Inspired by the royal wedding earlier this year, the Fashion Museum’s, What Will She Wear? collection is celebrating the romance of the wedding dress from the early 19th century to the present day.
The exhibition’s layout is designed to encourage the public to really take time and look at the dresses as they are not in chronological order but sporadically grouped making it easier to compare the different styles. The small display within the glass cabinet is well-lit, provoking the ideal atmosphere of romance and glamour. Despite only showing thirty five dresses, the presentation is carefully thought through as we are able to see almost every detail the dresses provide, such as, the long veils with delicate beading and the intricate lace. There are a sound variety of designers from Alexander McQueen to Bruce Oldfield and Vera Wang. For those who are already well educated in the field of fashion, there might be less of a draw into this museum as there are no timelines or any sense of chronological movement through the eras and not as many clothes as you’d expect. However the contrast between the old and the new is refreshing and enlightens how fashion can vastly change but also how it can come back in from two hundred years ago. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the usual wedding dress would be white, have long puff sleeves and involve lace; two hundred years later Kate Middleton is tying the knot to Prince William in a white laced dress.
This collection is also teamed with an audio commentary which is short, but nonetheless informative and engaging. There are interactive games which brighten the museum up; after the showcase of dresses there is an area with corsets and crinolines for anyone to try on. It uplifts your enthusiasm after a perhaps slow paced walk around the exhibition and its shortage of information. The museum doesn’t forget the children with its corner of Victorian sporting dresses for them to try on. Only children though, ‘no adults allowed.’ As well as the fashion, there is a drawing wall. With the cards and colours provided, the public, not excluding adults, are encouraged to draw their favourite dress and stick it up on the wall to share with everyone. So even though there may be a lack of information for some of us, there are still plenty of games to keep us occupied.
Fortunately the crowds are few; this specific presentation of the wedding dress stays open to the public until 8 January 2012, so there is a large scope of time for people to visit. The ambience is just right, quiet and thought provoking, of course until a child starts screaming, but other than that, it is perfect in terms of the open layout, and various rooms. It presents the dresses, the designer names and dates and does offer some factual information, although there is room for a lot more to be going on and room to criticise the fairly unreasonable price.
Our thanks to Jemima Owen for this feature.
