Conserving Fashion at the V&A

V&A Fashion Curator Sonnet Stanfill and V&A Textile Conservator Susana Hunter unpacking a Dior evening dress

Last week my Vintage to Vogue course had a series of fascinating presentations from conservators Frances Hartog, Roisin Morris, Elizabeth-Anne Haldane, and curator Sonnet Stanfill at the V&A. They explained the detailed processes that have to take place before a historic garment is put on display, with examples from a Courrèges PVC boot to a Dior evening dress. It was humbling to see the amount of research that goes into every conservation decision, and the level of detail involved – including hand binding the INSIDE of 10 metres of skirt with specially dyed fabric – while working against the clock! But the effects were amazing – especially in the conservation of Dior’s Zemire, taking it from a stained and crumpled mess back to its couture glory. The inventiveness needed to show off historic dresses was striking, with display figures cut up and remade to fit specific garments. The biggest treat came at the end when Sonnet Stanfill brought in some historic garments in their special storage bags! This gave us a taste of how the collections will look when the new study rooms open for visits in 2013. The idea of having to prepare custom made padded hangers and special covers for each of the thousands of items in the collection is mind-boggling….