My first ever visit to the Fashion and Textiles Museum down Bermondsey Street, just behind London Bridge station, took place on a sunny Saturday 29th June on a whim. Having just finished queueing for nearly three hours for the Folio Society book sale (also a first timer, haven’t seen queues for books that long since Harry Potter midnight releases) I thought I would have a look around the area.
Bermondsey Street is worth strolling down anyway, especially for London Glassblowing, a small gallery and glassblowing workshop where you can actually watch the beautiful glass art being made first-hand. Eames Fine Art Gallery is also here, as well as various cafés, pubs, a greengrocer, a couple of smart charity shops, and, of course, the museum.
It is very small but features very well-tailored exhibitions covering topics which might not get the same treatment in the larger galleries and museums. From March to September 2024 you can explore a short history of influential fashion house Biba, founded by Barbara Hulanicki along with her husband Stephen Fitz-Simon. Biba exerted phenomenal influence over catalogue and high-street fashion, as well as home and lifestyle brands, becoming the first lifestyle label during its operations between 1964 and 1975. During that limited time Hulanicki produced amongst other things full outfits, shoes, bags, notebooks, colouring books, perfumes, cosmetics, lamps, hats, and coats, and became known just as much for her interior design style as she did for her clothing.
The exhibition itself is neat and tidily organised, in chronological order on the ground floor as it charts the various shops Hulanicki founded and designed, before moving on to home-wear and lifestyle on the first floor. There is a good amount of historical detail and flavour, but there is not much about the fabrics of the clothes themselves, which is surprising given it is a textiles museum. There was a brilliant selection of outfits and dresses on show though, as well as some men’s suits, and it was fascinating to see early examples of a lifestyle brand taking shape. Biba apparently sold food and drinks as well interior design items so you could match your clothes to your house to your dinner! There is a clear timeline throughout with factual and fun information about the 60’s and 70’s as well as Biba itself. Sadly, this trailblazing company only lasted 11 years, but has been relaunched under different owners several times since, and has not stopped influencing other fashion around it. I myself own some items from the current version of Biba, which is now a House of Fraser brand.
Biba is a fascinating brand which managed to squeeze unbelievable stories into its run-time. Hulanicki’s shops were ‘theatres to fashion’, evolving into a huge department store in Kensington High Street, with floors covering everything from pets to soft furnishings to statues to books to cocktails. This exhibition is a lovely taster and introduction to Biba, the London of the 60’s and 70’s, and to Hulanicki herself, who sounds like a woman of unbridled creative force.
You will be able to get around the Fashion and Textiles Museum in an hour, and there is no other exhibition space, so I would suggest combining your visit with a look in at London Glassblowing and perhaps one of the restaurants and cafés along the road. Tickets are around £12.65 for adults including donation. There is a shop and toilets, but it does not seem to have a café. The museum also offers its own workshops in fashion, fabric cutting, fashion illustration, digital design, and various other textiles-related courses.
Stepping into this highly anticipated exhibition of Christian Dior’s life and work, I am greeted by the Bar Suit. A straw hat, cream coloured tussore silk fitted jacket and black wool crêpe pleated skirt created a silhouette which would become a classic, ushering in what Carmel Snow described at the time as “a new look”. Dior’s New Look was revolutionary, and this wonderful exhibition showcased his ideas and personality in the most joyful way.
I visited the exhibition in May, so this is a bit of a late response! I knew of the fashion house but really did not know anything about its history or even much about its designs, and I have really enjoyed getting into fashion this year, so I decided to go along and have a little explore! The first room featured a large mock house front with interpretations of the famous Bar Suit by successive leaders of Dior. They soar above us in the windows of the house, beckoning us towards the fantasies within. Each room after that alternated between ethereal, sumptuous, brightly lit themes and darker spaces where the low lighting showed off the sparkling dresses perfectly.
Throughout the exhibition, much was made of Dior’s inspirations and influences as well as his life and work. He named perfumes and outfits after family, friends or landmarks in his life; for example, Maxim’s Ensemble was named after a Parisian café, which I think sounds very chic. I found it interesting that the names he chose would reflect the dominant silhouette.
“I think of my work as ephemeral architecture dedicated to the beauty of the female body” 1957
Dior referenced architecture, historical eras and art movements in his garments. One of the rooms was dedicated to designs which were influenced by 18th Century nobility, Versailles, and neo-classical façades, all of which would have been at home in any self-respecting decadent royal court. Toile du Jouy, made of extremely high-quality cotton printed with bucolic scenes or floral arrangements, was very popular with Marie Antoinette and the rest of the French elite. Apparently, it was also popular with Dior and it is actually being used again in A/W 2019-2020 collections, albeit with wild animals included in the usual pastoral scenes for a little modern update. I took a couple of pictures of this room as it was one of my favourites and I have inserted them below. Obviously not professional quality, but you get the gist. . .
The above dress is from S/S 2005 and is made of silk with bright blue feathers to contrast with the patterns and shape inspired by 18th Century design. Whilst I was walking by, I overheard a woman exclaim “well who would wear it?!” The answer is absolutely me, whenever I had the chance.
The above powder blue collection reminded me of ceramics, wallpaper and decorative ceilings.
Fun fact: Dior’s premises in Paris used a shade of grey which had last been used on the Temple of Love at the Petit Trianon at Versailles.
After a day out to the palace gardens I moved into the next room, which was a complete contrast. Jet black walls allowed the designs in this room to shine, quite literally in some cases; the lighting was perfect, and whoever did it is a genius. Low lights focused on the exact areas of each outfit that needed highlighting, allowing jewellery to glint in the most specific way. It also created drama, with each piece seemingly coming to life to strike a pose in front of you. My favourite in this room was a brilliant crimson wool and silk suit, featuring a pleated cape and sharp-edged mask. The off-centre hidden fastenings in the jacket combined with the rectangular mask created a very modern and streamlined look.
“After women, flowers are the most divine of creations” 1954
At the end of this room, once you had torn yourself away from the melodrama, you would notice delicate pastel coloured vines and flowers gently making their way into the darkness. Follow these and you would find yourself in a fairyland inspired dreamworld, with garlands of leaves and long ropes vine snaking around the ceiling. These delicate flowers, leaves and vines were all made of paper, handcrafted and enough to completely cover the ceiling and hang down the walls. The theme here was the feeling you get when sitting on a riverbank under the overhanging boughs of trees. Everything was lit in pinks, greens, creams, inky blues and purples. The gowns in this room could have been worn by glamourous fairy queens with their flowing layers or exquisite, nature-inspired patterns. William Morris was evoked, as was pointillism and crochet. I really enjoyed this room and it had such a sublime atmosphere.
“N’oubliez pas la femme” – Never forget the woman, Marc Bohan 1963
My journey through the house of Dior now took me to a room dedicated to the other designers who have helmed Dior since Christian himself. Fashion photography and illustration featured in this space. I particularly enjoy fashion illustration, as it is so different to other forms of art; energy is conveyed while the wearer remains mysterious. It was delightful to see the work of all the past and present creative directors in one room, to be able to compare their individual styles whilst noticing how they retained Dior’s soul.
Another dark, corridor-like room featured a cabinet of curiosities which was filled with accessories, posters, and miniature versions of his designs, all ordered by colour. My favourite was a dark navy dress made with velvet and tulle, with the navy velvet shaped like petals over the full open shape of the tulle.
An interesting diversion into behind the scenes territory gave us a room filled with pure white ‘templates’ of each design. The walls were covered in glass boxes with white, cotton or linen versions of every dress or outfit as a base, or test I suppose. It was very interesting to see the early stages of dresses before they have been finalised or had their magical particulars added.
“In the world today, haute couture is one of the last repositories of the marvellous” 1957
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and my final stop brought me to the modern day. A large circular room took us into the stars with a space theme, perhaps reflecting the soaring heights to which Dior has reached, or the unknowns of the future. The ceiling had a spectacular ever-changing film of constellations, fine art, paintings and explosions of glitter. Orchestral music played between the pillars outlined with light while chandeliers sparkled overhead. A truly great theatrical spectacular which framed the contemporary pieces perfectly! Many of the designs on show here were worn in advertisements or by the great and good, and I could not help but feel slightly envious of those who had the chance to grace red carpets in such magnificent pieces of art.
Christian Dior was undoubtedly one of the best fashion designers of the past century. His timeless ideas, his New Look, his perfumes, his accessories, his beliefs all combined to create a fashion house devoted to the woman. Later adventures in menswear have also proven successful, and the creative directors have proven time and again that classics can be reinvented without losing soul.
I thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition and I really felt that it captured the essence of the house as well as giving us an insight into the creative process. Each dress different from the last but still subtly carrying the original, marvellous heart of Dior. He is certainly the designer of my dreams.
