A Virtual Journey into The History of Costume
The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of historic costumes from the 14th Century. The speakers will cover the history of fashion and textiles, emphasising research and analysis of the fascinating phenomenon of dress. Not limited to the study of garments, the sessions will extend the term “fashion” to all aspects of appearance as students are encouraged to consider recent developments in the light of what they learn about the past.
Sample Hosts
Charlotte Smith
Charlotte is a “fashion anthropologist” and custodian of The Charlotte Smith Fashion Collection, one of the largest and most comprehensive international private fashion collections in the world. The collection includes more than 9,000 dresses and accessories and showcases 300 years of fashion history.
Since discovering that her American Quaker godmother, Doris Darnell, was bequeathing her vast collection of fashion to her, Charlotte has dedicated her existence to realising the potential fashion has to empower and for her Collection's capacity to inspire, educate, mentor and entertain from Sydney to San Sebastian, from San Francisco to Sao Paolo.
Her two best selling books, Dreaming of Dior and Dreaming of Chanel tell the stories about the women who wore the dresses in her Collection. Her third book, One Enchanted Evening, continues the Collection's unique story.
Hilary Davidson
In 2007, Hilary became curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London. She contributed to the £20 million permanent gallery redevelopment opening in 2010, and curated an exhibition on pirates, while continuing to publish, teach and lecture in the UK and internationally. In collaboration with Museum of London Archaeology, Hilary began analysing archaeological textiles and continues to cross disciplines by consulting for in this area in England and Australia. She also worked on the AHRC 5-star rated Early Modern Dress and Textiles Network (2007-2009) and from 2011 has appeared as an expert on a number of BBC historical television programmes.
In addition to historical studies she has been a jewellery designer, graphic designer, photographer, gallerist, and worked in retail fashion and vintage clothing. Current projects include Dress in the Age of Jane Austen (Yale, 2019), and completing a PhD by publication at La Trobe University, Melbourne, on knowledge making and materiality in pre-modern dress (2020).
Hilary is equally skilled in analysing historical and archaeological material culture artefacts; presenting engaging, fascinating talks to diverse audiences; and producing influential academic research.
Severine Experton-Dard
Severine is a Textile and Fashion specialist with a passion for rare and fine handmade Textiles, Costumes and early Couture. She sharpened her taste for exceptional fabrics and costumes through various international trips and different roles in the world of Luxury, working with Comité Colbert, Maison Révillon-Caron, DEFI in Singapore. Having been based in Paris for the past 12 years, she now specialises in dress and textiles made in or for the European market from the 17th Century onwards.
For more than 15 years, she has studied, sourced, collected, sold and evaluated rare fabrics, accessories and historical costumes from around the world for a clientele of large institutions, private collectors, designers, decorators, costume designers, auction houses and heritage services for luxury homes. She has also been fortunate enough to provide unique textiles and costumes to major Decorative Art and Fashion Museums around the world.
Beatrice Behlen
Since 2007, Beatrice has been the Senior Curator of Fashion and Decorative Arts at the Museum of London. During her tenure, she has curated and co-curated numerous exhibitions, including 'The Clash: London Calling', a display celebrating the anniversary of the band's seminal album in 1979, and 'Made in London: Jewellery Now' with Agata Belcen, Fashion Editor at AnOther magazine. Other highlights have included work on the museum's Galleries of Modern London: 70 outfits and more than 250 accessories mounted and installed on time; commissioning Philip Treacy to make hats and artist Yasemen Hussein to make metal wigs for the 'Pleasure Garden' and contributing to the narrative, costume design and production of a 14-minute film for this immersive display. She has also been responsible for the costume store refurbishment, including the removal and re-installation of 18,000 objects.