TEACHERS NOTES
WOMEN FASHION POWER
HEADRESSES NY PHILIP TREACY
PHOTO: MIRREN ROSIE
WALL ILLUSTRATION
EXHIBITION VIEW
PHOTO: MIRREN ROSIE
29 OCTOBER 2014 26 APRIL 2015
INTRODUCTION
Dress has been used to signify gender, wealth, status and power
throughout history. Both women and men use fashion to define their
places in the world, and to establish a sense of personal identity.
WOMEN FASHION POWER looks at how women in the past and
present have used fashion to define their position in the world. The
exhibition celebrates exceptional women from politics, culture,
business and fashion.
WOMEN FASHION POWER is designed by the world renowned
female architect Zaha Hadid.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EXHIBITION
Built around an immersive visual timeline, the exhibtion charts trends
and fashion in the context of key moments in history over the last 150
years. The exhibtion then explores the following arenas of power:
state and politics, culture, visual arts, and business using outfits
donated by leading contemporary women. The exhibition includes
clothing, archive footage, photography and interviews to review ways
that women have used fashion as an expression of power through the
ages.
Outfits have been contributed by more than than twenty leading
contemporary women. These include:
- Kirsty Wark, journalist and broadcaster best-known for
presenting Newsnight
- Dame Vivienne Westwood, fashion designer and business
owner best known for making punk fashion mainstream
- Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, the British civil liberties
advocacy organisation
Highlights of the exhibition include a Zandra Rhodes Conceptual
Chic punk wedding dress, a Mansfield suit worn by Margaret
Thatcher, clothes and accessories owned by Elsa Schiaparelli and a
Jacques Azagury dress worn by Princess Diana.
For the first time on display, are also a satirical handherchief from
190?? Imaginging what would happen if women ruled the world, and
costumes from the forthcoming movie, Sufragette, which stars Meryl
Streep and Helena Bonham Carter, and will be released in 2015
POWER AND FASHION
Throughout history dress has been a powerful symbol of wealth and
status, suggesting gender, authority, and moral values.

TIMELINE
The timeline in the exhibition runs from 1850 and presents key
moments that have helped to change womens role in society, and
which have influenced the way that women dress, leading to greater
freedom of expression and choice.

The timeline sections are:

1850-1900: freedom from constraint.

Reformers such as Amelia Bloomer called for simple, practical
clothing that would give women freedom from restrictive crinolines
and corsets. She advocated the loose trousers that became known
as bloomers because of their short association with her. The
exhibits include undergarments such as corsets and bloomers.

1900-20: freedom to work.

The First World War brought a huge loss of life and required women
to work in industries to contribute to the war effort. This brought
about a need for more functional dress for working women, but also
demands for more independence including the right to vote. Highlight
exhibits include costumes from the movie Suffragette including the
Emmeline Pankhurst costume worn by Meryl Streep.

1920-40: freedom to decide.

Following World War, fashion responses included the Flapper craze
with dramatic bobbed haircuts, risqu behavior and slim, short,
sleeveless dresses. It was also the age in which Hollywood set new
standards for glamour and felinity through mass-entertainment, made
accessible to women through mass manufacturing.

1940-60: freedom to have a profession.

Key moments in this period include the Second World War, leading to
utilitarian clothing necessary during rationing, the Coronation of
Queen Elizabeth II and the glamour of Diors New Look . The
postwar babyboom from the mid-1950s also saw the teenager
emerge with fashion role models such as Marylin Monroe and Doris
Day. Key exhibits include a circle skirt featuring the Beatles and film
posters of Audrey Hepburn.

1960-70: freedom to stay young.

The popularity of the mini skirt and the Vidal Sassoon bob haircut
were iconic looks for this period.Fashion was influenced by space
travel, pop art and the hippie movement. New materials such as
plastic, vinyl and metal also created radical new looks. The period
was also characterized by campaigning for equality of pay for women
and men. Key exhibits include a Pierre Cardin black dress with metal
yoke.
1970-90: freedom to protest
Influential feminist texts and high profile protests dominated the
political arena in this period, while fashion trends made overt
references to power through shoulderpads and the advent of power
dressing. Key exhibits include a copy of the book Female Eunuch
by Germain Greer, Vivienne Westwoods bondage suit and punk
wedding dress.

1990-now: freedom to choose

Over the last 25 years, technologies have had a huge impact on the
lives of women and on fashion. It is becoming cheaper to
manufacture clothing, and consumer choice has increased. At the
same time the internet has made it faster to find out about fashion
trends, and has enabled 24-hour shopping. The social, ethical and
environmental impact of these conveniences is highlighting
exploitation of workers, toxic manufacturing processes and huge
amounts of waste. Key exhibits include Anya Hindmarchs Im not a
plastic bag.

FURTHER READING
The exhibition was designed by leading female architect, Zaha Hadid:
http://www.zaha-hadid.com/

Information about the exhibition on the Design Museum website:

http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/women-fashion-power

ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
Sketch 1:
Choose two or three contrasting exhibits. Draw them and make notes
about how they would have been worn, who would wear them and
how they would make the wearer feel.

Sketch 2:
The impact of fashion on body shape and the silhouette of women
has always been important. Focus on two contrasting eras from the
exhibition, sketching some of the clothing, and drawing the silhouette
shape that dominated that period.

Case Study:
Choose one of the contemporary women featured in the exhibition.
Sketch the outfit they have chosen and make notes about the image
and expression of power that costume symbolizes.

Design
Create a new outfit for one of the contemporary women in the
exhibition using materials, shape, pattern and colour to support an
expression of power appropriate to her role in society.

Debate 1:
During the visit to the exhibition students should research, making
notes and sketches to support or refute the idea that It is a more
powerful statement to reject fashion than to follow it. Following
a visit the class could have a debate, using examples from the
exhibition to support their case.

EXHIBITION GUIDANCE
This exhibition includes many fragile costumes on open display.
None of the exhibits can be touched. It is a rich visual exhibition that
is immersive, rather than interactive. We would be grateful if you
could brief your students accordingly.

The entrance to the exhibition is narrow. Areas at the back of the

room are best for gathering and briefing students, to avoid
bottlenecks in the early stages of the exhibition.

Depending on your group and your itinerary for the visit, we would
recommend that you set aside approximately 30 minutes to explore
this exhibition.

Please ensure that you read our school visit Terms and Conditions
document before making your visit.

We encourage the use of cameras without flash, sketchbooks and

pencils in the gallery. To access free downloadable gallery activity
worksheets for students, please visit our online resource Discover
Design
discover.designmuseum.org

Design Museum, Shad Thames, London SE1 2YD

Daily 10am 5.45pm
T 020 7940 8782
E learning@designmuseum.org