150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk

Exhibition poster

I went to an embroidery class last Friday, hosted by the Royal School of Needlework at the Fashion & Textile Museum. The workshop had been arranged to mark the 150th anniversary of the RSN and the accompanying exhibition, 150 Years of the Royal School of Needlework: Crown to Catwalk. While I was at the workshop, I had a chance to take a look around the exhibition.

In 1872, the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) was founded on two key principles – the first, the preservation of hand embroidery as an art form and the second, the support of women’s independence through work. Many aspects of this artform were in danger of being lost, and the School aimed to preserve them.

Particularly in its early days, the School undertook commissions for members of the Royal Family, often working continuously for hours to complete work on time. Some of this work is on display here, testament to the ability and tenacity of the School’s members.

The exhibition also contains examples of work students have produced over time, ranging from classic and religious symbolism to more modern images inspired by books or popular culture. The works encompass many techniques including blackwork, gold embroidery and Jacobean crewel work.

Many of the items on display were made by current members of the RSN, including Kate Pankhurst’s beautiful Tudor box. I could have spent hours looking at the incredibly detailed stitching on display. One of my favourite items was the Red Dress Project – a dress that has been around the world and embroidered by women in 29 different countries.

The exhibition is a must-see for anyone remotely interested in the art of embroidery. It is simply breathtaking.

Liberty in Fashion – Fashion & Textile Museum

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I love Liberty prints, so I was obviously going to find the time to visit the Fashion & Textile Museum‘s most recent exhibition, Liberty in Fashion. The exhibition marks 140 years since the company was founded by Arthur Lasenby Liberty, originally a warehouse supplying goods from the Far East which grew to become one of the most distinctive British companies in history, and which is still going strong today.

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Arthur Liberty aimed to create new fashion, and his work became so distinctive that softly draping silk was known in France as soie Liberty and the entire Art Nouveau movement was known in Italy as Stile Liberty. He ensured distinction and high quality by establishing Liberty “Art Colours” and producing fabric in Great Britain. His original “Arthur Liberty’s Oriental Bazaar” sold imported silks from the Far East, as well as other items such as fans, china and enamel wares. It later branched out to source fabrics from other locations, and began to establish original collections, including garments such as dressing gowns and wraps, inspired by the kimono. Liberty’s original business was established on Regent Street: it wasn’t until 1925 that the now-famous Tudor Building was opened.

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Liberty influenced, and was influenced by, the Aesthetic movement which aimed to free women from restrictive corsets and promote a more romantic, flowing way of dressing. The name “Liberty” seems particularly apt for this kind of style! The company also focused on reviving traditional skills including smocking (common on the clothes of agricultural labourers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries), which allowed for free-flowing, comfortable and stylish garments.

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As the twentieth century developed, Liberty began to produce delicate floral prints which even today are seen as the hallmark of the brand. Prints on a darker background during the 1920s gave way to softer, more romantic, lighter prints in the 1930s. The Art Nouveau revival in the 1950s allowed Liberty to innovate, establishing the Liberty Design Studio, as well as reviving their original designs.

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In the 1960s, Liberty fabrics provided the basis for many original designs by fresh new designers including Mary Quant and Marion Donaldson. By the 1970s, a new nostalgia had surfaced, and Liberty prints, which suited the period perfectly, were common in clothes of the period, including the archetypal maxi dresses.

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From the 1990s onwards, Liberty began to collaborate with other brands, with fascinating results. Today, Vivienne Westwood, Anna Sui and Dr Marten are just some of the brands whose collaborations have proved popular.

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As a lover of the Liberty aesthetic I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition, and as a history fan I enjoyed learning about the company’s past. This is an excellent exhibition for anyone interested in how Liberty evolved.

POP! Design Culture Fashion – Fashion & Textile Museum

I have a National Art Pass, which means I get discounted or free entry to lots of museums and galleries in and around London. I also make the most of the handy website, http://www.artfund.org/, which lists all the places at which you can get a discount, in order to plan where to go next. The website was the place I learned about the Fashion & Textile Museum in Bermondsey, south London. It is a small museum and only open when there is an exhibition on, which is probably why I’d never come across it before.

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Museum entrance on Bermondsey Street

I visited the museum on Saturday and only paid £3.50 to get in with my Art Pass. One of the first things I saw when I entered the museum was this utterly stunning Dior dress. It looks like something that would have been worn by Grace Kelly.

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The current exhibition is entitled POP! Design Culture Fashion, and explores the impact of music and art on fashion in the fifties, sixties and seventies. It begins with the rock n’ roll culture of the 1950s, the world of Elvis Presley and circle skirts. This was the era that appealed to me the most; I was lusting after several of the items on display.

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I loved this circle skirt

The exhibition then moved on to look at ‘Swinging London’ and the mods and rockers culture, with displays of Mary Quant fashion and the short dresses of the time. These clothes didn’t appeal to me so much (I don’t have the figure for a minidress) but I liked this monochrome maxi:

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Subsequently, the exhibition examined the hippy styles of the late sixties and seventies, with bright colours and dramatic accessories. There was something of a Fifties revival around this time, and this dress in particular caught my eye.

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Finally, POP explored the punk era, with clothing designed by Vivienne Westwood and worn by the punk rockers of the day. These clothes weren’t particularly to my taste, but I could imagine the dramatic impact they would have had at the time.

Alongside the outfits, accessories and other items from the relevant periods were shown to further illustrate the styles of the times. A Fifties jukebox, a clothes hanger with Jimi Hendrix’s face on it and an original still from the Beatles’ movie Yellow Submarine were just some of the articles on display, along with several household items. My favourites were a set of three cushions which together made an Edwardian-inspired, Mucha-esque picture of a woman.

POP! Design Culture Fashion is on until the 27th of October. The museum is open Tuesday to Saturday, 11am – 6pm. The next exhibition, which opens on 16 November and runs until 23 February 2013, is about London fashion by designers to the Queen and is called Hartnell to Amies: Couture by Royal Appointment.

FACTS

Address: 83 Bermondsey Street, London, SE1 3XF

Website: ftmlondon.org

Opening Hours: Open Tuesdays to Saturdays, 11am–6pm; Sundays, 11am-5pm; late night Thursdays until 8pm.

Prices: Approx. £8-£9 adults, £7-£8 concessions; under 12s free