London Inspiration

Last week, I was lucky enough to have a few days away visiting my brother in London and enjoying some of the very fine exhibitions that are currently on.  We eventually made it into the Hockney exhibition at Tate Britain- it is very popular and we ended up going early evening as the morning was jam-packed.  It's a joyful celebration of of Hockney's paintings, drawings and other media throughout the last 60 years.  We also went to the Royal Academy to see Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932.  This is another riot of colour but it's a shocking and powerful collection of art in many forms- painting, pottery, dance, film etc. and makes for rather profound and disturbing viewing, well worth seeing.   We spent a very happy morning in The Wallace Collection which is a gem, just off Oxford Street and is a stunning, lavish, historic London town house with an amazing selection of armoury, weaponry, paintings, artefacts, porcelain, furniture and much more.  I could spend days in there and it has free entry too.   I also visited the Fashion and Textiles Museum, somewhere I also seem to frequent on every London trip.  It's a small museum but the exhibitions are always beautifully curated and displayed, and photography is allowed too.  It celebrates the work of Josef Frank, his patterns on fabrics, furniture and paintings.  It's also the first every UK exhibition of his textiles and they were the stand out to me.   

One 'room' shows the effect of Josef Frank textiles and furniture displayed together- he was influenced by William Morris and I could see that in his pattern repeats and use of natural inspiration.

I loved how there were long, generous lengths of his fabrics hanging down and also used to upholster his furniture designs.  These were for sitting on too and walking round it was lovely to see children as well as adults enjoying the furniture and marvelling at the use of colour.

Italian Dinner, 1943-5.  

All the ingredients needed for an Italian meal!

Catleya, 1935. 

As with many of his prints, although richly colourful, there's only a few separate colours used to create this floral pattern.  

Window, 1943-45.  

Very contemporary for the current house plant trend. 

Zodiaken, 1935. 

Twelve signs of the zodiac. 

Drinks 1943-5. 

I think this was my favourite, I just loved the dramatic colour contrasts.

There were a lot of water colours to admire too and visual references to William Morris and other influences.  The Fashion and Textile Museum is small in comparison to places like The V&A or the Royal Academy but it's such a comfortable environment to linger and be inspired.  The Josef Frank exhibition runs until 7th May 2017.  

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Fashion and Textiles Museum: 1920s JAZZ AGE Exhibition

Whenever I travel to London to see my brother, I always try and fit in a visit to the Fashion and Textiles Museum on Bermondsey Street.  Every exhibition is an absolute joy; thoughtfully curated and creatively displayed.  The entry fee is always moderate, an Art Fund pass will make it an even bigger bargain, photography is allowed, the staff are always friendly and helpful and the atmosphere is relaxed.   The current 1920s JAZZ AGE exhibition is a mix of haute couture and ready-to-wear, 1919-1929.  It brings to life popular leisure acitivies of the time like going to the cinema, picnics, having tea and cake, sport and dancing.  If you are visiting London for a little Christmas shopping (or at any time), it is well worth a trip away from the crazy queues and relentless consumerism.  I've loved all the exhibitions I've been to there.  Runs until 15th January 2017.

Liberty in Fashion Part Three: The Art of Pattern

Part three from the Liberty in Fashion exhibition at the Fashion and Textile Museum on Bermondsey Street.  For part one see here.  For part two see here.   The Art of Pattern is an accompanying exhibition  to the main Liberty in Fashion display and is in it's own space.  It features the work of Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell.  Susan became design consultant after Bernard Neville,  and her sister Sarah Campbell who assisted Susan and went on to Chelsea College of art.

I didn't take as many notes in this room, I think I was so taken with all the colour around me I just looked and looked and looked!  Lots of the mood boards feature original designs painted on to paper in what looks like gouache paints.  Next to these mix fabric swatches and magazine clips from the time.

You may recognise the Modflowers dolls in the sea of Tana lawn prints.

Working sketch books are always a huge pleasure to peer in to. 

Lots of these massive collage mood boards showed Liberty in collaboration.  The board below was a set of fabrics developed from a Liberty print and customised for Yves Saint Laurent as part of a Rive Gauche collection. 

I left totally inspired to use more colour in my sewing and my wardrobe.  You can find out more about the exhibitions here.

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.