Amelia’s Magazine | Sir Paul Smith can do no wrong

A couple of weeks back Amelia’s Magazine were thrilled to be invited to the Paul Smith showroom to have a sneak preview of the SS10 collection. Exactly as I’d imagined the new ranges featured Paul Smith’s usual cacophony of bright colour and were peppered with ethnic inspired patterns and florals galore.

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With several projects on the go at the moment Sir Paul is one busy bee, having recently supported the exhibition of British artist Rob Clarke at his store within the departure lounge at Heathrow’s controversial Terminal 5. Presently Paul Smith Jeans are about to launch a limited edition T-shirt to celebrate the release of artist Sam Taylor-Wood’s directorial debut; ‘Nowhere Boy’, with a percentage of the sale price going straight to Maggies Charity Appeal, which hopes to raise £3million to fund a new cancer treatment centre at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital.

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Image courtesy of Paul Smith

Continuing the artistic theme he will also be staging a ‘Hockney Christmas’ at his Albemarle Street furniture store exhibiting a selection of David Hockney prints in the run up to Christmas (1-24th December). As if all of the aforementioned projects weren’t enough, the upcoming festive season will see Sir Paul putting his signature stamp (in organic ink) on a limited edition bottle in collaboration with Evian water.

With so many projects in 2009 there seems to be no end to the power of both Paul Smith’s brand and talents. So you may be wondering what Sir Paul could possibly have left in store for us in 2010? In short, quite a lot. With numerous new stores to open, collections and diffusion lines to design for and a wealth of creatives to collaborate with there will always be something new to look forward to.

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Highlights from next summer’s collections included a beautiful series of ladies bowler hats made in collaboration with renowned hat makers Christys’ London. Made from 100% wool these beauties are available in blue, pink, black, red and fawn, and are inspired by the dapper dressing style of the men documented in the photographic book ‘Gentlemen of Bacongo’.

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Bright tribal inspired show necklaces were also present having featured heavily on the London Fashion Week catwalk back in September. Vibrant wooden beads in red, orange, blue and yellow take their inspiration from Africa and are designed to be worn in a dramatic layered effect ensuring they’re the centre piece of any outfit.

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The main theme running throughout Sir Paul’s SS10 collection was menswear for women reflected through checked suits, flat mannish brogues and bowler hats. Expect a multitude of beautiful African inspired tribal and animal prints designed and styled to be layered and worn with intent to clash!

Categories ,Christys’ London, ,David Hockney, ,Evian, ,Freeman Hospital, ,Gentlemen of Bacongo, ,Heathrow Airport, ,Maggies Charity, ,Nowhere Boy, ,Paul Smith, ,Rob Clarke, ,Sam Taylor-Wood, ,Terminal 5

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Amelia’s Magazine | A Review of 50 Fabulous Frocks at the Fashion Museum, Bath

Fashion Museum, Bath, 50FF Review
Illustration of 1900s champagne fancy dress costume, unknown maker, by Freddy Thorn.

Like any good birthday bash, it begins with champagne; a bottle of 1904 Veuve Clicquot to be exact, taking the form of an elaborate Edwardian fancy dress ensemble.

Recently listed by CNN as one of the top ten fashion museums in the world, Bath’s Fashion Museum has come a long way since its creation by Doris Langley Moore and the Bath City Council in 1963. This is a varied exhibition, featuring 50 of the fashion museums ‘greatest hits’ with dresses spanning across the ages, from one of the oldest dresses in any UK museum (a 1660 piece affectionately known as the ‘Silver Tissue Dress’) to a fresh-off-the-catwalk 2012 Louis Vuitton piece. Eveningwear sits comfortably by poolside attire, sportswear next to corsets; each dress a snapshot of fashion history.

5 dresses at 50 Fabulous Frocks exhibition, Fashion Museum, Bath
Illustration of 5 of the 50 dresses by May Van Milllingen.

There are plenty of ‘celebrity’ frocks here: a Christian Dior dress from the 1950s, a Chanel from the 1960s and a Jean-Paul Gaultier from the 1990s just a few of the gems in this collection. With dresses that have graced the pages of Vogue alongside cages and crinolines, these pieces form a dynamic exhibit exploring dresses across the centuries.

Black lace Rocha dress now part of 50 Fabulous Frocks Exhibition
Red lace Erdem Dress on Catwalk
Photos of red and navy lace Erdem and black Rocha dress by Chris Moore.

An ostrich feather 1960s Yves Saint Laurent concoction made for ballerina Margot Fonteyn catches my eye as does a Dame Vivienne Westwood regency style dress nestled among the kinds of dresses it’s emulating. A 1940s pink Mickey Mouse aertex dress sits next to a polka-dot housecoat lined with gingham and there’s even a wedding dress from the 1890s among the ranks. These clothes are famous; there’s a red mini dress worn by Ernestine Carter, a former Fashion Editor of The Sunday Times, as well as an Ossie Clark dress literally taken straight out of a David Hockney, Tate painting.

Dress by Poiret part of 50 Fabulous Frocks Exhibition.
Alexander McQueen dress from 50 Fabulous Frocks exhibition
50 Fabulous Frocks  cream silk dress
Photos of Poirot dress, Alexander McQueen dress and cream silk ball gown provided by Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council.

I go to the exhibit twice, once with my friends on a sunny Saturday and we whizz through it in true tourist fashion (pun intentional) as I snap a few photos. We amble through the corsets and cages, pantsuits and Burberry raincoats, quickly and hungrily. We notice a group of young female museum-goers all wearing the same outfit in alternate colours, each one clad in a pair of converse paired with brightly coloured jeans. I note that in this exhibit, the tables have turned, and the dresses, behind the security of their glass cases, are the audience for our own catwalk as we prance back and forth.

3 dresses at Fashion Museum, Bath
A Vivienne Westwood dress (centre) alongside two dresses from the late 1800s, illustration by Karolina Burdon.

The second time I go by myself on a rainy Sunday and I listen to every single commentary for each dress, writing notes as I go. The other gallery-folk are, like the dresses, a melting pot: families with young children; a few fashion students drawing the dresses in their sketchbooks. Amongst the chatter I can hear loud, excited French. Thirty or so people come and go while I examine the collection.

Bath Fashion Museum, Georgian
Wall text at Fashion Museum, Bath
50 Fabulous Frocks Dresses Bath Fashion Museum
50 Fabulous Frocks
50FF Dresses, 50 Fabulous Frocks Dresses Bath Fashion Museum
50 Fabulous Frocks Exhibition, Fashion Museum, Bath
All photography by Jessica Cook.

While I sit on the floor sucking the end of my pen and agonising over the spelling of ‘Vuitton’, there is a mother and her two children in the museum providing an alternative narrative to the info handsets. “Mummy, what is it?” says child no1. The mother pauses for a second as though thrown off balance by the question, “It’s dresses from the last 50 years,” she says, which is wrong, and I feel the same wince I had as a kid when I first realised that parents aren’t infallible. The exhibition is a celebration that the Fashion Museum is 50 years young, but the dresses themselves span across the ages as far back as the 1600s. Her mistake is understandable, as the date underneath the sign does read 1963- 2013 after all.

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Red wool mini dress by André Courrèges, black Ossie Clark gown and 1930s evening dress, illustration by Gareth A Hopkins.

Wow!” says child no2 as he reaches a dress from the 1800s. “Isn’t it amazing?” says the mother, her eyes alight. “Just like mummy used to wear,” she says pointing at a short, red little number. The children press their faces against the glass as though they are looking into the past.

Woman in champagne dress
Photo of champagne bottle dress provided by Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council.

The 50 Fabulous Frocks exhibition at the Fashion Museum, Bath is open from 2 February 2013 to the 31st December 2013. Entry is £2.

Categories ,50 Fabulous Frocks, ,Alexander McQueen, ,Bath, ,Bath City Council, ,Birthday, ,celebration, ,Champagne, ,Christian Dior, ,CNN, ,corset, ,David Hockney, ,Doris Langley Moore, ,Dresses, ,Edwardian, ,Erdem, ,Ernestine Carter, ,Eveningwear, ,exhibit, ,fashion, ,Fashion Museum, ,Freddy Thorn, ,Gareth A Hopkins, ,history, ,Jean Paul Gaultier, ,Karolina Burdon, ,Louis Vuitton, ,Margot Fonteyn, ,May van Millingen, ,Mickey Mouse, ,museum, ,Ossie Clark, ,Silver Tissue Dress, ,Tate, ,The Sunday Times, ,Veuve Clicquot, ,Vivienne Westwood, ,vogue, ,Wedding Dress, ,Yves Saint Laurent

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