Fashion with a revolutionary flourish
Posted on 30 August 2011
They have helped to stage Revolutionary Fashion which shows how seismic changes in fashion developed at the end of the 18th century, influenced by the French Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Industrial Revolution.
The four MA and PhD students are part of an intern programme developed jointly by the University’s Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP) and the Director at Fairfax House, Hannah Phillip.
The programme encourages students in the humanities to translate their research skills into the public realm in museums, galleries, heritage sites and media production companies.
Hannah Phillip said: “I am thrilled with the work of the IPUP intern students because their research has been invaluable to our work on Georgian fashion. It has been very rewarding to work with IPUP and it is a genuine and successful partnership.”
Professor Helen Weinstein of IPUP said “I am very grateful to Fairfax House for giving our students this great opportunity to translate their research and writing skills in to an exhibition for the public to enjoy. The interns’ research has revealed new understanding of men’s clothing, highlighting the influence of the Napoleonic Wars on the fashions of the period.
I am thrilled with the work of the IPUP intern students because their research has been invaluable to our work on Georgian fashion
Hannah Phillip, Director at Fairfax House
“Our students have also had great fun researching women’s elite fashions, ranging from corsets and underpinnings, to gowns and wigs, exploring the history of how accessories developed such as pockets, hats and hair fascinators, shoes and buckles.”
One of the interns, Jenny Basford, who is completing a PhD in History, added: “It has been a great experience to see what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ of an exhibition. The IPUP internship has allowed me to experience a range of activities, from researching the history of objects, and the editing and designing process for display panels, to the practicalities of creating them.
“All the hard work of everyone involved – the Fairfax House staff, the volunteers, and the IPUP interns alike – has resulted in a wonderful exhibition about the Regency period that I hope visitors of all backgrounds will enjoy seeing as much as we enjoyed making.”
Jenny Basford’s fellow interns were PhD student Caitlin Blackwell (History of Art) and MA students Ruth Mather (Modern History) and Hannah Lyons (Eighteenth Century Studies).
Notes to editors:
- For further information about Fairfax House and opening times for Revolutionary Fashion, go to www.fairfaxhouse.co.uk
- For further information about the Institute for the Public Understanding of the Past (IPUP) at the University of York, go to www.york.ac.uk/ipup/
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