National Museums Liverpool Blog - fashion

Bodice of one of the glass dresses. It reads; 'Light reflecting materials were thought to be able to ward off evil and preserve fertility'.

There is no doubt that Lady GaGa would give her bejewelled right arm to wear one of these sparkling dresses or corsets. But she'd be in for a shock if she tried! In 'Dare to Wear: Glass Dresses by Diana Dias-Leão' the dresses are made from glass and the corsets are made from real barbed-wire, entwined with beads or flowers. Diana told me that people have asked about buying these dresses and corsets to wear, but she has to tell them that they are purely 'couture sculpture'. She makes all her creations at home rather than in a studio and once injured herself while working on a corset - she only realised when she looked down and saw the blood. Fashion can definitely be deadly!

Each dress is unique and they seem to have their own identity - an idea that Diana is keen for visitors to take on board themselves. She wants to use the dresses to show people that it is not the image, but the person that is most important. Getting a sense of your own identity must surely be part of that. I'm sure many artists have a strong connection with their work, but it was interesting to hear Diana referring to her corsets and dresses as 'she' and 'her'. It seems these pieces have so much personality they have almost taken on a life of their own!

Diana's attention to detail in getting her message across is also interesting. Not only do you get a sense of the danger of judging people by their appearance alone, you also see evidence of Diana's views about people often being treated simply as 'pieces of meat'. Instead of using conventional materials for hanging her corsets, she has used immaculate metal meat hooks and chains. This isn't gruesome, but is instead quite a subtle touch that seems to fit in seamlessly with the display of shimmering glass.

This is a truly original display so do head down to the Craft and Design gallery on the ground floor of the Walker Art Gallery to have a look for yourself. The display will run from 27 March to 30 September 2011 and is free.

You can look at more photos of Diana's dresses on Flickr and also come to a free gallery talk by curator Alayna Ellis - more information in our what's on listings.

You may think that retro fashion right now is all about shoulder pads, pink lippy and the influence of the 1980s. But some designers have shown that for the end of 2009, they are finding their inspiration in an era that is much more retro – try going back another 200 years to the 1780s!

Elle magazine has picked up on this trend, which they say is inspired by the paintings of the ‘Old Masters’ and did a whole spread on it in their September issue. Dolce & Gabbana have practically based their whole new collection around it, with sumptuous devoré velvet skirts, silk corsets in deep jewel colours and long flowing gowns with prints from paintings. We have several pieces of costume from the 18th century in our collections, one of which you can see here, which definitely has similarities to this D&G outfit and also this one!

She's in fashion

Reynolds created paintings that imitated the style of the Old Masters. He believed that by imitating the Old Masters he would help to ‘educate’ the British public, as he thought their taste was quite limited. You can also see works by these ‘Old Masters’ in our collections, such as Nicholas Poussin, Rembrandt van Rijn and Peter Paul Rubens.

But if all this expensive fashion seems out of step with the current economic climate, then have no fear. I read in one magazine that a ‘recessionista’ way of getting the look would be to borrow the tassled tie-backs from your parents’ curtains! Not too sure about that.

From 1910 to 2010, sailor chic rocks!

When choosing an outfit for a sunny day (though it is raining right now) you can't go wrong with navy and white. In particular, I'm very into the nautical stuff that is around at the moment. On a recent trip to Beyond Retro in Shoreditch I had to be talked out of purchasing a vintage sailor bib top, possibly taken from a real sailor in the mists of time (that's an actual era you know.)

In 1910, fashion fanatic and philanthropist Mrs. Emily Tinne would have been right on trend for this summer with her quirky sailor inspired espadrilles, which are now on show as part of A Sweet Life at Sudley House until Spring 2010.

Everywhere you look on the high street right now there are beachy espadrilles and sailor-style pumps, but none that combine the two things quite as well as Mrs.Tinne's little beauties. They are made of white linen and have a cool anchor design that has been hand-embroidered onto the toe with red wool.

Even über-model Agyness Deyn is a fan of the nautical trend - who would have thought Mrs.Tinne and Aggy would have something in common!

Photo by Ibrahim Rahmin and Ian Burns, from the Street Life exhibition

Liverpool street fashion has always been an inspiration for professional and budding photographers alike. In 2006 we held the Street Life exhibition at the National Conservation Centre, which celebrated the unique styles of the residents of Liverpool no matter what their age. Our current Fashion V Sport exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery has inspired Creative and Media Diploma students from Liverpool Community College to create some striking images that explore current fashion trends among young people today. These images have been brought together to form Street Fashion, an exhibition in two parts; photographs by Level 2 students are currently on display until 29 April and Level 3 students will show from 1-31 May.

Also inspired by Fashion V Sport is our style-spotting competition! We are offering fashionistas the chance to win a £50 voucher for All Saints, Nike or Urban Outfitters or you could win tickets to see Pink or  Blur.  To be in with a chance of winning, come along to the gallery on Saturday 18 April when style-spotters from the Radio City Ground Crew will be at the exhibition. If you dress to impress then they might choose you to be a winner…

Neon brights and clashing colours ruled the catwalk at the sports/casual show.

Following the fashion theme from Dawn's previous post, today it was Liverpool One's turn to host a series of fashion shows as part of Liverpool Fashion Week. Performing arts students from LIPA worked the catwalk (with plenty of attitude) wearing sports and casual wear from brands such as Blue Ink, Henleys and Fred Perry. Trainers were a big feature, with models carrying them around their necks while walking barefoot! Neon colours featured heavily, perhaps a hangover from the recent nu-rave trend, giving the whole show a bright, spring-like feel. It think my favourite t-shirt from the show was the Mr Men one from Blue Ink with the slogan 'I left Mr Grumpy at home', very cool.

If you are mad about sports/casual wear then take a few photos of your favourite tops or trainers and join our Metro V Retro Flickr group. Or drop in to see our Fashion V Sport exhibition and drool over the funky customised trainers.

To celebrate the opening of our new Fashion V Sport exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, I've put together a Flickr gallery of some of the cool and stylish outfits worn by some of our private view guests.

Part of the exhibition examines street style and the variety of styles I saw in one evening was certainly varied and creative. Damian Quinn, the man responsible for the gold topped ‘Onthamike’ trainers from the 'Play' section, was wearing a similar pair on the night from his Supremebeing brand. On the other end of the scale, self-confessed trainer obsessive 'Mookie' told me about her Nike Air Force 1 trainers that she had customised using multi-coloured paint spatters. She had worn them on her Duke of Edinburgh hike, before giving them a new lease of life with her own design! Mookie is a creative apprentice at the moment so who knows, she might be a Footwear Director like Damian one day.

Some of my favourite outfits of the evening included; Olivia's bowler hat, shoe-boot and vintage satchel ensemble and Amina's Camden/Indian mash-up including a sports top, shawl and gold belt. Have a look through the slideshow and pick your favourite fashionistas!

This may be the closest I will get to a piece of Chanel clothing, but our curators of decorative arts are used to getting their hands on clothes from big names such as Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney in their everyday work!

Curator of Costume and Textiles, Pauline Rushton, has been working on our forthcoming 'Fashion V Sport' exhibition organised by the V&A, London, which opens on Friday 13 February at the Walker Art Gallery. You can see Pauline (below) unpacking some trainers from a huge collection featured in the exhibition, all belonging to an obsessive collector called Kish.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to be a curator, as I discovered, it's a very varied job! Pauline works on the styling and interpretation of touring exhibitions like this, dressing the mannequins, taking care of the clothes throughout the exhibition and also giving tailored gallery tours. She has dealt with the display of many pieces of historic costume in the past, which can involve carefully putting delicate outfits onto custom made mannequins. Luckily most of the clothes in 'Fashion V Sport' are far more sturdy and durable due to being sportswear.

Curator Pauline Rushton unpacking some precious trainers and part of the 'Play' section of the exhibition during installation.

The 'Play' section gives you a taste of the creative street-style of customised sportswear. I particularly like the slightly scary Ronald McDonald themed outfit (above), designed by Walter van Beirendonck, with its stars and stripes trousers. Slightly political perhaps?!

If you want to get a more in-depth look at some of the highlights of 'Fashion V Sport', you can go on one of the free guided tours with Pauline, happening throughout the exhibition. Check our what's on listings for all Fashion V Sport related events and activities.

Geek chic: my new glasses and scarf.

As David Bowie would say; "fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion" - it's a funny old thing. For spring/summer 2009 newspapers and magazines are saying 'there are no trends this season, anything goes.' Isn't that just called individuality?! Anyway, while Yves Saint Laurent goes about trying to convince us that his new 'cage boot' is somehow beautiful (it's not) and wearable (I doubt it) I had a couple of thoughts of my own about new items which I reckon are pretty cool right now.

Firstly, and perhaps most controversially, are 'geek specs'. I've gone for a fetching pair of tortoiseshell Ray-Ban style ones from ebay. Admittedly, I am waiting to wear them on a night out where I won't meet anyone I know, in case they exclaim; "I didn't know you wore glasses!" and I have to sheepishly admit that I don't and it's just a so-called fashion thing. Maybe I'll try them at a club-night in Bolton?

Secondly, following on from the end of 2008, I like knotted scarves. Avoiding looking like Dot Cotton is of course a consideration, but I think rolling a small one up and tying it with a knot sitting on top of your head kind of works. You feel a bit like a 1940s land girl. Sort of.

Lastly, my most recent addition is a slouchy longer-length blazer with an embroidered emblem on the pocket. Elle magazine seem to be mentioning this kind of thing as a good item to get your hands on - though I bet the version they featured is much more expensive than mine, which I got for a fiver from an ace vintage shop.

Also on the subject of fashion, check back here soon for regular blogs about the upcoming 'Fashion V Sport' exhibition that will open on Friday 13 February at the Walker Art Gallery. Expect a sequinned Chanel 'wetsuit', Stella McCartney sportswear and lots of trainers!

Now, if I could just fit some 'party feet' gel pads into those YSL cage boots, I'm sure they'd be really comfy?

So the prices of new potatoes and i-pods are going up and we're being told to be prepared for a measly Christmas. But what does this mean for fashion? Will we be wearing polyester smocks for spring/summer 2009? Well one theory is that hemlines rise and fall with the stock market, so maybe we can expect ankle-skimming skirts to be everywhere. Though a recent article in the Guardian argues that this rule doesn't really work as; 'During the wartime years, arguably the period of greatest privation in modern history, hemlines were shorter than before or after the war.'

I think the tenacious fashion world will be ok as it's been through harder times than this and still made it to the other side with great style. Times are of course not as tough as during the second world war, when people had to 'make do and mend' while also facing the rationing of clothes and the introduction of 'utility' wear.  And this didn't mean combat trousers from Gap!

One of our curators, Alyson Pollard, will be giving an insight into these hard times for fashion, in a talk about our 1950s dresses display at the Walker Art Gallery.

Recovering from an economic crisis can inspire a whole new fasion trend!  Silk, satin and chiffon dress with sequins and silk thread decoration, by Jean Dessès

She explains; 'From 1939 women had learnt how to cope with the shortages caused by the war. However, in June 1941 the shortage of material for clothing was so severe that the government introduced clothing rationing. Clothing could only be purchased by giving up a fixed number of coupons from a very limited quota. Each person was given 60 coupons for the year; a skirt was seven coupons, a short jacket  was 11 and shoes were five coupons. Buying enough clothing for a whole year was a struggle.'

Though despite these restrictions on clothes, the '1940s look' is still one that remains extremely popular - remember Kate Moss and her tea-dresses from this summer? After the war ended, gradually the fashion world got back on its feet and was able to celebrate the end of rationing by designing dresses using acres of fabric - the classic fifties look was born! Our object of the month, a stunning evening dress by the designer Jean Dessès, is a great example of this.

If you want to find out more about the dresses of this period, then come along to Alyson's gallery talk on Wednesday 26 November at 1pm at the Walker. And the best thing is that like all our talks, it's absolutley free. So beat the credit crunch and come along!

There are two new exhibitions for 2009 that explore different aspects of fashion; 'Fashion V Sport' at the Walker and a Francesco Mellina photographic exhibition at the National Conservation Centre. Check our forthcoming exhibition listings for more information.