50 Fabulous Frocks at the Fashion Museum in Bath, UK

This year 2013 the Fashion Museum celebrates its 50th anniversary in Bath. The 50 Fabulous Frocks exhibition will include the iconic and influential names of 20th century couture - Schiaparelli, Poiret, Vionnet, Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent - as well as today's most desired fashion designers and brands - Erdem, Burberry, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Vivienne Westwood, Ossie Clark, Comme des Garçons and John Rocha. This display will show both the richness of the Fashion Museum's collection as well as key moments in fashion history that continue to provide inspiration for modern day designers along with makers of period TV dramas and films such as Downton Abbey, The Great Gatsby and Anna Karenina.

Also on display will be curious pieces from the Fashion Museum's world-class collection of original objects, such as a Champagne Dress worn at a fancy dress party in Edwardian times.

We hope that the 50 Frocks illustrate a 'slice' of the Fashion Museum collection, which numbers between eighty and one hundred thousands objects and has become a source of inspiration for fashion fans around the world. Some of the pieces in the show illustrate a personal wardrobe moment, while others mark an iconic moment in fashion history.
~~~Rosemary Harden, Museum Manager

50 Fabulous Frocks

Tartan Satin Dress, mid 1860s

Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Champagne bottle dress worn by an unknown lady at a fancy dress party in 1902

Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Ball dress of cream silk net embroidered in gold metal strip. late 1820s

Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Bug jacket and dress by Schiaparelli, London 1938

Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Gold lattice work and lace dress by Paul Poiret, 1925

Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Black lace Rocha dress
Copyright © Chris Moore at Catwalking .com
Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Red / Navy blue lace dress by Erdem
Copyright © Chris Moore at Catwalking.com
Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

White cotton lace dress and moulded leather collar, 1999 S/S collection by Alexander McQueen
Courtesy Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

50 Fabulous Frocks

Fashion Museum, Bath & North East Somerset Council, Bath, UK

Exhibition opening day, February 2, 2013
Courtesy the Fashion Museum, Bath, UK