Age of Glamour at Lotherton Hall March 2015

Thursday, 18th December 2014

Age of Glamour Fashion from the Fifties: International Haute Couture to Extra-Ordinary Every Day 20 March to 31 December 2015 at Lotherton Hall, Leeds Age of Glamour, a fabulous exhibition of women’s fashions from the fifties, will be the first exhibition to open following the extensive refurbishment of the Fashion Galleries at historic Lotherton Hall, situated between Leeds and York. This ground breaking exhibition will showcase a major loan from the V&A - a red Dior cocktail dress (the acclaimed ‘Ecarlate’, from Dior’s La Ligne Y collection of 1955) - plus pieces from renowned designers, Balenciaga (Ball Gown, by Cristóbal Balenciaga, 1951) and Norman Hartnell. The displays will also show luxury ready to wear dresses from British designer labels such as Frank Usher, Susan Small and Horrockses, and explore the post-war period when fashion delighted in a return to elegance. The exhibition celebrates the opening of one of the largest spaces in the north of England providing a regular programme of fashion and textile exhibitions. Visitors will gain an understanding of the fashion system at the time and how the renowned names of French couture may have led the way in creating the fifties style, but that it was really an era which saw the coming of age of ‘off the peg’, as the glamour of Paris was copied and recreated at every level, from exclusive labels sold in department stores, to the home dressmaker. Some of the country’s earliest department stores recognised that the design achievements of these great couture houses could be represented within their own ranges and stores, such as Marks & Spencer, Marshall & Snelgrove, Schofields and Lewis’, and all helped to bring this exclusive style to the high street. With strong links to the north of England, their representation within the exhibition will allow this period of fashion history to be placed into context of Leeds and Yorkshire and provide a snapshot of the population’s desires and eventual achievement to have glamour hanging in their own wardrobes following the austerity of the war years. This exhibition appeals to a broad range of visitors including families with children of all ages, fashion and vintage devotees, design students and historic house enthusiasts. The exhibition also clarifies the journey of these designs to ‘high street’ with insights on shopping and leisure time in the 1950s, combined with achieving that classic 1950s silhouette with underwear and swimwear, new materials and accessories. The exhibition links nicely with other displays within this historic house, including domestic revolution, the family at Lotherton and fifties childhood creating an insight into how this special era redefined fashion across the globe and how the city of Leeds and Yorkshire played its part. Lotherton Hall is the home of Leeds Museums and Galleries extensive and extraordinary collection of fashion and textiles dating from the 1600s to the present day. Lotherton Hall, a charming Edwardian house and country estate once home to the Gascoigne family, opened in 1970 as a museum providing acclaimed exhibitions of British designers. The exhibition space will have benefited from a major refurbishment programme following an award of £150,000 by the Department of Culture Media and Sport and Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund. This investment will support Lotherton Hall as one of its key ambitions is to become a major museum of fashion and textiles. Age of Glamour is Lotherton’s first exhibition celebrating the completion of this work, which has created a 21st gallery space, with modern cases, improved lighting and the chance to utilise interactive technology, including new elements like film and sound. The galleries will meet the challenges of becoming a destination capable of accepting and showing rare and valuable items. This major exhibition also includes collections from the M&S archive, a blue wedding dress bought from a boutique shop in Leeds in 1953, which was bought in a colour so the wearer could also enjoy the dress after her wedding day; a family trail ‘From Paris to Leeds’ so you can become a 1950s fashion buyer and make your way round the exhibition completing activities to help you create your own collection for the department Marshall & Snelgrove in Leeds; listen to people’s memories of shopping in Leeds in the 1950s and try on garments to see how you look and feel in period outfits. Visitors can also enjoy curators’ talks and tours, a day learning how to do vintage style make up with specialist Natalie Willingham and take part in ‘Fabulous Fifties’ a family day across the whole Lotherton estate on the 9th August. Natalie Raw, Curator of Costume and Textiles says: “Lotherton Hall has over 30 years of history showcasing major fashion exhibitions, with ground breaking shows in the 1980s featuring British designers such as Jean Muir and Vivienne Westwood, setting a standard and helping Lotherton to evolve as the host for ever-changing displays and a repository for one of the nation’s most important collections of fashion and textiles, now containing over 20,000 items. With work complete, our exhibition space competes on the world’s fashion and textile exhibitions’ arena and gives us the opportunity to accept loans from some of the most renowned and historically important fashion houses. The new galleries will allow visitors across Yorkshire and the North to have easy access to exciting exhibitions displaying items perhaps not traditionally seen outside London museums. We’re really proud that these new galleries will be in West Yorkshire, a county which enjoys a legacy of being at the cutting edge of the textile and retail industries. We look forward to welcoming Lotherton’s regular visitors, and hosting new groups and visitors who may not have previously considered Lotherton Hall as a destination.” Councillor Lucinda Yeadon, Leeds City Council’s executive member for digital and creative technologies, culture and skills says: “Lotherton Hall remains one of Leeds’ most popular visitor attractions, and we are very excited by the opening of our newly refurbished Fashion Galleries which are set to be showcased for the first time in the fantastic ‘Age of Glamour’ exhibition. A range of beautiful women’s fashions that graced and embodied the 1950s will be available to view in the display, which really does promise to be something not to be missed.” Lotherton Hall is also planning to install a new passenger lift offering level access to the first floor of the house in 2015. -ENDS- Notes to editors: Social Media: @LeedsMuseums #ageofglamour Facebook: www.facebook.com/lothertonhall Website: www.leeds.gov.uk/ageofglamour Digital Dropbox Press Pack with a full range of images available at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ap8dexhuoi2fqbq/AAAxvjFv0zQn6Sf79bjHaWI6a?dl=0 Image captions: Image 6 Dress by Horrockses, 1956. Image 14 Dress by Susan Small, c. 1958. Image 20 Dress by Frank Usher, c. 1958. Image 25 Evening Dress, c. 1952- 1955. Image 28 Ball Gown, by Cristóbal Balenciaga, 1951 Photography by Sara Porter © Leeds Museums and Galleries Age of Glamour illustration by Nina Hunter for The Archipelago ©Lotherton Hall Lotherton Hall © Leeds Museums and Galleries Lotherton Hall is a charming Edwardian house and country estate. A single entrance price allows access to the house, with its wonderful collections of fine and decorative arts and a dedicated fashion gallery, as well as extensive grounds with an abundance of activities to keep everyone busy. The estate grounds include wildlife walks, formal gardens, the bird garden, historic stables, a deer park, playgrounds as well as gift shop and café. Lotherton Hall has undergone numerous changes over the last few years since becoming one whole visitor attraction. With this new and larger audience the house has adapted by improving access and introducing a new range of family-friendly facilities. These include the popular dressing-up room, curiosity cabinets and the Gascoignes Abroad interactive with stories of six family travels to different lands and sound and smell activities in the historic rooms. Other recent improvements have seen the re-opening of the Servants’ Rooms on the ground floor following a major restoration. The dress and textiles collection at Leeds Museums and Galleries is recognised by the Arts Council’s Designation Scheme as a collection of national and international importance because of the quality and range of the items. From Elizabethan textiles and eighteenth century ladies dresses, to the latest Alexander McQueen coat, the collection gives us insight into 500 years of fashion and furnishings. As the main gallery for displaying Leeds Museums and Galleries’ dress and textiles collection and as one of the few places left in the region with a dedicated space for such displays, these galleries will be a unique feature for both Lotherton Hall and the people of Leeds. Lotherton Hall has been displaying fashion since its early days of being a museum in 1968, showing fine examples of both historic and more contemporary fashions. In the late 1960s it was decided to build on the collection by acquiring more contemporary British designs and fashions. It is at this time (from mid-seventies)that Lotherton Hall gained a reputation for curating innovative displays looking at contemporary fashion and showcasing British designers such as Jean Muir, Bill Gibb and Vivienne Westwood. There is now everything from high end fashion items collected for their excellence in cut, construction and aesthetic beauty - to items that have been collected because they have a unique and local significance to the area of Leeds and the surrounding Yorkshire region. Address: Lotherton Lane, Aberford, Leeds, LS25 3EB Tel: 0113 378 2959 Email: lotherton.hall@leeds.gov.uk Web address: www.leeds.gov.uk/lothertonhall See our member’s page for year round entry: www.leeds.gov.uk/lothertonmembers Winter opening times (November to February) House*, café, shop and bird garden: 10:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:15. *Please note the house will be closed in January and February of 2015 due to redevelopment building works. Summer opening times (March to October) House, café, shop and bird garden: 10:00 to 17:00 with last entry at 16:15. Estate gates: 07:30 to 20:00. Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund (WMGIF) aims to provide capital funding for museums and galleries across England to deliver projects in one or a number of the following key areas: a. Renovation and improvement of the display of exhibits in permanent galleries and exhibition spaces; b. Improvements to public spaces and access to the collection; c. Physical improvements to access for disabled visitors; d. Physical improvements to collection interpretation; e. Improvements to environmental controls in public access spaces and galleries, in the context of improvements to visitor experience. The Wolfson Foundation is a charity that was established in 1955. The Foundation supports and promotes excellence in the fields of science and medicine, health, education and the arts & humanities. All funding is based on expert peer review. Over £750 million (£1.25 billion in real terms) has been awarded in grants to some 10,000 projects over the last 58 years. In addition to DCMS and WMGIF, Lotherton Hall has also received support from the following organisations for the recent refurbishments. Arts Council England funds museums in a number of ways and with differing timescales. Major partner museums lead wide programmes of work for schools, families and lifelong learning. They develop excellent care and conservation; demonstrate innovative and engaging interpretations of their Designated collections; they focus on becoming sustainable organisations through increasing earned income; and they improve staff development through workforce training programmes. www.artscouncil.org.uk/funding Leeds Art Fund was founded in 1912 and is one of the oldest supporting ‘friends’ organisations for the visual arts in Great Britain. They own outright or have helped to acquire more than 430 works for Leeds Art Galleries by artists including Warhol, Bacon and Moore and we continue to play a vital role in the purchase of contemporary and historic art. They also support publications, conservation and educational activities. Among recent acquisitions which the Leeds Art Fund has supported are: Northern Art Prize winner Pavel Büchler’s Fly; JMW Turner’s The Valley of the Washburn; and Thomas Pitts’ chinoiserie silver epergne of 1759. www.leedsartfund.org Friends of Leeds City Museums was established over forty years ago the is an independent voluntary organisation of charitable status open to all for a modest membership fee. www.friendsofleedsmuseums.org For media enquiries (details, images, interview and photography opportunities), please contact: Kendra Grahame-Clarke at Kendra PR t. 01904 234 752 m. 07910 214474 kendra@kendrapr.co.uk or corrie@kendrapr.co.uk or Colin Dickinson, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 39 51578 Email: colin.dickinson@leeds.gov.uk Photo Opportunity: 11am Tuesday 17 March 2015 Lotherton Hall Private View: 6pm – 8pm 19 March By Invitation Only