This Friday evening the giant blue doors of Oxford’s iconic
Ashmolean Museum opened to a fashion hungry crowd. On the last Friday night of
each month, the museum will host a special evening curated by different
organisations held amongst its exquisite ancient artefacts and art.
Dress Up Live Friday was organised by the Oxford FashionWeek team to bring a fantastic variety of fashion features to the floor. From
fashion bloggers to magnificent millinery, fashion debate and discussion to
live sketching and upcycling activities there was a whole host of thought
provoking exploration segregated across the different floors of the building.
Upon entrance, looking down you could see the beginnings of
the live fashion sketching workshop with Dee Andrews whilst taking your gaze
upwards you were greeted by the fantastic WINDOW INSTALLATION BY EXCLUSIVEROOTS and INDIGO.
.
So, from floor to floor, this is what Dress Up Live had in
store.
As you sauntered down the stairs to the lower ground floor,
the crowd was gathered around the LIVE FASHION SKETCHING with local fashion
illustrator DEE ANDREWS where a queue of elegantly adorned models were lined up
to be drawn on a podium in the centre of the floor. There was paper and pencils
available for any fashionistas feeling particularly arty.
Visitors could join in the discussion at the ETHICAL FASHION
SYMPOSIUM in the Lecture Theatre which was then followed by DEMOCRACY AND
DANCING – DRESSING UP IN THE 20th CENTURY with historian RaeRitchie. This floor’s other activities and displays included VOGUE! CONCEPT
FASHION DESIGNS, a live photoshoot with PHOENIX MAGAZINE and a journey AROUND
THE WORLD WITH TEXTILES FOR ALL. This fantastic fashion feast was complimented
throughout the evening with a range of music in the cafe. Performances from ECHO BOOMER, THE APRIL MAZE and THE
BUSKETEERS were followed by the ticketed Late Night Lock-In gig by PINEY GIR.
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| Louise Pocock - Milliner |
Making your way back up to the Ground Floor, and there were
more treats in store. In the Greek and Roman Sculpture room Louise Pocock
displayed her fantastic millinery creations in GET A HEAD, GET A HAT with 1920s
inspired cloches to trilbies and fascinators. As the constant crowd would
agree, this was a popular dress up and photo opportunity location.
Louise uses traditional techniques and textiles to create
her magnificent headwear
With each piece taking at least a day to build they are
priced at around £100-£200 with a priceless amount of love and care included. “I love working with felt and leather using
the old methods, traditional methods and vintage styles feels like I’m keeping
the art alive,” said Louise.
My favourite was a fuchsia hat with tiny butterflies and
flowers attached on delicate wires. There were a number of pieces which had
also incorporated fresh flowers from Fabulous Flowers.
In the corner of the room, historian Rae Ritchie shared a
fraction of her collection of vintage magazines, including a Women’s Institute
publication, for ADVICE AND ASPIRATION: GETTING DRESSED WITH WOMEN’S MAGAZINES.
This was a particular delight for me with a background in magazines and a love
of old editions.
Other features on this floor included MANNEQUINS a
photography display by RORY CARNEGIE
CLARE FARRELL FROM TRAID TRANSFORMS FABRICS AND OLD GARMENTS
INTO NEW GARMENTS plus CLOTHES AND TEXTILE RECYCLING with BAG IT UP and a
showcase of Grecian inspired GODDESS DRESS by JULIA MALLABY.
As you walked upstairs to the first floor you were greeted
by the Exclusive Roots and Indigo window display of super stylish models posing
and dancing.
The first stop on my visit was the WHAT’S HOT? showcase presented
by gorgeous fashion bloggers Arabella Golby, Ami Venney, Lexie Vukoman, and Cristina
Lopez. The bloggers had chosen three outfits – a Save, Spend and Splurge
ensemble which were beautifully modelled by their helpers.
Here’s Arabella in a beautifully embellished, Grecian gown
whilst her models Sophie and Jess were styled in her Spend and Save outfit
choices.
Ami wore this Lipsy dress and her models Elspeth and Claudia
showed of her Splurge and Save outfit.
Our next blogger, Cristina sported a fab playsuit and even
managed to incorporate jelly shoes into her model Abby’s outfit whilst Sian rocked
the Splurge look with a £265 Karen Millen dress.
Final blogger Lexie wore her Splurge outfit choice and
models Esther and Holly wore a mix of high street brands in the Save and Spend
ensembles.
This was a great insight into the hottest pieces on the high
street today and there were some top styling tips, particularly the shoes!
The Fashion Bloggers also presented the BEST DRESSED people
from the event at regular intervals across the evening and it’s fair to say
there were plenty of stylish people to choose from.
This floor also exhibited a workshop of FASHION DESIGN
INSPIRED BY EAST AND WEST, The
PINWORKS NO-SEW DRAPE DRESS a display of CLASSIC TAILORING
FROM CLEMENTS & CHURCH and a further showcase from PIMPERNEL CLOTHING.
Making your way up to the second floor you were greeted with
exhibits such as A SHIRTY PAIR OF KNICKERS BY MARIA SKOYLES of MAKE DO MEND and
a historical venture through the influences on the KASHMIR SCARF IN THE 19th
CENTURY with The Ashmolean’s Textile Conservator SUE STANTON. SMOCKS AND DRAWERS with BARBARA ALLISON explored Oxford’s fashion
way back in the 17th Century.
The finale of the show was the Catwalk show. Curated by Gem
Latimer and produced by Erin Moss this spectacular event included designers and
brands such as Ghost, Aspire Style, Next, Clements and Church, Melanie J
Austin, Little Mistress, Leanne Blenkhorn and Bel’s King-Harman. This highly
anticipated show was full to capacity even half an hour before it started but I
was assured it was a treat for the eyes!
Dress Up #LiveFriday with Oxford Fashion Week was a
fantastic evening of fashion based entertainment and, with so much to absorb, I
left the Ashmolean with my style appetite well and truly satisfied. Thanks to
Oxford Fashion Week and The Ashmolean Museum
for a wonderful time and keep an eye out for events coming in the very near
future!
Check out more behind the scenes exclusives from the event on the Oxford Fashion Week blog.
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