Fashion Museum Bath to host ‘Lace in Fashion’ exhibition

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Jan 9, 2017

On the 4th of February, Fashion Museum Bath will open its new special exhibition, ‘Lace in Fashion’, which explores how lace has been used in fashion from the time of Shakespeare to the present day.

Curated by Elly Summers, the exhibition will look into a variety of themes, including the mechanisation of lacemaking in the 1800s, the role of lace in British high society and how today’s catwalks are challenging traditional concepts of lace in fashion.

On display will be over 50 lace pieces, drawn from the Fashion Museum’s own collection as well as loans from contemporary fashion brands such as Burberry.

The oldest object in the exhibition will be a smock dating from 1580-1600 with Flemish bobbin lace on the sleeves and collar, which will be on display alongside a silver tissue dress made from fine silk woven with silver thread and trimmed with parchment lace, which dates from around 1660.

The dress is a rare treasure, as parchment lace is a very delicate fabric made using tiny strips of parchment or paper, wrapped in silk and incorporated into the design.

Other highlights will include a lace dress which may be the only surviving dress worn by Queen Charlotte, two Burberry looks from the Spring/Summer 2016 collection (a lace caban and shirt outfit for men, and a silk and lace dress) and a 1991 Karl Lagerfeld dress worn by supermodel Linda Evangelista in British Vogue.

The exhibition will be also supported by Australian design duo Lover, who loaned a navy blue lace dress worn by Lea Seydoux in the James Bond film Spectre.

‘Lace in Fashion’ will run until 1 January 2018.