If you haven’t visited the Fashioning Our World exhibition yet, there is still time. And my experience has been that one visit isn’t enough. It is full of surprises, interesting ideas and an enjoyable mix of History and fashion.
My favourite exhibit is below, though choosing just one was difficult..
It was, of course, the eye-catching garment on the right which drew me to this display, but it is war which is the link between them. On the right is a dressing gown from the Second World War, now more than eighty years old. Made from scraps garnered from anywhere and anything, including a piece of parachute, this became, at a time of strict rationing, someone’s pride and joy.
On the left is an overall worn by female workers in munitions factories. I think the one on display is also eighty years old but it is very similar to those also worn twenty-five years before, in the First World War.
Both, very different, items of clothing seem to me to say so much about the resilience, determination, ingenuity and make-do and get on with it attitude of women of that generation.
Two striking photographs of our museum as it begins to emerge from the scaffolding in all its restored glory.
Inside, the new display in the temporary exhibition room has been up and running for three weeks already. It is quirky, interesting, made up of old and new and recycled, and is proving to be a draw. well done all concerned.
And not be missed…
New Fieldwork at Hinton St Mary, Dorset: The Mosaic in Context – Talk by Peter Guest
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Location: Lecture Hall £9 Members; £12 Non-members
The mosaic from Hinton St Mary is one of the most celebrated and iconic survivals from Roman Britain. Discovered (accidentally) in 1963, its central roundel features the bust of a man with the Christian Chi-Rho symbol behind his head, which most scholars have concluded is among the first representations of Jesus Christ from the ancient world. This talk will present some of the ground-breaking results of The British Museum’s on-going archaeological excavations at the site and explore what these tell us about one of the earliest Christian communities in Britain.
This is a fundraising talk for Salisbury Museum (registered charity no 289850)
The Fashioning Our World exhibition will feature fashion items from the past which tell powerful stories of sustainability and is opening soon at The Salisbury Museum.
Alongside a selection of clothes and accessories that have been repurposed, mended and loved, the exhibition will showcase work by well-known and emerging fashion designers, sustainability experts and students displayed on a series of miniature mannequins.
Amongst others, designers whose work is featured in the exhibition include British fashion design icon Dame Zandra Rhodes, subversive fashion designer Jonny Banger, and designer and writer of a bestselling book on sustainable fashion Orsola de Castro.
Included in these is a miniature replica of the famous cape worn on stage by Freddie Mercury from Queen which was designed by Dame Zandra Rhodes. The miniature version has been made for the exhibition by Dame Zandra Rhodes using an off cut of fabric from her studio.
The exhibition has been co-curated with young people who have helped chose the objects on display, plan the themes, and design the information panels. The exhibition is part of a recent project at The Salisbury Museum called Fashioning Our World (www.fashioningourworld.co.uk) which is engaging young people with stories of sustainability in the past and supporting them to inspire the community to make positive sustainable choices in the future.
“We are really excited about this exhibition. It has been amazing to work with the young people on this exhibition – they have so many amazing ideas! We have discovered so many stories of sustainability in the collection, we can’t wait for people to be able to see them. We also really appreciate the enthusiasm from the fantastic fashion designers who have contributed to this exhibition. It is brilliant to be able to include their work,” said Katy England Fashioning Our World Project Manager.
The exhibition will be officially opened by clothing designer and TV personality Patrick Grant, at the launch event for the whole family on Saturday 10th February.
The Fashioning Our World project was made possible by a grant of £87,828 awarded from The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund – delivered by the Museums Association. It was also supported by Wessex Museums.
The project is aiming to inspire other heritage organisations to work in a similar way with their fashion collections. Dorset Museum have run a series of Fashioning Our World sessions for young people linked to their own collection of clothing and accessories.
The Salisbury Museum fashion collection contains over 3,500 items dating from the last 300 years. The garments are from all aspects of life including weddings and christenings, formal occasions, and occupations such as farming and the military. Accessories also form a large part of the collection, and these include fans, brooches, parasols, buttons, gloves, hats and shoes.
The Fashioning Our World project follows on from the previous success of the Look Again project (2018-2021), in which the museum worked alongside young people, volunteers and experts to reinterpret and redisplay the fashion collection. The Look Again project was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund – delivered by the Museums Association.
A young people’s Sustainable Fashion Show will be taking place at Salisbury Arts Centre on Friday 6th October. The exciting event will showcase the sewing and design talents of local young people, while promoting an inclusive and inspiring message of sustainability.
For more details on the project please visit our website here.
Press Release:
Young people’s Sustainable Fashion Show
A young people’s Sustainable Fashion Show will be taking place at Salisbury Arts Centre on Friday 6th October. The exciting event will showcase the sewing and design talents of local young people, while promoting an inclusive and inspiring message of sustainability.
Local young people have been taking part in summer workshops at The Salisbury Museum, where they have learned a range of sustainable skills, including natural dying; fun hacks to upcycle unwanted clothes and textiles into stunning ‘new’ outfits, and how to make gorgeous ‘trashion’ items from recycled materials.
Supported by funding from Wiltshire Council’s area board youth grant, the fashion show is a partnership between Fashioning our World at The Salisbury Museum and The Swish, a sustainable fashion initiative for young people.
The project has also been supported by Wiltshire Creative, who’ve shared their venue and expertise to help create an exhilarating entertainment event for all the family.
“The talented young people have been working hard and having heaps of fun. They’ve been working alongside the team to plan the show as well as create an eye-catching range of outfits inspired by the fashion collection, which they can’t wait to show off on our sustainable catwalk on Friday 6th October!” said Katy England, Fashioning Our World Project Manager at The Salisbury Museum.
There will also be sustainable collections on show from popular local designers and businesses, including Foxtrot Vintage, Regent Tailoring and Made By SJP. Disc-spinning, planet-loving Eco-DJ Lee will be MC-ing the event, and talented young people from Salisbury Dance company Panthera will also be taking part.
There will be a range of sustainable fashion stalls to browse before and after the show. Katy England will be on hand to talk to anyone interested in getting involved in the Fashioning Our World project, and local author Tash Bell will be signing copies of her teen novel, The Swish – about a charity shop Cinderella who dares to make her own gown for the school ball.
The fashion show will be an exciting showcase for Salisbury’s sustainable flair and community spirit. Highlights from the sustainable fashion show will be turned into a short film which will be shown at the Fashioning Our World exhibition opening at The Salisbury Museum next February.
The Salisbury Museum was awarded £87,828 from The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund – delivered by the Museums Association, for Fashioning Our World. The Salisbury Museum is also part of Wessex Museums, a thriving museum partnership across Wiltshire and Dorset. Wessex Museums has made a financial contribution to the initiative as well.
The Salisbury Museum partners with Foxtrot Vintage onSustainable Fashion Project
Fashioning Our World, based at The Salisbury Museum, is discovering the hidden stories of sustainability told by clothes and accessories from the past and working with young people to share these with the community.
The project is working in partnership with expert fashion historian, Elena Jackson, who owns Foxtrot Vintage Clothing shop in Salisbury and also works as Fashion and Textiles specialist valuer and auctioneer at the prestigious Ewbanks Auction House in Surrey.
“We are very excited to be working in partnership with Foxtrot Vintage on the project as we are keen to make links with local fashion businesses. Foxtrot Vintage is a great business to partnership with as the team are passionate about sustainability and have different skills to bring to the project. The young people have already visited the store and curated a window display and are looking forward to more sessions with Foxtrot Vintage exploring fashion history and sustainability,” said Project Manager Katy England.
“Ewbanks Auction house have generously donated a beautiful parasol to the project. The item is in poor condition and so we are looking at ways it can be repurposed so it can be auctioned for charity later in the project,” added Katy.
Young people taking part are coming to workshops to learn about the fashion collection including seeing historical items first hand. They have also been working with fashion and textile experts to learn new sewing skills such as repurposing and mending.
The Salisbury Museum fashion collection contains over 3,500 items dating from the last 300 years. The garments are from all aspects of life including weddings and christenings, formal occasions and occupations such as farming and the military.
Accessories also form a large part of the collection, and these include fans, brooches, parasols, buttons, gloves, hats and shoes.
The Salisbury Museum was awarded £87,828 from The Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund – delivered by the Museums Association, for Fashioning Our World. The Salisbury Museum is also part of Wessex Museums, a thriving museum partnership across Wiltshire and Dorset. Wessex Museums has made a financial contribution to the initiative as well.
If you are interested in taking part in the project, please contact Katy England at The Salisbury Museum via email: katyengland@salisburymuseum.org.uk
It is Volunteers’ Week this week. We hope to include some reports on the various activities soon.
Meanwhile:
The gardening team have been at their post every Monday for some weeks now, and the results are stunning.
The Wood Cabin continues to be popular. The cakes are described as “Fantastic!” And the sunshine has attracted customers.
And the work begins on the outside of our lovely buildings. St Ann’s Gate Architects who work on historic buildings are busy on the east wall of what was our cafe, while the south wall of the old chapel (Lecture Hall) is being demolished.
Conversation Club continues with its monthly Monday gatherings, currently in the City Centre Library, which is proving a popular venue. And the little ones continue to be catered for at Under Five Fridays, as described recently.
Behind the Scenes Tours continue on the first Saturday of each month.
Volunteers are still busy processing archaeological finds discovered by members of the public, entering the information on the British Museum Portable Antiquities Scheme database.
Volunteers are running the computers hot with keeping the ever-changing museum situation monitored and recorded, particularly, at the moment, keeping records of where items are, in their various temporary ‘homes’.
Tourists and vacationers continue to be enthralled by the Wessex Gallery and by our temporary exhibition, Salisbury On Camera, all expertly guided, when needed, by our Engagement Volunteers.
And we have a continuing programme of online talks, Dr Phil Harding giving a talk in the Medieval Hall, youngsters involved with Fashioning Our World, Young Curator’s Club and Summer Discovery Days. All of which are supported by Volunteers.