Laura Ashley: Romantic heroine at Bath Fashion museum

Posted in Vintage by

I’m down in Hampshire this weekend doing some research for my masters dissertation, but whilst i was down sarf’ I though it would be rude not to take a trip to Bath and view the Laura Ashley exhibition on there (particularly seeing as I am currently obsessed with the brand).

IMG_9622

IMG_9625

The exhibition is a fabulous trip into the Laura Ashley brand, perfectly capturing a particularly period during the 1970s when Laura Ashley defined the zeitgeist for a return to floaty Victoriana.

What the exhibition gives you a great idea of is the re-use and readaption of prints. Changing garment shapes and applying the same print, changing colours and actually chaning the complete feel of the dress.

IMG_9636

Personal favouirtes for me were the dresses that featured Bloomsbury -esque prints in zingy lime and hot pink. (the lime dress here features the same print as the dress I wore to the LA press day)

IMG_9642 IMG_9644

One of the strongest aspects of the exhibition for me was the labels. These dresses were expertly put into context with the stories of the original owners coming through and making you really examine the dresses. They also helped to give a real idea of the Laura Ashley store experience from a customers point of view.

IMG_9651

IMG_9652

I adored this patchwork skirt that was made from scraps of Laura Ashley fabric in the 1970s.

IMG_9663

There were a couple of garments where you could see Laura may have missed the mark and gone too far in re-creating the Victorian look, but these were interesting nonetheless…

IMG_9633

IMG_9659

There were even a few garments that showed the slightly sexier side of Laura Ashley (MASSIVE WANT towards the green dress seen here!)

IMG_9664

As you can see from my pictures you could get up nice and close to the dresses, and really have the chance to examine them closely. The space (as you rarely find with fashion exhibitions) was light and airy giving a chance for a real appreciation of the colour and texture of the dresses. A great job on keeping the public far enough away not to be able to touch, yet close enough to be able to see the detail.

Criticism? A few minor niggles really. I would have like to have seen more than just dresses in the exhibition, I feel that there was not enough about Laura’s design process (sketches and fabric swatch books as seen at the archive mini exhibition would have been great). One of my other favourites is the matching mother and daughter outfits, which there was not one of in the exhibition. The few children’s dresses were not matching to adult ones at all. Also, I fully understand that the scope of the exhibition was just to concentrate on a brief period of the Laura Ashley story, but unless you are a fashion history nut like me I’m not sure how interesting it would be to see 90+ very similar dresses. But overall these critiscims are only slight and I passed a delightful two hours looking around, I also had a great chat with the FOH. Top marks Bath Fashion museum for your friendly staff (even if I did have to pay despite having ICOM membership!)

IMG_9632

My advice? Get down to Bath before the exhibiton finishes on the 26th August, it will be moving on to the Bowes museum next.

Horrockses brand name purchased by Bluewell ventures

Posted in Horrockses, Uncategorized by

So, after months of wondering who has purchased the Horrockses brand name yesterday it was announced that the brand had been purchased by a company called “Bluewell ventures”, a Manchester based company. Back in April I wrote about my fears/ thoughts about the sale of the brand name which you can read here, and now the sale has actually happened I am not sure how I feel about it.

First off a note of annoyance on the telegraph article (yes I am being pedantic, but that is me all over). WHY newspapers feel the need to attribute EVERY vintage trend popularity to Mad men is completely beyond me, funnily enough there are more things than just mad men that has influenced the way people dress in the last 5 years or so… And secondly, Horrockses are famed for their “50s style dresses”, NO Horrockses were famed for their dresses in the 50s. Tsk, the Telegraph, tsk.

At the time numerous articles were suggesting that major high street retailers such as John Lewis were interested in the brand, but rather than a well known purchaser “Bluewell ventures” (a company formed only in May this year)  has stepped in. I am feeling pretty glad that it is a Manchester brand that has purchased the Horrockses name though as this sticks with the Heritage of Horrockses as a Lancashire company and I hope this is remembered as a factor. I hope this also means the potential for garments to be produced in the UK too, as I think the “Made In England” aspect of Horrockses pieces is part of what makes them so special.

So what will happen now? We shall wait and see what the company do with the brand, but the telegraph report seems to suggest a revival of Horrockses as a fashion brand. I hope they remember that Horrockses were renowned for their QUALITY. If they are going to produce clothing again these need to be produced in beautiful cotton that respects the original designs. I would be perfectly happy seing more home items using Horrockses prints, but fashion garments? I’m not so sure that bluewell ventures will be able to do the Horrockses brand name justice, but we shall wait and see…

Read the telegraph article here.