Unpicking Couture

Unpicking Couture premieres spectacular high-end fashion which has recently entered Manchester Art Gallery’s collection.

21st July 2023 to 12th January 2025 – See more dates here

Created by influential designers and fashion houses, each outfit represents a groundbreaking moment in fashion and includes works by Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, Azzedine Alaïa, Cristobal Balenciaga, Pierre Cardin, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Bruce Oldfield and Alexander McQueen.

This exhibition celebrates pioneering creativity and design.

The two main themes of the show are: investigating the links between fashion and emotions, in the form of dopamine dressing which encourages dressing for joy, and focusing on repair and restoration, inviting us to consider the lifecycle of a garment and the way it is valued and cared for.

The exhibition will reveal the recent restoration of a 1930s silk velvet jacket by Italian couturier Elsa Schiaparelli, Unpicking Couture promotes sustainable approaches to repairing and preserving much loved and well-worn clothes.

The garments will be on display for the first time. They were acquired through a National Heritage Lottery Fund Collecting Cultures grant from 2015-20.

Unpicking Couture will expose the work that underpins the care of dress collections through a mediative film that captures the process of dress mounting and how the craft and skill involved, mirrors the work of dressmakers and couturiers.

Find out more about Unpicking Couture at Manchester Art Gallery

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