The During (part 1)

When I first pitched my practicum idea to one of my honors advisors, I never imagined that it would go beyond the borders of Mines. So, you can imagine my surprise and delight when one of my honors professors, who happens to be teaching a fashion based class this semester, invited me along on her class’s trip to London! London has been on my bucket list for years and I am incredibly grateful that I was able to go and explore this amazing city. Thank you so much to the McBride Honors program for funding my trip and giving me this wonderful opportunity!

Now, I could talk about the London trip for hours and hours on end, but instead, I will limit myself to describing some of the fashion related activities that my group did on our trip. I was very fortunate that the class I traveled with was fashion related and that many of our planned outings related back directly to my project. Let’s take a look-

The Victoria and Albert Museum

On the second day of our visit, my group spent the day at the Victoria and Albert Museum. This absolutely fantastic museum is a bit like the Smithsonian Museums here in the United States and I could have easily spent the entirety of our trip walking around it. The McBride Honors program was kind enough to purchase tickets for my group to see two of the traveling exhibits: Fashioning Masculinities and Africa Fashion. Let’s go through them one by one.

Fashioning Masculinities:

Prior to visiting, I’d heard of this exhibit through a friend of a friend and was very excited to see it in person. This exhibit basically takes you on a chronological journey through the history of menswear beginning with the frilly fashions of the 1600s and working its way up to Timothee Chamalet’s sparkly suit from the Dune premiere. Seeing all of these garments together in the same place really illustrates how far the world of menswear has come.

I mentioned this earlier, but up until seeing this exhibit I didn’t consider men’s fashion to be as interesting as women’s. Women’s fashion is still my favorite, but I loved seeing the subtle changes made to men’s clothing throughout time. Did you know that men’s clothing, not women’s, used to be known for large amounts of frills, lace, and bold colors? It’s true! Only at the beginning of the 18th century did we start to see men’s fashion move towards the muted colors and cleaner styles that we associate with today’s menswear. Seeing this change in style as the exhibit went on was eye opening in terms of fashion history, especially because it was clear to see that fashion adapted to fit society's demands and wishes as the role of men in society changed.

Something I love about people in general is that it doesn't matter how "advanced" we become as a society, some things pretty much always stay the same. Would you believe that garment construction methods we use today were also used back in the 1630s? The texture on this silk doublet was created by layering different pieces of the same trim at alternating angles, something that probably looks familiar to anyone who has ever gone prom dress shopping (I actually had to work around this technique while altering my sister's prom dress a few years ago!)

My absolute favorite part of this exhibit was seeing Billy Porter’s suit and cape from the 2019 Golden Globes in person. I love both the color and the embroidery on this outfit and I loved getting to see all of the sparkly beaded details! It’s really easy to see the intention and love that went into making this suit when you’re viewing it up close.

This exhibit reminded me a lot of the pieces I read about in Nevertheless, She Wore It. I think lots of people tend to believe that the world of fashion is out of touch with reality because of how superfluous it appears on the surface. In reality, it's the small details that make fashion revolutionary and meaningful.

Africa Fashion:

Admittedly, I wasn’t initially too excited about seeing this exhibit, mostly because I had no idea what it would entail. I was pleasantly surprised at how thoughtful and intriguing this exhibit turned out to be. Fashion in Africa has come a long way in recent years, morphing as political powers shifted and social ideas changed. It was amazing to see traditional techniques merge with modern styles and I highly recommend going to see this exhibit if you get the chance!

Many of the outfits here incorporated traditional designs into a modern form, something that I found particularly interesting. Several ensembles featured traditional ways of weaving fabric using region specific materials. Check out this display showing two women’s suits featuring patterns created with traditional printmaking techniques. How amazing is it to see something of historical value appear in a modern outfit?

I also loved seeing this suit designed by Sindiso Khumalo. I actually saw it from across the exhibit and knew exactly what it was based on before approaching to read the accompanying plaque. Can you tell what it's based on?

(If your guess involved quilts created during the American Civil War that were displayed as beacons of safety for individuals traveling along the Underground Railroad, you'd be correct!)

My favorite part of this exhibit? This display by Katungulu Mwendwa shows the process of creating a dress. I loved this exhibit because my paper and muslin mockups for my own sewing projects look just like this! I don’t know very many other designers or seamstresses in my day to day life, so seeing that my design process resembles a professional's was very reassuring.

This exhibit actually reminded me quite a bit of some of the things I read about in Fashionopolis. Fashion is beginning to slowly shift away from mass produced items and back into unique pieces with meanings and stories incorporated into them. This is the kind of garment I hope to produce at the end of my project.