The palace’s latest fashion exhibition explores the importance of specific items of clothing and how colour and symbols all have an impact on how people saw others at court and beyond.
This concise and fascinating latest exhibition at Kensington Palace explores the ways in which fashion can be used to send a powerful statement and has some impressive items on display.
From the uniforms of those officially in service to royalty all the way through to items of clothing worn by the royal family over the years, this well thought out exhibition highlights details that perhaps many won’t have picked up on previously. One such example of this is seeing beautiful and charming floral dresses worn by Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth as children, that represented a close together family as well as the fact the princesses were equal.
Elsewhere, other items on display worn by diplomats show exactly important it was politically to wear the right clothing without causing offence or making yourself more important than you are – a very delicate balance indeed.
Throughout Dress Codes, every item has clearly been selected with great care and attention and works well in so many ways. But due to the limited space, it doesn’t leave much room for the information to breathe and could in fact be expanded in many ways.
But what also makes this exhibition so fascinating is the involvement of Young Producers, aged 14-17 a new partnership formed with local youth groups to showcase how they can to contribute to the arts and fashion industries. Throughout, visitors are treated to how young people have reacted to the outfits and how they have inspired them. This is put to incredible effect in a final room ‘Resetting the Codes’, in which several designers inspired by a variety of outfits on display reimagine them through contemporary eyes.
Every bit of attention to detail has been paid to this exhibition and it feels like a real treat to see many of the outfits on display. This includes the Duke of Windsor’s double breasted suits that highlighted the way he honoured traditional values but seemingly rebelled against the formality in subtle ways, while Princess Diana’s outfits reflected a change in how royalty could be seen in modern eyes, paving the way for a formal but slightly more relaxed approach.
But there is also a strong emotional core to the display as well, with clothing that reflects all aspects of life including Queen Victoria’s famous black mourning dress, with what Queen Alexandra wore after the death of her husband and son (a beautifully delicate white and mauve dress that is a delight to behold). With items like this on display, it also showcases how clothing can bring about an emotional response and highlight inner emotions. There is certainly much to think about here – but just as importantly how despite the codes and formalities that these items capture, there is still very much a hint of the personalities behind them as well – as Princess Diana’s famous tuxedo inspired dress proves.
Dress Codes proves that fashion and history can go hand in hand and doesn’t have to be in a dry way. It is suitably intriguing for both fashionistas and fans of history alike. It highlights familiar pieces of clothing with lesser known pieces to become an exciting display to visit from start to finish. But there is definite room to expand on the subject further.
By Emma Clarendon
Dress Codes is on display at Kensington Palace (access to the exhibition is included as part of the palace ticket) until the 30th November.
Rating: ❤️❤️❤️❤️