Fashion, History, Museums: Inventing the Display of Dress

(Paperback)

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This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. It is funded by Knowledge Unlatched. "A remarkable resource for the field of fashion studies suitable for both newcomers ... [and] seasoned practitioners." - Fashion Historia "A precious source in the study of the subject ... inspiring." - The Journal of Dress History The last decade has seen the growing popularity and visibility of fashion as a cultural product, including its growing presence in museum exhibitions. This book explores the history of fashion displays, highlighting the continuity of past and present curatorial practices. Comparing and contrasting exhibitions from different museums and decadesfrom the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 to the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2011, and beyondit makes connections between museum fashion and the wider fashion industry. By critically analyzing trends in fashion exhibition practice over the 20th and early 21st centuries, Julia Petrov defines and describes the varied representations of historical fashion within British and North American museum exhibitions. Rooted in extensive archival research on exhibitions by global leaders in the fieldfrom the Victoria and Albert and the Bath Fashion Museum to the Brooklyn and the Royal Ontario Museumsthe work reveals how fashion exhibitions have been shaped by the values and anxieties associated with fashion more generally. Supplemented by parallel critical approaches, including museological theory, historiography, body theory, material culture, and visual studies, Fashion, History, Museums demonstrates that in an increasingly corporate and mass-mediated world, fashion exhibitions must be analysed in a comparative and global context. Richly illustrated with 70 images, this book is essential reading for students and scholars of fashion history and museology, as well as curators, conservators, and exhibition designers.

Reviews

The book serves as a valuable entry into the continually evolving field of fashion curation and would make a worthwhile purchase for any library with programs in art history, museum studies, fashion studies, or design history. * ARLIS/NA Reviews *
[Contains] rich illustrations ... Moreover, with 20 pages of references, the book confirms itself as a precious source in the study of the subject. Perhaps more interestingly, it is possible that this publication will become the everpresent reference in future books ... Petrovs work is inspiring for scholars not just for the contents but even for her disciplined writing. The quoted exhibitions are, without a doubt, the greatest strength in this study. * The Journal of Dress History *
A remarkable resource for the field of fashion studies suitable for both newcomers who will appreciate the abundance of history and references, as well as seasoned practitioners that may see their own work in a different light ... One of the most striking aspects of this book [is] that the issues that seem to plague every fashion exhibition, from mannequin heads and wigs to gaps in the collection, have been with us from the start. Perhaps with the addition of this book, we can collectively start to sort out solutions. * Fashion Historia *
Comprehensive, well-argued and original, this book includes invaluable insights from a practicing curator and historian, and places the museum exhibition in the larger discourse of fashion and its history. -- Hazel Clark, Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York, USA
Petrovs sharp and critical insights put the current worldwide rise of fashion exhibitions in an historic continuum, raising questions that should be on the mind of every fashion curator or museum working with fashion. By far the most thought provoking book on fashion curation of the past years. -- Kaat Debo, Director and Chief Curator, MoMu Fashion Museum, Antwerp, Belgium
This is a valuable addition to the scholarship dedicated to the complex relationship between fashion and museums. Petrov retraces connections and highlights pivotal experiences, providing a thorough study useful not only to consider history, but also to reflect on future practices. -- Maria Luisa Frisa, Universit IUAV di Venezia, Italy
This is an insightful addition to the growing field of fashion curating. Stretching over the last century and beyond, Petrovs contribution is an original analysis of the museum as a site where fashion, commerce, art and history intertwine. [A] must-read for students of fashion and anyone interested in the field. -- Annamari Vnsk, co-editor of 'Fashion Curating' (Bloomsbury, 2017), and Aalto University, Finland
A welcome account of the key historical developments in establishing the display of dress and, in turn, the culture of fashion exhibitions; a useful contribution to fashion studies. -- Alistair ONeill, Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, UK

Author Bio

Julia Petrov is Curator of Western Canadian History at the Royal Alberta Museum, Canada.