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BOWES MUSEUM VISIT

images taken whilst visiting  The Bowes Museum : link found below
http://www.thebowesmuseum.org.uk/

Last week i visited Bowes Museum for the first time, and it certainly wont be the last. I was impressed from the beginning with the beautiful French chateau like design of the building and could not wait to get inside and explore. I made my way straight to the Fashion and Textile gallery which is now a permanent collection for the museum. My favourite thing about this exhibition was the patterns and embellishment i saw throughout. The image above of a vestment shows beautiful florals and fruit imagery through the technique of couching, where by layering threads onto the surface and holding down with stitches, a silver ground is produced. The embroidery appears metallic as precious silver threads were used in the weaving to create the imagery. Although before visiting Bowes Museum i had never heard of this, I love how the colours appear shimmery because of this technique.

Again here is another pattern that caught my eye whilst visiting The Bowes Museum.

I love the contrast between the bright green and soft pink. Not only did i see beautiful detailed patterns on the textiles and clothing, but also in the interior of the Museum. Below shows some inspiring patterns. 

I absolutely love the interior of the over the top style and beauty of literally every object in each room an how it leaves me in awe! I think it is amazing that at one point in history everything was made to be so beautiful. I love trying to incorporate some of this luxurious style into my own bedroom but a lot more minimalist than this; only because the full frontal over the top style would not be socially acceptable in my room. I think that interior can be a great source of inspiration for costume. The beautiful fabrics are always inspiration for new patterns and the architecture is inspiration for new shapes within costume. 

Overall the visit was extremely helpful and definitely inspiring for future projects in costume design.