From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Discover a dazzling 1960s evening dress embellished with precious metal threads, beads, sequins, diamantes and coral (which was commonly used in fashion at the time but is now protected). This dress was designed by French couturier Yves Saint Laurent, who took the helm as Head Designer at the prestigious House of Dior when he was only 21 years old."
Celebrated documentary filmmaker Ken Burns is a lover of quilts, and a few years ago he decided to display his collection for the first time publicly at the International Quilt Study Center and Museum in Nebraska. Learn why he chose to share his quilts, why he chose Nebraska, and catch a glimpse of some of the quilts themselves.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "American heiress Cara Broughton was a style icon of her day, with some extremely bold and playful fashion choices. In this documentary, Fashion Historian Cassie explores two incredible surviving pieces from Cara’s eclectic wardrobe, and tells us about what is typical of women’s late Victorian fashion."
Recently nominated for the Academy Award for Costume Design, go behind the scenes of Gladiator II with costume designers Janty Yates and Dave Crossman and get an inside look into the creation of the wide variety of historical costumes that were created for Ridley Scott's latest epic.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "This fragile silk costume was once worn on the West End stage by Julie Andrews in her role as Eliza Doolittle – star of the classic musical My Fair Lady. Designed by iconic designer and photographer Cecil Beaton, the exquisite ballgown was influenced by Beaton’s glamorous mid-century fashion photography. Follow the gown’s transformation in our Conservation studio, as we prepare it for display in our Theatre and Performance galleries."
From the Met: "The magnificent sixteenth-century Emperor's Carpet from Safavid Iran was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum in 1941, but its condition was so fragile that it was only displayed for public twice over the next sixty years. This video documents the ambitious three-year conservation program that was launched in 2006 to stabilize the condition of the carpet so its lustrous wools and dazzling colors can be displayed the Museum on a regular basis."
From Historic Royal Palaces: "This rare historic dress known as the Silver Tissue Dress is 360 years old. Explore behind the scenes at the Textile Conservation Studio, and discover how this remarkable dress from the reign of Charles II is carefully prepared for display, celebrating the craftsmanship and beauty of a dress that has survived since The Stuarts were on the throne."
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "From dancing Christmas puddings, to a lobster snipping at a child, cats doing acrobatics and a dog postman with human hands – explore the wide selection of (sometimes unexpected) Victorian Christmas cards in the V&A's collection!"
A short documentary on the 25 Million Stitches: One Stitch, One Refugee exhibit that was on display at The Wisconsin Museum of Quilts & Fiber Arts from March 1 through July 28, 2024 recently won three Chicago/Midwest Emmy Awards. This short captured the exhibit which "is an artistic statement from the international community about human displacement, immigration, and solidarity. It is an aggregation of 25 million hand-sewn stitches, each representing a single displaced human being as counted in the UN’s High Commissioner on Refugees 2019 report."
From The New-York Historical Society: "Curators Anna Danziger Halperin and Keren Ben-Horin discuss the exhibition "Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore, the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection" on view September 27, 2024 - June 22, 2025. The groundbreaking exhibition examines the everyday clothing of ordinary women, from hard-worn house dresses to psychedelic micro minis and modern suits to fast-food workers’ uniforms."
Designing clothing of any kind can be difficult, but try designing something that needs to be worn day after day and appear beautiful all the time. These are just some of the challenges that face noted Theatre and Costume Designer Bob Crowley, whose experience designing costumes for both opera and broadway have created outstanding looks that have stood the test of time. Enjoy this video of Bob talking about just a small portion of his extensive career that was created for the Victoria and Albert Museum's 2017-2018 exhibition Opera: Passion, Power and Politics.
You never know where things are going to turn up. One day you put a box in the attic, then it gets moved to the basement, then to a friend's house and so on. That's kind of what happened in Clay County, Minnesota, where a quilt donated to the Ulen Museum turned out to be one of America's oldest quilts, older than the country itself. Find out more about this amazing discovery of American History.
It looks like the pattern companies have learned that Netflix's Bridgerton is a phenomenon and have begun to create costumes and designs inspired by the show's vision of regal fashion mixed with a modern aesthetic. To get an idea how a company like Simplicity would create a look like this, go straight to the source and see how the costumes for Bridgerton were created with an inside look from Costume Designer Ellen Mirojnick. Watch the video and be inspired when making your own dress, whether it be for this coming Halloween or a special occasion.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Follow Senior Textile Conservator Susana Fajardo as she works on the dress worn by Sandie Shaw for her performance of ‘Puppet on a String’ at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1967."
From George Washington's Mount Vernon: "Martha Washington is best known for being the loving and supporting wife of George Washington. But did you know one of her personal interests was making quilts? In this video, executive director of historic preservation and collections Susan Schoelwer talks about one of Martha's quilts, and its intricate design. We are lucky to have such an item, as it reveals a more personal side of Martha Washington."
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join dressmaking expert Sue Clark as she examines a luxurious, sparkly CHANEL trouser suit, made in 1937 – 38 for American Fashion Magazine Editor, Diana Vreeland.
This week we return to the Go Tell It at the Quilt Show series from the Quilt Alliance and are introduced to Kathy York's quilt, i Quilt, which took home Best in Show at QuiltCon 2015. It is a two-sided quilt, and both sides have a story of why they were constructed the way they were.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join dressmaking expert Sue Clark as she takes a close-up look at an elegant CHANEL suit, made in 1959 for actress Lauren Bacall. Comprised of a rose-pink tweed skirt and jacket paired with a delicate silk blouse, the pieces were made exactly to fit Bacall's measurements and have been finished to the very highest standard."
Find out why Quilters Hall of Fame member Merikay Waldvogel found this quilt so interesting as Michele Muska talks about the quilt her Aunt Sadie made in the 1930s in another "Go Tell It" interview from the Quilt Alliance.
It's always interesting when a quilter talks about her quilt, and in this "Go Tell It" interview from the Quilt Alliance, Linda M. Roy talks about Redbud Ramble, a very "decorated quilt", including a NACQJ award in 2019, Best of Show AQS Knoxville 2011, and more.