Tudor and Stuart fashions, displayed in the newest style exhibition at the Buckingham Palace, demonstrate that high fashion was always eccentric. The fierce competition for the best designs led to a voracious search for innovative creations. “In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion” at The Queen’s Gallery focuses on how royal clothing could convey important messages.
During the 16th and 17th centuries fashion was central to court life and was an important way to display social status. Royalty and the elite were the tastemakers of the day, often directly influencing the styles of fashionable clothing. The costume of British monarchs and their court are explored through works of Hans Holbein the Younger, Nicholas Hilliard, Van Dyck and Peter Lely. The exhibition brings together over 60 paintings, as well as drawings, garments, jewelry, accessories and armour. The most expensive of all fabrics was the purple velvet and was reserved only for the monarch. Using real silver and gold, handmade lace, all the clothes of that era were made by hand and were very expensive. Few jewels and even fewer garments dating from the Tudor and Stuart period survived, but they speak through paintings.
In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion
The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace
Friday, 10 May 2013 to Sunday, 06 October 2013
