Fashion and Textile Museum

Fashion and Textile Museum followers can save on The Festival of Quilts tickets!

Join Europe's largest patchwork and quilting event! Tickets are available now for The Festival of Quilts 2025 which is on from 31 July – 3 August at the NEC, Birmingham.

Get ready for an incredible line-up featuring special guest appearances from renowned international quilting artists (including Edyta Sitar!), hundreds of craft brands, the Festival's largest-ever workshop, talks and lectures programme, and much more!

Use code FASHIONTEXTILE to save £2* at checkout: https://www.thefestivalofquilts.co.uk/

*T&Cs: £2 off standard adult / concession tickets only. Offer not valid on VIP, Child or group tickets or on Sunday 3rd August. Offer expires Sunday 27th July 2025. Booking fee applies.

Check out what's coming up at the Museum in June!

Alongside our current textile exhibition, we have an exciting range of workshops. From Silk Painting and Papercrafts to Couture Inside Out, there is something for everyone.

Find out more and book on our website: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/whats-on/

We have also put the links in our stories so you can find the session you want and book straight away!

🧡Quick appreciation post for our iconic orange and pink building🩷

The Fashion and Textile Museum is housed in this beautiful distinctive building, designed by renowned Mexican architect, Ricardo Legorreta. We are located on the lively Bermondsey Street, just a short walk from London Bridge Station. Visit us sometime!

We are open Tuesdays - Saturdays from 11.00 - 18.00 (last entry 17.15). Our current exhibition Textiles: The Art of Mankind brings the vibrant outside in with a showcase of beautiful textiles from around the world. We look forward to welcoming you to the Museum soon!

Let's look at 'Couture Inside Out'!

Led by members of the Fashion and Textile Museum Exhibitions team, this workshop provides a rare opportunity to view the ins and outs of couture design. Take an up-close and intimate look at selected garments from the Fashion and Textile Museum Collection and discuss some of the many fascinating stories behind the clothes.

Participants will have the opportunity to examine the internal structure and sewing techniques of garments from Couture houses including Chanel, Dior and Balenciaga alongside other curated highlights from our collection.

Thursday 26 June, 11.00 - 12.30
Book Now: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/workshops/couture-inside-out/?date_from=20250626&date_to=20250626

Detail of the Day 🦌

This Yukata (summer kimono) is tie-dyed in a pattern called 'kanoko', which means 'deer child' and refers to a pattern inspired by the sports on a fawn's coat.

There are several variations of 'kanoko', all sharing the use of dyed dots within resisted (tied) ring shapes.

This is a 20th century Yukata made by Japanese artisans and is on loan from University of California, Davis.

On display in our current exhibition, Textiles: The Art of Mankind. Plan your visit today: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/

Recommended Reads: The Fabric of Civilization - How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel.

The story of humanity is the story of textiles-as old as civilization itself. Textiles created empires and powered invention. They established trade routes and drew nations' borders. Since the first thread was spun, fabric has driven technology, business, politics, and culture.

In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel traces this surprising history, exposing the hidden ways textiles have made our world.

This book is the perfect accompaniment to our current exhibition, Textiles: The Art of Mankind. It is a fascinating account that covers a broad range of subjects in a succinct way.

Get your copy in the Museum shop in-person or online: https://fashiontextilemuseum.digitickets.co.uk/products/297999?navItem=878306

Learn how to paint on silk!

This one-day workshop provides a structured introduction to the techniques of painting on silk and a master class in how to apply colour and create stunning designs.

Following an introduction to the materials, artist Hilary Simon will demonstrate different ways to create a variety of effects on silk using salt, layering, alcohol and methods of applying the dyes and gutta gum. The dyes are French Dupont which mix beautifully and run like vibrant watercolours.

📅 Wednesday 4 June
🕙 10.45 -16.30
📍 Fashion and Textile Museum
👥 This workshop is suitable for beginners and people of all abilities

Book your place now: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/workshops/silk-painting/?date_from=20250604&date_to=20250604

Detail of the Day – The Return of Dusty the Cowboy!

This cloth doll is made from printed sacks manufactured for the Sea Island Sugar Company in the 1930s. The Californian company produced printed cotton sacks able to contain 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) of granulated cane sugar. The patterns could be cut out at home to make toys and were intended to attract parents to increase sales. Other firms followed suit.

Dusty has been at the Museum before in our Fabric of Democracy exhibition curated by Amber Butchart. But now this Cowboy has returned to be part of the rich tapestry of textiles on display in our current exhibition, Textiles: The Art of Mankind.

Book your tickets for Textiles: The Art of Mankind at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London on our website: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/exhibitionsdisplays/textiles-the-art-of-mankind/

Find out how to Copy Your Clothes! Is there a favourite shirt you wished was available in another fabric or a skirt worn so much that it has become threadbare?

In this one-day workshop led by creative pattern makers and Museum tutors Rebecca Zehr or Michelle Lewis, learn the skills used by couture fashion houses to copy elements of historical garments without the need to pull them apart. Beginners welcome!

Next Up:
Saturday 31 May, 10.45 – 16.30

Future Dates:
6 June | 27 June | 18 July | 8 August

For more details and to book visit: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/workshops/copy-your-clothes/?date_from=20250531&date_to=20250531

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The photograph is from our previous Missoni exhibition.

Get started in collage and papercraft in our Simple Papercraft workshop!

Spend a day learning simple but effective papercraft techniques under the expert hand of internationally acclaimed textile designer Sarah Campbell.

Friday 6 June, 10.45 - 16.30.

Book now on our website to secure your place and join Sarah for 'all sorts of sticky foldy scissory fun'!

https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/workshops/simple-papercraft-with-sarah-campbell/?date_from=20250606&date_to=20250606

Join us for a special late opening of Textiles: The Art of Mankind. Enjoy this evocative exhibition in a relaxed evening setting and with a glass of fizz in hand!

Thursday 22 May, 18.00 - 20.00

Book Now: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/museumevents/thursday-fizz/?date_from=20250522&date_to=20250522

Detail of the Day: Sreepur Quilt, 2011. Textile work by Lynn Setterington and Sreepur Village.

This quilt was constructed at a distance with Sreepur Village, Bangladesh. Sreepur offers support for vulnerable women and their children, including life-skills training, safeguarding and protection, and social reintegration. The quilt acts as a valuable tactile record of those involved in the charity in 2011.

Find out more about this and other group and solo projects by Lynn Setterington in her Connecting Threads talk at the Museum this Thursday 22 May at 18.00. Join us - book your place now: https://fashiontextilemuseum.org/museumevents/connecting-threads-with-lynn-setterington/?date_from=20250522&date_to=20250522