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Wedding Dresses, Part 3
19 November 2009 by Sarah Clayton.
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Conservation,Of love and war, Conservation, Of Love and War, preservation, Textile, wedding dress, Wedding Dresses
Once we determined that the remaining three wedding dresses, requested for the exhibtion Of Love and War, were able to be safely put on display, the textile conservators worked in collaboration with curators and exhibition staff to determine the dimensions of showcase and, the types and styles of mannequins. To get the most accurate dimensions the dresses were placed on temporary mannequins and the trains were arranged as they will fall on display. In the picture the two wedding dresses in the foreground have undergone no conservation treatment and are on ill-fitting temporary mannequins, the wedding dress in the back is on a mannequin previously custom made for it.
Wedding dresses for Of Love and War on temporary mannequinsAs part of the process of conservation we will ensure that mannequins are custom made for all the wedding dresses and uniforms on display in Of Love and War. This will ensure that the garments are correctly supported and shaped and that all materials used in the construction of the mannequins are of archival quality.
Wedding Dresses, part 2
11 November 2009 by Sarah Clayton.
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Conservation,Exhibitions,Of love and war, Conservation, Exhibition, Of Love and War, preservation, Textile, Wedding Dresses
As previously explained four wedding dresses were initially selected for “Of Love and War“. One of the wedding dresses, originally owned by Mrs N S Bissaker, required hundreds of hours of painstaking work before it would be strong enough for display, so unfortunately it will not be ready for display in “Of Love and War”. Instead this dress with go on our Vulnerable Textiles conservation list and be conserved with all the care it deserves to preserve it for the future. In cases like this, it is the vulnerability of the dress that determined its exclusion from this exhibition. However, the Memorial plans to make images of this dress available on its website in the near future.
Detail of the front bodice of Mrs N S Bissaker wedding dress.
Detail of the upper back bodice of Mrs N S Bissaker wedding dress.You can see in the pictures the fragile state of the lace, which has many holes visible as black areas. For full conservation of this dress, sheer silk panels will be inserted behind each piece of the dress and then the lace will be carefully stitched to these panels, giving the dress the structural support it requires.
