From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "Join Curator Stephanie Wood as she carefully unboxes a haute couture cocktail suit, hat and handbag designed by Gabrielle Chanel for her Spring/Summer 1965 collection. Made from a cloqué fabric, the suit jacket and dress are highly textured, giving the look a distinctive, sculptured quality."
"For Spring Summer 2025, you are cordially invited to join Liberty Fabrics as we raise the curtain on Retold, a 150-year anniversary theatrical spectacular." Join Liberty of London for a retelling of their first 150 years of history, how that history inspired their sesquicentennial Retold collection, and how that will influence the next 150 years to come.
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "From the cocoon of the bombyx mori silk moth, to shiny couture dresses, join us on a journey through the fascinating world of silk – all the way from fibre to thread."
Join TQS's Susan Cleveland and co-hostess, Kimberly Einmo, in Japan this November! They've planned hands-on textile workshops and visits to Yoko Saito's quilt shop, the Yokohama quilt show, markets, a museum, shrine, garden and other surprises. Opulent Quilt Journeys takes great care to arrange top-notch experiences abroad. You really don't want to miss this opulent tour!
From the Victoria and Albert Museum: "This extraordinarily rare hunting coat was made at the Mughal court in the first half of the 17th century. Richly embroidered in extremely fine chain stitch on a white satin ground, it features detailed images of wild cats, deer and rabbits, flowers, blossoming trees, birds, bugs and landscapes. In this film, curator of South Asian textiles and dress Avalon Fotheringham takes an in-depth look at the cut and construction of the coat, both inside and out, explores the design and uncovers some secrets discovered during recent conservation work."
Over sixty years ago, on April 23, 1961, Judy Garland made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City. At the performance she wore a hand-stitched sequin jacket designed exclusively for her by renowned fashion designer Norman Norell. This jacket came to be known as her "Lucky Jacket" due to her successes while wearing it. "Join Broadway star Jessica Vosk as she explores artifacts from Judy Garland’s historic concert at Carnegie Hall in 1961," including the "Lucky Jacket".
From Netflix: "The Quilters follows the daily lives of several quilters inside the sewing room at South Central Correctional Center, a Level 5 maximum-security prison in a small town two hours south of St. Louis, MO."
From the Bayeux Museum: "Discover the entire Bayeux Tapestry scene by scene and follow online the 70 meter-long embroidered canvas which tells the story of the conquest of England in 1066."
Do you recognize this dress? It belonged to Fanny Seward, beloved daughter of William H. Seward, the Secretary of State for both Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson. In this episode of Collections Unboxing, SHM Director of Collections and Exhibitions Emma Dailey shares a look at Fanny’s debutante dress as well as the history of debutante traditions around the world. Stay till the end to see a detailed walkthrough of this incredible outfit!
Are you a fan of Star Wars? If you are, or even if aren't, we're sure you'll love what Star Wars fan Becky Glasby made that hung in the National Quilt Museum in 2024 as part of her solo exhibition, My Quilting Medley: Becky Glasby. Hear the story behind her Star Wars Trilogy quilts as part of the Go Tell It at the Quilt Show series from the Quilt Alliance.
The Museum of the American Revolution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is launching a new exhibit this month featuring Revolutionary War flags to commemorate a number of anniversaries taking place this year. "The Museum will mark the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the Revolutionary War and the creation of the United States Armed Forces (Army, Navy, and Marine Corps) with a new special exhibition, Banners of Liberty: An Exhibition of Original Revolutionary War Flags, opening April 19, 2025. The exhibition, which will be displayed in the Museum's first-floor Patriots Gallery, will feature the largest gathering of rare and significant Revolutionary War flags in more than two centuries."
Quilters by their nature keep lots of things, as evidenced by their large stashes. So you never know if you have a diamond in the rough amongst the collection of other things you have boxed up in your house. Take for example this Women's Cotten Printed Dress from the late 1700s that was gifted to a couple. They took it to Antiques Roadshow to find out some more about it and received quite a pleasant surprise with the information they received. Watch the video to find out what they learned.
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!"