The Fashion Museum in Bath was without a doubt one of my favourite discoveries on the trip. Although it is much smaller and quieter than the V&A down the road, it is a literal treasure trove of historical fashion. I thoroughly loved my visit, and I would say that if you are in the UK (or find yourself in the UK), you must get yourself to the Fashion Museum. And although there are some amazing exhibitions to see, like the Royal Women exhibition that just closed, the Museum has some permanent elements, as well. The Dress of the Year scheme is a fantastic historical record of fashion, and you can them in person at the Fashion Museum!
The Fashion Museum in Bath may not be the largest museum in the world, but it is certainly one of the most fascinating. The moment that I had Bath on the itinerary, I knew that the Fashion Museum had to be one of my first stops. It was founded by possibly one of the most interesting people to ever live, Doris Langley Moore. She essentially founded the discipline of fashion history, created a ballet for the Royal Ballet (which was Margot Fonteyn’s first principal role), and was an all-around Renaissance woman. The Fashion Museum’s original collection consisted of Langley Moore’s own collection, which took two full vans to bring to the Museum. It has now grown exponentially to include over 100,000 items!
I was incredibly lucky to be able to sit down with the Fashion Museum’s Manager and Curator, Rosemary Harden, when I visited. I’m incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to chat with her, as she knows the Museum’s collection better than anyone, she is so well-versed in fashion history, and she really helped me put the Dress of the Year Scheme into a broader fashion context.
Dress of the Year Scheme- The Chooser
The Dress of the Year Scheme began in 1963, meaning that we are just four short years away from the sixtieth anniversary! Dress of the Year is a rather unique scheme, and it is incredibly well-respected in the fashion community. Rosemary very graciously explained the whole concept to me, and it is quite a fascinating award. “Each year we [the Fashion Museum] approach a fashion journalist,… it’s generally a fashion editor or fashion journalist. We’ve also asked fashion retailers, we’ve also asked fashion designers as well, so we choose the chooser. And then the chooser goes and looks at fashions for that year, and then the chooser then makes his or her choice.”
Because the Fashion Museum is choosing someone to select the Dress of the Year, the scheme is also a record of choosers, as well as garments. Interestingly, in 2013, the Fashion Museum chose Susie Lau, blogger of Style Bubble, to represent the changing way that take our fashion news and information in! (Us bloggers are relevant, I swear!) And the selectors do have full control over what pieces are chosen. The late Isabella Blow was the chooser in 1997, and actually chose seven different garments for that year.
Dress of the Year Scheme- The Dresses
You will notice that not all of the pieces selected are actually dresses. There are also suits, trousers, fascinators, shoes, and several other things. I loved seeing the “other” pieces as well, as clothing doesn’t exist as a single item on its own but rather as part of an ensemble. Each chooser chooses their pieces for different reasons, so there is quite a range and variety in what is chosen. There were several of the Dress of the Year garments from the last few decades on display, and they are fascinating.
2014 Gareth Pugh plastic ensemble, chosen by Katie Grand of LOVE Magazine
This ensemble really catches your eye as you walk up to it. It is voluminous to say the least, and once you realise it is made of plastic, you realise it is a lot of plastic. There are actually four different pieces layered to create this look. I also very much appreciate the info provided with each selection. For this particular piece, Pugh said he “wanted to make something beautiful out of nothing”. I think that this piece is also even more poignant now, given the current debates and movements around plastics.
2004 John Galliano newspaper gloves, chosen by Sarajane Hoare of Vanity Fair
John Galliano is certainly a controversial figure in fashion (though less so in 2004.) I chatted about him in Part III of my Dior: Designer of Dreams post- he is a complicated designer. However, his design work for the house of Dior is still talked about today. According to the accompanying information, “[t]hese leather gloves by… Galliano… are a similar newspaper print design as the dress Carrie Bradshaw wore in Sex and the City.” I think that a lot of us forget that designers create more than just dresses and coats, but often create the accessories that go with those main pieces. Accessories like these gloves have just as much thought and care put into them, and can have an incredible impact on fashion.
2011 Sarah Burton evening dress, chosen by Hamish Bowles of Vogue (USA)
I actually was very curious about the 2011 selection. Sarah Burton designed one of the most iconic dresses of the twenty first century, the gorgeous and classic wedding gown of the Duchess of Cambridge. I knew that obviously Catherine’s wedding dress wouldn’t be selected, but I was hoping that Burton’s work for Alexander McQueen would be feature, and I wasn’t disappointed. This gown is beautiful in person, and “Bowles commented particularly on Burton’s ability to marry McQueen’s iconoclastic approach “…with her own sense of exuberant and empowering feminine romance”. While most of us can’t afford to buy McQueen ourselves, I think that we can all recognise the impact of Burton’s influence on fashion after the 2011 royal wedding, and this selection highlighted that.
2015 Piers Atkinson Hyper Cherries Headpiece, chosen by Craig Green
I have no small love of millinery, so I was thrilled to see a headpiece included in the displays. I had seen the Hyper-Cherries piece several times; it was originally launched in 2008 and is still sold today. Millinery is one of the places that one can truly be creative in their fashion without too many questions. I think that Atkinson completely understands that and uses it to his advantage. Several celebrities, including Rihanna, have been photographed wearing one of Atkinson’s Hyper-Cherries headpieces, and you can still find the line to purchase yourself.
2018 Nicolas Ghesquiére brocade coat and Kim Jones cashmere twill jacket and pants, chosen by Alexander Fury
Also lucky for me on this trip? The 2018 selections had just been put on display! Nicolas Ghesquiére is the current creative director of Louis Vuitton, and his brocade coat is just stunning in person. I can’t say that I would pair the coat (“derived from 18th century court clothing”) with a blouse, jersey shorts, and sneakers, but alas, it is why he is the creative director. It also contrasted so well with the light pink double breasted suit that Kim Jones designed for Dior men. The somewhat different colour for the suit was actually inspired by the bricks of Christian Dior’s childhood home on the coast of Normandy. (I do love that Dior designers do include so many nods to the house’s eponymous founder.) The suit is also worn with sneakers, highlighting the footwear trend that doesn’t seem to be going anywhere!
♠
Obviously all 50+ years of the Dress of the Year scheme aren’t on display in the Museum, space is limited! However, you can actually view all of the Dress of the Year selections online. As Rosemary noted, the selector is an important piece of the scheme, and you can see who the selector is for each year, along with the piece. (Note: it is quite easy to fall down the rabbit hole of looking up the selectors, as they are all as fascinating as the pieces they chose.)
What is your favourite Dress of the Year?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bloglovin’
