Behind the Scenes at the Fashion Museum
Step inside the Fashion Museum's wardrobe: 19th
century fashion revealed
A new display, Behind the Scenes at
the Fashion Museum, THE HISTORIC COLLECTION, will open at
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Fashion Museum on Saturday
29 January 2011.
The exhibit will show the museum collection as
it has never been seen before. Rather than a traditional display,
visitors will have the rare chance to enter the museum store to see
hundreds of artefacts on racks and rails, in boxes and cupboards,
and on shelves and display stands.
From Kashmir and Paisley woollen shawls to
crochet trimmed cotton drawers and camisoles, from colourful silk
satin shoes of the 1880s and 1890s to cobweb lace and silk fringed
parasols with carved wooden handles, Behind the Scenes at
the Fashion Museum will present the riches of the
Fashion Museum’s historic collection to museum visitors.
Manager of Bath & North East Somerset
Council’s Fashion Museum, Rosemary Harden said:
“In this display we are giving visitors a
glimpse through the keyhole, and inviting them behind the scenes
into the museum store. The collection here at the Council’s Fashion
Museum is so numerous and so full of treasures, this is a great new
way to share the collection and to convey that sense of wonder to
our visitors. We’re describing it as a sort of Narnia experience,
stepping into the biggest wardrobe ever, with at least 100 years
worth of clothes, and nearly everything in the new gallery
installation over 100 years old” ,
Some dresses and ensembles will also be
displayed on stands, including the stone coloured silk sarcenet
pelisse worn by Arabella Milbanke the day after she married Lord
Byron in January 1815. There will also be beautiful fashions by
Worth of Paris from the early 20th century, including
the yellow embroidered silk evening gown worn by Lady Curzon.
Bath & North East Somerset Council’s
Cabinet Member for Leisure and Tourism, Councillor Terry Gazzard
said:
“Bath & North East Somerset Council wants
to celebrate the world class arts and heritage on our doorstep.
This innovative new display at the Council’s Fashion Museum is an
interesting and informative way to get a real insight into fashions
of the past".
The exhibition continues throughout
2011. Adult entry is £7.25 and the Museum is free to local
residents with a Discovery Card. The Fashion Museum is open
daily 10.30-5pm, exit 6pm. For more information about the
exhibition, please visit the website http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/