EXHIBITIONIST

Five
Centuries
of
Fashion
By Nour Ibrahim

Deborah Devonshire & Stella Tennant, Chatsworth, 2006

Photo by Mario Testino, © Mario Testino

Chatsworth Estate has been witness to an
era with a rich and wonderful history, spe-
cifically in the area of luxury and fashion.
The exhibition House Style: Five Centuries
of Fashion at Chatsworth is a perfect rep-
resentation of the lifestyle and fashionable
history of the splendorous era. The beauty
of the estate combined with a regal dis-
play gives off a vibe so sophisticated, that
the essence of the manor might as well be
pouring out of the land. An amazing gal-
lery of beauty, art and history, and won-
derful insight to the world of fashion of the
five extravagant centuries.
Fashion has a way of giving us a view into
the lives of the wealthy in manner that
a history book cannot. It shows the sen-
timent as well as the passion behind the
events, and the personality of the wearers.
The displayed items range from dresses to
jewellery, art history to textile. The variety
of the astonishing collection of fashion-
able momentums are enough to paint a
picture too wondrous to imagine. The balls
and the lifestyle can now be visualized by
a mere modern viewer and analysed by
Mistress of the Robes Coronation Gown, worn by Duchess Evelyn at 1937 coronation and Duchess
Mary at 1953 coronation, Painted Hall, Chatsworth, 2016
Photo by Thomas Loof, © Chatsworth
an excited history enthusiast. The exhi-
bition includes the fashion and items of
many noteworthy figures throughout the
centuries, including the Cavendish Fam-
ily, Bess of Hardwick, Empress of Fashion,
Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire, and
John F Kennedy’s sister “Kick” Kennedy.
The exhibition will be woven throughout
the grandest rooms of the house such as
The Painted Hall, The Chapel, and The
State Music Room. And with these rooms it
will be divided by a variety of themes. The
Devonshire House Ball is said to show the
style of the grandeur and social status of
the participants. Bess of Hardwick and the
Tudor Influence is an amazing example of
an inducing time and era that changed
not only the thought of mind but also the
idea of fashion. Country Living and Enter-
taining at Chatsworth are both wondrous
examples of daily life and ideal. And of
course, the long anticipated the queen’s
Coronation Dress, which holds such beau-
ty and regal aura that you can fully ap-
preciate up close.
Seeing the fashionable lifestyle, they lead
leads us closer to understanding how they
saw the world back then. Not only the
events but also the emotion and person-
ality that went on behind it. Fashion is a
form of expression and these immortal
items most definitely express. It is the most
humane aspect that can be retrieved
from the past, and gives us one of the best
seats to view the story that is the Five Cen-
turies at Chatsworth. The exhibition runs
from 25th of March to the 22nd of Octo-
ber 2017. Don’t miss out the opportunity to
view such a luxurious past in the most lux-
urious of ways. House Style: Five Centuries
of fashion at Chatsworth, the rightful way
to visualize the past.
‘House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at
Chatsworth’
From 25 March to 22 October 2017
chatsworth.org.uk