‘Crown to Couture’

Kensington Palace, Historic Royal Palaces - April 2023

Using Kensington Palace as a backdrop to display 18th Century court gowns, juxtaposed with 21st Century Met Gala looks, this exhibition was a wonderful mix of costume mounting challenges. As my second major exhibition, I thoroughly the fact that it is displayed in the palace I had my first heritage job as a Front of House staff member! This was particularly so working on the Giles Deacon gown (worn by Billy Porter to the 2020 Oscars) inspired by the Cupola room of Kensington. Other tasks included padding legs to smooth the line of the trousers, creating supports for huge padded sleeves and little cushions to shoes so they would fit the mannequins correctly. I also gained experience in light surface cleaning and repairs to some of the garments which had evidential wear from the events they had featured in.

Photos taken by myself to show my contributions to the exhibition.