UK's Paine mansion to host 'Dressing Downton' exhibition

19 Jun '14

2 min read

Dressing Downton: Changing Fashion for Changing Times premiers in early 2015 at the renowned Biltmore Estate in North Carolina before heading west to Oshkosh, where it will be exhibited throughout the rooms of the historic Paine mansion.

This stunning exhibition includes 35 period costumes and a fashion overview from the first four seasons of the acclaimed PBS series Downton Abbey.

Downton Abbey is on track to become the most successful British drama ever aired, with numerous awards to its credit. But it is the costumes that have received the most attention, showcasing the styles of post-Edwardian England and the English country estate. Downton Abbey traces the lives and pursuits of the estate’s aristocratic inhabitants, the Crawley family, and their servants during the 1910s and ‘20s. Filming takes place at Highclere Castle, a fantastical country estate in Newbury, England.

Dressing Downton explores fashions in Britain from 1912, marked by the sinking of the Titanic, through World War I and into the early 1920s, the dawn of the Jazz Age. Placing the costumes within their broader historical context, the exhibition focuses on this era of great change, showing the progression of fashions from the bustle to the flapper dress.

The variety of ensembles for the Crawley family and their servants range from country tweeds and riding outfits, to servants’ uniforms and footmen’s livery, to delicate afternoon dresses and lavish evening attire crafted of sumptuous fabrics and decorated with intricate embroidery, lace and beading.

The exhibition's award-winning costumes were produced by the London costume house of Cosprop Ltd. Since 1986, when the Academy Award for Costume Design was awarded to a Cosprop designer for A Room with a View, the company has supplied costumes for 29 nominated films. In 2011 and 2012 four of the five films nominated for Best Costume Design included costumes from Cosprop.

After the exhibition makes its debut at Biltmore Estate, Dressing Downton will be on view at the Paine from June 20 through Sept. 20, 2015, the second venue on a three-year tour. The exhibition is designed by Exhibits Development Group in cooperation with Cosprop Ltd., London.

The Paine

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