The first thing to greet the visitor at Ulster Museum’s historic new exhibition Ashes to Fashion opening this Friday in Belfast is a huge photograph of a burning house with firefighters and ladders outside. It tells its own story of what is to follow.
On November 11th, 1976, following an IRA bombing, a devastating fire took place at Malone House – a Georgian building in south Belfast owned by Belfast Council. The fire destroyed the Ulster Museum’s entire fashion collection in storage there at the time.
Among the 10,000 items lost were one of the best collections of linen damask in the world, a rare Elizabethan embroidered jacket from 1610, a costume collection with items of nearly every year from the 1770s and a collection of 18th century dress, Irish, English and continental lace, and embroideries.
“We took tragedy and turned it into opportunity,” says Charlotte McReynolds, curator of fashion and textiles at the museum. After 50 years of painstaking research, curation and acquisition, a new collection is reborn. “It reflects fashion trends and design innovation over the decades,” she says.
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Elizabeth McCrum, who was curator of fashion and textiles at the time of the fire, explains that the only item of major significance to survive was the Lennox quilt embroidered in silk on linen in 1712 which was acquired in early 1976; because it was a recent acquisition, it was on display in the museum. Once called “the wonder of the day”, this six-foot by six-foot quilt now has pride of place in the exhibition.
McCrum, author of Fabric and Form, a textbook history of Irish fashion since 1950, was tasked with having to evaluate the lost contents for compensation, an enormous undertaking which she did in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 1984, she also developed a future-focused collection policy for the museum that continues to this day.
This meant actively acquiring two new Irish and international designer outfits twice as year, as well as a high street outfit to reflect popular taste. Among the first items acquired was a sequinned Yves Saint Laurent mini dress from his 1966 sailor collection, along with a full ensemble from Paul Costelloe.
The current collection now amounts to around 6,000 objects, with 140 on display including accessories. There is 16th century needlework, 18th century silk gowns (including one called the seaweed dress) along with contemporary design outfits from Chanel, Schiaparelli, Charles James, Versace, Sybil Connolly, Philip Treacy, J W Anderson and Alexander McQueen, among many others.
Everything has a story. Some standout pieces include an extraordinary black evening dress from 1909 in sequins made of gelatin worn by an American railroad heiress of Irish origin, and the Souper dress by Andy Warhol from the 1960s. Another is a court suit in silk satin from the 1780s that belonged to George Rochfort, the notoriously cruel Lord Belvedere, with the most sumptuous embroideries.
Everything is presented in a series of rooms designed by design and interpretation lead Stefan McKee, their walls painted in shades called Burgundy Noir, Skimming Stone, Rosehip and Air of Serenity that make the presentation of the whole exhibition look fresh, modern and inviting.
History is embedded in cloth. Our clothes tell stories. “The exhibition positions textiles as significant cultural objects that carry stories, emotions and history, which can be both fragile and enduring,” McReynolds says.
Also on display will be significant early needlework from the renowned Lanto Synge’s landmark collection, donated to the museum to help rebuild what was lost in 1976.
Fashion and textile students from the University of Ulster, under the guiding hand of professor Alison Gault, will be involved in creating pieces inspired by the exhibition. There will also be an illustrated publication on sale telling the history of the exhibition featuring 50 highlights.
For anyone interested in fashion and social history, this ticketed exhibition will be a must-see. It runs until September 23rd. To book, visit ulstermuseum.org.
