Exhibition
Fashioning Our World Exhibition
The Fashioning Our World exhibition was held at The Salisbury Museum from Saturday 10 February 2024 until Sunday 12 May 2024.
The exhibition told the powerful stories of clothes and accessories from the past that have been repurposed, mended, altered and looked after. It asked whether this can inspire us to think differently about sustainable fashion in the future.
It was part of the Fashioning Our World project, which worked with young people (aged 11 – 25) to share these stories with the community, change attitudes to fashion in the future and help fight the climate crisis.
Fashioning Our World was co-curated by local young people, working alongside the museum team, volunteers and experts. It featured a range of historic garments and accessories from The Salisbury Museum and Dorset Museum fashion collections as well as work by young people who took part in the project.
Alongside this, the exhibition showcased work by famous and emerging fashion designers, sustainable fashion campaigners and and fashion students displayed on a series of miniature mannequins. These included Zandra Rhodes who created a miniature version of the famous cape she made for Freddie Mercury using an offcut of fabric from her workshop.
Orsola de Castro, author of bestselling call to action for sustainable fashion ‘Loved Clothes Last’ created a zero-waste kaftan style dress from her grandmother's napkins, which was a miniature replica of a full-size version made from her grandmother's tablecloths. It aimed to show how imagination and love can add value to something unused.
The exhibition was officially opened by clothing designer and BBC Sewing Bee presenter Patrick Grant. Patrick said:
I love this exhibition. It’s inspiring, challenging and important, filled with so many wonderful stories and objects. It’s a joy!
Download an exhibition activity sheet created by the young people working on the exhibition here:
