About Fashion Museum Bath

Fashion Museum Bath is the UK’s museum dedicated to the transformative power of fashion, with a pioneering collection to inspire, challenge and spark ideas. Originally opened in 1963, the Museum is temporarily closed whilst plans are underway to create a ground-breaking new cultural institution in the heart of Bath.

Managed by Bath & North East Somerset Council, the museum was founded by collector, writer, and dress historian Doris Langley Moore. Langley Moore donated her fashion collection to the city of Bath and the Museum opened in the Assembly Rooms as ‘The Museum of Costume’.

The Museum developed an international reputation and hosted countless exhibitions and displays exploring the history and potential of fashion, from the much-loved original mise-en-scene displays to the more recent A History of Fashion in 100 Objects.

Langley Moore’s 5,000 strong collection has grown through generous donations and collecting initiatives such as the unique Dress of the Year programme, established in the Museum’s opening year. Now numbering 100,000 items, the Collection is designated by Arts Council as of outstanding national importance.

Read about the early history of the Museum

Bath & North East Somerset Council

The project to create a new Fashion Museum Bath aligns with the Council’s vision to improve people’s lives and strategic priority to create a vibrant cultural life in Bath & North East Somerset.

The Fashion Museum will play a pivotal role in the economic, cultural, and social future of the city, preserving and creating increased access to one of the world’s great museum collections as well as delivering regeneration, economic, skills, placemaking, and wellbeing benefits across Bath and North East Somerset and the wider region.

It is also an anchor institution in the Milsom Quarter Masterplan, which will help ‘reimagine the high street’ in the city centre encouraging commercial tenants and residents to move there and making the area a great place to live, work and socialise.

Accreditations

View the Fashion Museum's current accreditations.

Designation

Accreditation

Accreditation recognises the steps that the Fashion Museum takes to meet the needs of today’s visitors, while at the same time safeguarding their collections for future generations.

Under the scheme the Fashion Museum is required to provide:

opportunities to use, enjoy and learn from the collections
an assurance that the collections, including donated items, are held in trust for society
information about the museum, its collections and its services
a commitment to consultation with users, to ensure that future developments and changes take account of their needs and interests
appropriate visitor facilities or details about facilities nearby.

The Museum Registration Scheme was established in 1988 and the Museum of Costume was registered in 1990. In 2004, the Scheme was renamed Accreditation to better reflect its purpose and the achievements of those museums which meet the standards it sets out.

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About Fashion Museum Bath

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