Summer Exhibitions

I'm running my summer in reverse, doing a few holiday type things now before having some time off for a small operation and then a work project that will take up a lot of spare time, so I managed to book a weekend in London visiting my brother and catching the Royal Academy 250th Summer Exhibition and the Orla Kiely: Life in Pattern Exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum.  It was a hot, heatwave weekend, but I think that made viewing the exhibitions in a cool space all the more pleasurable!  If you're new to the RA summer exhibition, it's an annual event curated by different academy member each year and includes established and new artists through an open submission process.  Grayson Perry was this year's curator and it was a joy...

'Royal Valkyrie', Joana Vasconcelos

'Boom', Katherine Morling

'Prison Culture,' prison issue buttermilk soap, Lee Cutter 

'Red Bear', Debbie Lawson

'Cabinet Members', Sharon Wilson

'Rufus 3rd'', Timothy Blewitt

'Material Tenderness, free machine and handstitched, Michelle Holmes
' Via Con Me (Dreaming of You', hand embroidery on vintage photograph, Francesa Colussi

'Emmeline', hand embroidery on vintage postcard, Francesa Colussi

'Europe Running Through My Veins', Tisna Westerhof

'Head of a Dog', Patricia Beach

'Little House on the Prairie', oil and embroidery thread, Julia Hall

'I Love Alan', name tapes and dressmaker pins on canvas Joy Pitts

Each display space had a different colour background and wall treatment and the content was chosen and hung by Grayson and another Academy member.  I've been to a few RA Summer exhibitions and this was the strongest in terms of curation.  I could feel the difference in mood and aesthetic as I entered each space.  It was a journey, rooms of still and calm, rooms of vibrant, lively, stirring works.  Politics- Brexit and Grenfell featured many times, animals- pets, many dog paintings, 3D animals like the carpet bear and dog.  Lots of textiles too - embroidery, sewing, cross stitch, weaving, knitting, crochet and a strong folk art feel to many works (see Prison Culture example). Fun and silliness, particularly in the free McAulay gallery which is open to all without charge and had lots of Grayson's female persona, Claire, portraits, David Shrigley signs.  It was invigorating to go around.  You can explore all the galleries online here.  #RASummer

After a break for lunch, we walked on to the Fashion and Textile Museum to visit the Orla Kiely: A Life in Pattern.  As it was a hot Saturday and many people were in pub gardens watching a World Cup match, we ended up walking around almost alone which was an utter treat.  

Giant Dresses, patterns scaled up accordingly.  On the walls, tiny dolls wearing Orla dresses, patterns scaled down.

It's an exhibition about product and pattern.  It's not a personal exploration so it contrasts with other FTM exhibitions I've visited which show background, sketches, swatches and samples and so this might be a disappointment if you're looking for this sort of storytelling.  Instead, it was the journey or Orla Kiely's trademark motifs and how they are tweaked and reworked whilst still retaining their essential Orla Kiely aesthetic. The wall of bags (tiny part is shown above) was a perfect example of how a motif can be realised in so many different ways.  There were also collection photos, lookbooks and videos showing collections over recent years.  It was thoroughly enjoyable and I although I usually resist museum shops, I couldn't help but buy the exhibition poster and mug. 

I also visited the National Portrait Gallery and the BP Portrait Award exhibition which I try and catch somewhere every year. I didn't take photos inside as I was just off the train but it's always an interesting selection of styles.  My favourite was this  'Mrs Anna Wojcik', by Monika Polak.  The portrait canvas is a piece of vintage fabric bought from a charity shop and cleverly worked into the painting. #BPPortrait

All exhibitions are worth checking out.  An Artfund pass will get you half price entry to the Fashion and Textile Museum and also includes 50% entry to the American Quilt Museum in Bath and many other free and discounted entries elsewhere. 

Liberty in Fashion Part Two: 1970s-80s

Time for my second post, from the Liberty in Fashion exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street.  For part one see here.   The dresses and separates below are 1960s, swinging London, amazing large prints and vivid colours.

The 1970s are my favourite style decade and there were Liberty garments from throughout the decade.  Starting at the beginning, the A-line skirt in front and matching scarf are different substrates of the Bauhaus design by Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell.  The influence for this print was a tapestry by Gunta Stolz for the Bauhaus in the late 1920s.  The skirt is heavy furnishing fabric weight and was for the Dollyrocker's boutique brand.  The scarf is silk.  The skirt seen to the bottom right is another Dollyrockers A-line, this time using Cunard print by Bernard Nevill who joined Liberty as Design Consultant  in 1962.  This, as with almost all the clothing was on loan form Liberty collectors Cleo and Mark Butterfield who have the most amazing collection of vintage clothing!

This dress is by AnnaBelinda, another boutique brand and fashion label but this time based in Oxford.  I had a little online chat with Jan of Isisjem who knows the area well and can remember the shop.   Belinda O'Hanlon is the founder  and she is giving a talk at the Fashion and Textile Museum as part of this exhibition on Wednesday 25th November, entry is free along with an exhibition ticket but needs to be booked.   Her designs have a Pre-Raphaelite, fairy-tale quality, very nostalgic, feminine and romantic.  This was an iconic style for AnnaBelinda and was repeated with many fabric variations.  The main body of the pinafore is cotton velveteen and the bib and pockets are furnishing weight fabric.  I loved this style and managed to find the same dress in velveteen with William Morris print for £40 in my size on Etsy, I snapped it up- photos to come soon!

The mini smock dress by a Welsh company called Noyadd Rhulen was a delight.  All in cotton twill, it features saturated  bright colours and an intriguing button detail on the shoulder.  The geometric print features little houses. 

I was in my element looking at these beauties!   A mix of boutique dresses, fancy design houses like Cacherel and some homemade.  All were stunning with a plethora of detail.  The silky bib dresses far left and right were AnnaBelinda designs.

The puffy sleeves were fascinating.

Close up of an AnnaBelinda design.

This was by another of my favourite designers, Jean Muir.  Her 1970s and 1980s designs often feature controlled and extreme fullness.  This was in silk. 

I haven't a record of who designed this suit, maybe AnnaBelinda again? The lapels and pocket details are quilted and it was from the early 1980s.  The skirt is mid calf.

I really was in dress heaven.  Part three, which is all about the fabrics, to come soon!

Needless to say if you get a chance to visit this exhibition it is the most wonderful experience.   It is on until 28th February 2016.  

Liberty at the Fashion and Textiles Museum: Part 1, 1910-1940

I had a very brief trip to London last week to see my brother on his birthday.  We had tickets for Hamlet at The Barbican with Benedict Cumberbatch in the starring role- his present for my birthday the previous month, and we also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Fashion and Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street to see the Liberty in Fashion exhibition.   

It celebrates 140 years of the Liberty company with examples of key trends, designer collaborations and many glorious garments, scarves and more.  I've divided my rather large quantity of pictures into three posts.  Photos are permitted and although I took a lot, I wish I had taken more!  Here's part 1 of three posts.  This covers garments from 1910-1940s.  The first garments in the exhibition wouldn't have looked out of place in early episodes of Downton Abbey.  They were Aesthetic inspired tops and dresses most made of silk and with some exquisite details.  You can see the embroidery on the cuffs on the top above.  It still has a contemporary look about it too.

This green dress fabric had a crinkle pleating effect which gave it a body skimming shape.  I loved the simple turn back cuffs and the chunky stitches around the edge.

Lots of these early 1920s tops and dresses were made of plain fabrics of the highest quality and there was always a subtle detail to spot!  The fullness on the sleeve below created by a gathered inset piece of fabric.

This was one of the few patterned dresses.  I think it is the Elysian print, still going today but in very muted colours.  I was rather fascinated by this top stitch panel - I wasn't sure if it was a giant belt loop or just decorative! 

There was some even earlier clothing.  These  traditional English smocks based  are based on eighteenth century shepherd's/waggonner's rural workwear.  The grey is linen and the cream is shantung silk.  Both are circa 1910 and are heavily smocked and embroidered.  

These are children's smocked dresses from c.1920s.  The far left and right styles are timeless.  I remember wearing similar hand-me-down versions as a child for special photographs or parties in the early 1970s.

I think these are late 1930s and early 1940s styles- I didn't take photos of all the info displays as I was almost giddy with all the patterns and dresses!   I do remember reading (and the ticket booklet confirms) the 1920s shopper preferred prints on a dark ground and this changed in the 1930s to a lighter, more romantic mood and colours in the 1930s.  So many, if not all of these styles could be worn now.

This dress caught my eye.  The dramatic colours and the gathers which defined the bust and sleeve- further emphasised by velvet ribbon decoration which continues round the waist.  The neck line is defined by a multitude of separately made flowers.

So many style variations and beautiful details, especially when you look in closer.   Note the curved seams above the hips and below the waist, gorgeous!  The fabrics are a  mix of Tana Lawn or crepe-many looked like silk.

I loved the neckline on this dress.  There is no separate collar pieces, different part of the bodice form the neck and I especially like the higher back section.  There are a multitude of clever gathered and ruched areas al over the dress to create controlled fullness in the upper part of the dress.  There's also a pleat detail in the hem of the panelled skirt.

Possibly my favourite!  I think it is a mock placket but effective nevertheless.   The sleeve head is pleated to give a boxy effect- there must be shoulder pads underneath - and the skirt has box pleats too.  The bound buttonhole style details continue on the sleeves as well as the bodice.

The exhibition has inspired me to make more Liberty dresses.  Back with more in part 2, this time it will be a 1970s special!  You can see all my photos in a Liberty in Fashion album on Flickr.