Textile Display Specialist National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia
All garments where mounted with conservation of the textile in mind. All underpinnings where pattern made and constructed by me to support the garment and display the costume accurately. All mannequins where modified and padded to fit the pre-existing dress specifications. A great deal of specialized technical skill and understanding of historical dress is required for this kind of work.
For this dress a chemise for the center front of the dress and flounce cuffs where required to be specially made for the accurate display of this dress, as well as the mannequin modification, padding and underpinnings.
Due to the metal fibers detected in the velvet fabric of this garment the textile was extremely fragile to handle despite its immaculate presentation. The dress had to be intentionally under padded to preserve the textile from any further wear and tear. Any discrepcies in the way this garment is displayed is for this reason.
This is a picture of myself presenting the dress for photography.
