Riviera Style is an exhibition curated by De Montfort University’s Dr. Christine Boydell (Critical & Contextual Studies) and featuring the collections of Leicestershire County Council. Riviera Style will be on display at the Fashion and Textile Museum in London until 13 September 2015. For more information please visit http://ftmlondon.org/
To celebrate the success of the London exhibition, Dr. Boydell worked with Heritage Centre Co-ordinator Elizabeth Wheelband to add a touch of the seaside to the Kimberlin Library. Dr. Boydell loaned us the black costume, a women’s knitted all-in-one suit from the 1930s, made by I & R Morley (whose factory is now the Clephan building). The style was practically identical to men’s knitted suits. The tight ribbed knit provided good stretch but the wool yarn absorbed water and would have become very heavy when wet.
The printed swimsuit dates from the 1950s and is made from cotton lastex to create two-way stretch. The style relies on creative cutting and a zip at the back to produce a good fit. This costume was loaned by Pasqualina Iarrobino, School of Design.
Dr. Boydell used sources from the DMU Archives and Special Collections in the preparation of the exhibition, in particular the fashion journals such as Corsetry and Underwear. These resources are available for all so if you are interested please do stop by.
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