Putting on a display at the Fashion Museum
Putting on a display at the Fashion Museum
How do you decide what goes on
display?
By considering different factors: the display
theme, external opportunities, visitor expectation, the
juxtaposition of pieces, and the condition of the object. A ‘long
list’ is then whittled down through repeated rigorous and
systematic editing.
How do you use the museum collection
to engage with visitors?
The Fashion Museum continually strives to
present attractive, well-considered, and accessible displays in the
galleries, with a balance of historic and contemporary fashion, and
with something for all the visitors to the museum.
How do you monitor/care for
collection on display?
We take steps to minimise the risk of damage
or harm to objects in the Fashion Museum collection by high light
levels, dust and airborne pollution, infestation (by insects such
as carpet beetle and moth), and by inappropriate display
methods.
How do you mount
garments?
It’s the opposite of dressmaking: rather than
making a garment to fit a particular person /body shape and size,
we make the body fit the garment by first shaping and padding a
basic display figure http://www.proportionlondon.com/
and then making the right shape petticoat to support the skirts of
the garment. See A Practical Guide to Costume Mounting by Lara
Flecker, (Elsevier, 2007).