Marie Antoinette at the Victoria and Albert Museum (Part 2)

 

Be careful, the exhibition of the gowns and paraphernalia of Marie Antoinette at the V and A, like that of any wealthy figure head in history, be it the church royalty or our own billionaire celebrity's pulls you into admiration, but what must always be remembered is that this exhibition is really a celebration of the incredible knowledge and skills of French and European designers and crafts people. This whole exhibition is of many an 'unknown maker', whose talents and abilities to create beauty was phenomenal.

 'Robe à la Française' (above and below) made as ever by some incredible but 'unknown' maker 1775-1780.

 

Cream satin gowns were the height of fashion at Marie Antoinette's court providing the perfect canvas to embellish with embroidery, ribbons and trims. This particular gown is embroidered with multi-coloured flowers, embellished with padded bands of sky blue satin, lace, net and chenille fringing with tassels of looped ribbon, feathers and raffia.

Above and below: a 'Brunswick' Unknown maker 1765-75,  it was a two piece ensemble consisting of a short robe á la française with a hood and detachable sleeves worn with a matching petticoat. This type of garment was originally a German travelling dress which became popular informal fashion in 1760's. This example is watered silk and linen.

I am stopping for Christmas now but will be sharing more soon. Have a happy holiday.

Marie Antoinette at the Victoria and Albert Museum (Part 1)

Few can be unaware of the current glittering exhibition, at V&A Kensington, London until March 22nd 2026, of the clothing relating to the wardrobe of the controversial, vilified, spendthrift, French Queen Marie Antoinette (1755-1793).

 

Above: Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste in their wedding outfits-French National Archives. The couple were formally wed at Versailles 16 May 1770. For her wedding Marie wore a French style court gown of Parisian silver brocade silk gifted to her by her mother, the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.

The gown in the exhibition, pictured here, is a copy of a dress worn by Marie Antoinette's sister in law The Contesse d'Artois. It is the wedding gown of Duchess Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta (later Queen of Sweden). It is constructed of Brocaded silk, silver thread, metal and whalebone and was made in 1774 by an unknown maker. 

Above: Portrait of Duchess Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta in her wedding gown.

Marie Antoinette was to be incredibly influential with her extravagant style across Europe and beyond. This exhibition aims to reclaim the narrative away from her cake-eating legacy and explore whether the villainy that lead to her execution by guillotine was justified. 

Above:Jacques-Louis David, Marie Antoinette on Her Way to the Guillotine, 1793, Louvre, Paris, France.

Unfortunately Marie's belongings were also destroyed in the revolution and so the exhibition is comprised of clothing that was made at the time to emulate her style, as well as her other belongings and influences in interiors etc.

Great post about the queens dress here for further reading.

John Bright and Cosprop (Part 2)

This is a second blogpost featuring London's Fashion and Textile Museum's rich and wonderful exhibition of Cosprop which was created by John Myles Milton Bright (7 March 1940-). which is on display until March 6th 2026. 

Above is details of the 1930s turban and robe designed for the Little Maharaja (Raj Singh) in Steven Spielberg’s 1984 film Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, by Anthony Powell.

Below: illustration  by Anthony Powell.

"We made the costume and we got the jewellery from an Indian shop in Southall, they had lots of authentically shaped and styled jewellery. Anthony preferred the faceted stones because they twinkled better - for a Spielberg film you have to have the right twinkle!" John Bright

Above: 1880's dress for Rosalind, played by Bryce Dallas Howard in the 2006 version of 'As You Like It'. Designed by Susannah Buxton with inspiration from a piece on Kimono fabric. 

Below: 1770 wedding Dress worn by Helen Bonham Carter as Elizabeth in 1994 Frankenstein. Designed by James Acheson with a Cream moiré silk stomacher and a skirt of cream satin embroidered with metallic thread. 

Below 1920's coat from House of Elliot (1991-1994) Pale green Silk with appliqué floral design. 

Below: Heavily embellished 1780's court suit Louis XVI from 'Jefferson in Paris' (1995)

John Bright and Cosprop (Part 1)

Above: bodice purchased in 1958 from the Parisian Clignancourt Flea Market.

London's Fashion and Textile Museum has a rich and wonderful exhibition of Cosprop which was created by John Myles Milton Bright (7 March 1940-). which is on display until March 6th 2026. 

Below: John Bright

Cosprop is a unique collection of costumes gathered during the last six decades by costume designer John Bright a costume library used by international film and television makers. 

Below: John Bright with the costume Uma Thurman wore in 'The Golden Bowl' 2000.

Above: Uma Thurman at fitting, Below costume Uma Thurman wore in 'The Golden Bowl' 2000.

Above: Illustration by John of 1800 jacket and Breeches for Prince Vasili Kuragin (Basil Henderson). Below: Jacket detail.

Above: costumes with a photograph from 'A Room With A View' 1985. 

Below: Detail from the costume of Miss Lucy Honeychurch worn by actress Helen Bonham Carter. 

Below: Details of the costume of Charlotte Bartlett worn by actress Maggie Smith. 

Above and Below: details of 1850's dress for Mrs Codrington  in 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' 1968 played by (Rachel Kempson). Beige Muslin and cotton with printed Voile

John Bright made this dress in a day!

"There was so much to do that I had to make a dress in an extended day. I created the bodice in the morning, the skirt in the afternoon and the trimmings and finishing in the evening, so it was a 12-16 hour day" John Bright

Above: Sketches for 1979 'Tess', costume design was by Anthony Powell (2 June 1935 – 16 April 2021) who received an Oscar for Best Costume Design.

Above: 1880's peignoir for Tess played by Nastassja Kinski. Lace over peach silk underdress, with pale green fine knitted silk overdress attached with stunning pink and green floral embroidery. 

Below: 1880's wedding dress for Tess Durbeyfield played by Nastassja Kinski. Deep cream silk with white lace and panels of ruching. 

"Tess was one of the early film productions that brought out the best in what we could do. Anthony researched every detail of the historical period to ensure accuracy, even down to the position of the buttons on the bodices." John Bright

Below: 1914 Wedding Suit for Meryl Streep as Karen Blixen in 'Out of Africa', 1985.

Two-piece cream silk, high waisted jacket with high collar with pleated net trimmed in black piping, worn over ancle length hobble skirt and hat with peaked crown trimmed with floral embroidery. 

You can see detailed archive research by the collections curators Steph, Sage, Annie and Maddie here.

Henry Croft

 

I love folk history and costumes and have had a long interest in the Pearly Kings and Queens of London, with their amazing intricate and wild button decorated clothing.  Folk traditions are hard to find documentation for, but it seems the thrust of this tradition was Henry Croft (1861-1930) above. 

Henry Croft  was an orphaned street sweeper who collected money for charity. At the time, London costermongers (street traders) were in the habit of wearing trousers decorated at the seams with pearl buttons that had been found. In the late 1870s, Croft adapted this to create a button suit to draw attention to himself and assist his fund-raising activities. 

In 1911 an organised pearly society was formed in Finchley, north London.

Henry Croft's funeral in January 1930 was attended by 400 followers and received national media coverage. In 1934, a memorial referring to Croft as "The original Pearly King" was unveiled in St Pancras Cemetery and in a speech to mark the occasion he was said to have raised; £5,000 a vast sum in those days, for those suffering in London's hospitals.

"As autumn is the time when the Coster royal families of London overhaul the pearly suits after the summer season .Mr H G Tabram, of Holborn, the original Pearly King of London, and his family are having a visit. Pearly suits have from 20,000 to 50,000 buttons and each member of the Tabram family has an outfit address as an indication of rank. Mr Tabram can also a makes repairs on the suits of the Coaster Kings. Mr Tabramhas resigned since 1899, his father having been a Pearly King in 1870." 

 

Two photographs of children with bread for the harvest festival. 

In other lifetimes I would have loved to have been a pearly king or queen, creating these decorated clothes. I would in yet another lifetime like to have had a sporran and merkin shop on the royal mile in Edinburgh . . . but you have one life and this is busy enough with its madness.