It is a good time to be in London if you are in any way interested in Georgian fashion. I chatted about the Royal Collection Trust exhibition, “Style and Society: Dressing the Georgians”, a new exhibition at The Queen’s Gallery exploring the evolution of Georgian fashion. (It includes the earliest surviving royal wedding gown in Britain!) Historic Royal Palaces also has a Georgian fashion exhibition currently staged at Kensington Palace. And luckily for me, one of my best friends was there in May and sent me photos! For the last Style File Friday of Georgian History Month, we are exploring “From Crown to Couture”!
Note: All photos in this post are credited to Kristin Contino.
“From Crown to Couture” Exhibition at Kensington Palace
Featuring over 200 items from ball gowns to court suits and handbags to jewellery, this brand-new fashion exhibition for 2023 draws fascinating parallels between the world of today’s red carpet and the Georgian Royal Court in the 18th century.
200 FASCINATING OBJECTS
FROM BEYONCÉ TO KATY PERRY AND LIZZO
See up close Beyoncé’s look for the 2017 GRAMMY Awards, designed by Peter Dundas, and the custom Moschino chandelier-inspired outfit designed for Katy Perry and worn at the 2019 Met Gala.
Other key iconic looks from recent years include Billy Porter’s “Sun God” outfit, styled by Sam Ratelle and designed by The Blonds for the 2019 Met Gala, and Kendall Jenner’s shimmering Hepburn-inspired Givenchy dress worn to the 2021 event.
Contrasted with these modern-day looks, don’t miss the stunning yellow mantua on loan from National Museums Scotland, the widest surviving court gown in Britain at nearly three metres, plus the exquisite Rockingham Mantua, one of several objects from Historic Royal Palaces’ Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection.
This exhibition uses some incredibly gorgeous ensembles to explore the evolution of fashion, and the parallels that we can see between Georgian fashion and red-carpet looks today. And yes, you will probably recognise many of these garments.
“From Crown to Couture” Highlights
This exhibition beautifully highlights how much of an impact Georgian fashion has had through to the present. People seem to be able to recognise the roots of trends from the last 50-60 years (and Regency silhouettes), but beyond that, general knowledge seems to have forgotten Georgian fashion. “From Crown to Couture” illustrates the far reach of Georgian fashion.
1706 Court Mantua (National Museums Scotland)
This piece just barely pre-dates the Georgian period and it is absolutely stunning. The National Museums Scotland lent this piece to HRP for their exhibition, and I’m so glad that they did. Not only is this a fantastic surviving piece that shows just how much physical space a mantua could take up, but it also stands in for an important time in the owner’s life.
According to the exhibition catalogue,
“This court mantua from 1706 is the widest surviving court gown in Britain, worn by Helen Robertson shortly after her marriage to Robert Robertson of Ladykirk. The first court appearance after a marriage was a big moment for a genteel lady. Prior to this, your court wardrobe would normally have been purchased by your mother… After marriage, you had more control over your fashion choices”. (Crown to Couture, 89.)
Lil Nas X’s Andrea Grossi Gown (Worn to the 2021 Black Entertainment Television Awards)
At first glance, it would be easy to assume that this is a Georgian gown made with a toile print fabric. However, rapper Lil Nas X actually wore this gown to the 2021 Black Entertainment Television Awards. I think that this piece is a fantastic illustration of how clothing and gender intersect. However, the exhibition points out that the garment actually serves to challenge in other ways. The images in the toile print look to challenge different political and religious ideologies that have been destructive across many communities and nations. (It is baffling that many people believe that there is no meaning in fashion- this is a perfect example.)
Interested in more book previews, period dramas, royal news, and more? You can subscribe to my biweekly substack newsletter here: https://anhistorianabouttown.substack.com/ .
Audrey Hepburn’s Edith Head Gown (Worn to the 1954 Oscars)
Hepburn worked closely with designer Edith Head throughout her career, especially for her earlier films. Hepburn wore this three-quarter length white gown in Roman Holiday, the movie that she went on to win the Academy Award for Best Actress for. However, Givenchy then altered the gown for the actress to wear it to the award ceremony, merging the world of performance and fashion for Hepburn.
Billie Eilish’s Oscar de la Renta Gown (Worn to the 2021 Met Gala)
It will come as to no surprise to anyone interested in fashion that this exhibition features many pieces from the Met Gala (from different years). Eilish was the youngest co-host in Met Gala history, and I think that this gown is appropriately gorgeous to mark the occasion.
What really strikes me about this gown is the sheer amount of material needed and the amount of space it takes up. The Georgians would wear their wealth, quite literally, in the form of court mantuas that required metres and metres of sumptuous fabrics, and there is no shortage of materials in this OdlR gown. Women in the Georgian court were also able to establish their physical presence and demand attention by taking up space, and we still see that on red carpets to this day.
Blake Lively’s Atelier Versace Gown (Worn to the 2022 Met Gala)
When Lively appeared at the 2022 Met Gala in her bronze and pink gown that her attendants then “patina-ed” when they let down the bustle and the gown was a stunning turquoise- it represented the Statue of Liberty and the bronze ageing over time. Not only did her show-stopping train help in her transformation, it also left a large footprint on the red carpet.
This gown was included under “Making an Entrance” in the exhibition and that it certainly did. One needed to make one’s presence known at court. The monarch was not the only person that a hopeful courtier needed to impress; one needed to network and build connections in order to be able to eventually speak to the monarch. Fashion was a way to stand out and create a memorable entrance.
Are you planning on visiting “From Crown to Couture” at Kensington Palace?
Cheers,
The Historian
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest
