Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion

13 Sep 2023-3 Mar 2024

Overview

Explore the dynamic relationship between the Bloomsbury group and fashion in the first ever exhibition to focus on the clothing of this radical collective, and their impact on 21st century fashion. The story is told through a sensational mix of contemporary fashion, historic artwork, objects and ephemera, many never exhibited publicly before now.

Curated by writer Charlie Porter, expect a multi-layered experience featuring catwalk fashion by Dior, Fendi, Burberry, Comme des Garçons, Erdem and S.S. Daley, personal items belonging to members of the Bloomsbury group including Virginia Woolf and Lady Ottoline Morrell, never-before-seen portraits by artists Duncan Grant and Vanessa Bell, plus new commissions and interventions by contemporary fashion designers Jawara Alleyne and Ella Boucht.

How did Virginia Woolf navigate her disdain for fashion alongside her love of clothing? What can we read about queerness and patriarchy in the clothing of Duncan Grant, E.M. Forster and John Maynard Keynes? How did Vanessa Bell’s hand-made clothing form part of her creative life? And what makes the Bloomsbury group such a rich source of inspiration for 21st century fashion design?

Here, clothing provides a route into learning more about the key figures in the Bloomsbury group and how, for some, fashion provided a language with which to explore their break away from tradition. You’ll discover how contemporary fashion designers have been inspired by Bloomsbury art and life, both through the energy of the group’s extraordinary home at Charleston, and through their work and ideas.

It is our inaugural exhibition at Charleston in Lewes.

Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and Fashion is kindly supported by Christian Dior Couture.

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