shoes online. They have an understanding of the craftsmanship of shoemaking and the Director is a former shoe designer. I think sponsorship, when aligned with the right exhibition theme can really work to strengthen a brand’s image, giving the customer a better understanding of what they are all about.
WT: What was your favourite piece in the show and why?
SM: My favourite pair of shoes in the exhibition are the Nina Ricci shoes leant by Daphne Guinness. I am really interested in the stories an object can tell about the wearer. When researching this exhibition it was surprising how many couture shoemakers still exist, whereas couture clothing is much discussed as a dying industry. When the Nina Ricci boot, made especially for Guinness, were placed next to the Yantourny slippers it underlined that couture footwear still exists today. Natacha Marro, a designer who was also featured, makes only couture pieces for customers.
Nina Ricci for Daphne Guinness by Rebecca Higgins
SM: What’s next for you in the realm of fashion archiving and curating?
I am currently in Paris archiving Christian Louboutin’s Collection as they prepare for their exhibition next year which is being curated by the Design Museum in London. In 2012 I am going to move away from the subject of shoes! I am currently in talks to propose curating an exhibition centering on the theme of hair.
I am so grateful to Shonagh for answering my questions for the readers of Worn Through. With exciting projects in the pipeline, and the sharp eye of a fashion curator, she is sure to be a voice we are hearing from again very soon.
Thank you to javari.co.uk and all the designers and organisations that loaned material to the exhibition and also to Mission PR, for promotional material and images.
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By Jenna,
August 3rd, 2011 at 5:00 am
(Exhibitions, History of Dress, Museum Life)
Nineteenth century undergarments hang on the line in Kirkgate Street, York Castle Museum's recreation Victorian street
In early July, I had the opportunity to visit York to attend a conference at York University on the topic of Theatre and Ghosts. There were a number of papers presented that focused on costume related topics, notably on theatre costumes in the collection of the V&A, the work of wardrobe staff backstage at the Royal Shakespeare Company, and the legend of a Victorian ghost at the Bristol Old Vic, who infamously appears to living members of the theatre staff in hoopskirts.
The York Castle Museum
With my mind reeling from twenty papers and four keynotes in two days, I relished in a relaxing visit to the York Castle Museum, ‘one of Britain’s leading museums of every-day life,’ which boasts a sizable costume and textile collection. I am ever eager to visit social history museums in which costume history is a feature, and to immerse myself in the differing modes of presentation and curation in these galleries. At York Castle, the exhibits are fairly traditional – period rooms and recreations, collections of material artefacts by theme or chronologically, displayed in a manner friendly to visitors of all ages and interest levels.
Galleries dedicated to the history of the British home give vacuum cleaners a place of prominence. There were also exhibits on laundry, bathing and the changing technology of the kitchen.
Despite the somewhat predictable format of the museum, and the one-way system that sets visitors on a restricted path through the galleries – I was utterly charmed by the museum and delighted by the wealth of material and information on view. Firstly, I was charmed by the friendly and warm staff of the visitor’s desk, who kindly offered me free entry with my Museum of London staff ID. When I told them I worked in the costume department, they proudly told me of the costume highlights on exhibit and shared good memories of having been on a tour of the textile storage facilities.
Overview of gallery exhibit on life stages and rituals and in particular on the dress and artefacts associated with them.
Because I so enjoyed my visit, and photographed the museum somewhat compulsively, I bring you a photo essay of the costume highlights. York Castle Museum may not be at the forefront of contemporary exhibition design or display technology, but it has heart and it has what all great social history museums should – a fabulous collection that nearly speaks for itself – but shines because of the work of knowledgeable and dedicated curators. If you are heading for York, do go and visit this museum! But in the meantime step back in time through my captioned snapshots and have a peek at what the York Castle Museum has been wise enough to collect since it opened in 1938!
Display of Victorian mourning dress for the whole family.
Accoutrments of Victorian mourning.
A timeline of British bridal fashion
The window of a second hand clothing shop in Kirkgate Street, the museum's immersive Victorian shopping street exhibit.
More window shopping on Kirkgate Street.
Early 19th Century fashions in a period room setting.
Twentieth century evening gowns in a surreal display setting.
One of the liveliest displays, featuring British seaside garb of the early to middle twentieth century.
No caption necessary!
Fittingly, the 1960s exhibit had the most modern feel and a quirky exhibition design that provided a more contemporary museum experience of nostalgic reflection.
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