Museum in Ontario chronicling the history of fashion
Fashion History Museum is a museum in Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, which chronicles the history of fashion. It was founded in 2004[1] by Jonathan Walford and Kenn Norman.[2] The museum is a non-profit charitable organization.[3]
Fashion History Museum in the Old Hespeler Post Office
History
Founders
Prior to founding the Fashion History Museum, Jonathan Walford had been the founding curator of the Bata Shoe Museum.[2][4] Walford has been collecting historical fashions since the 1970s, finding pieces from auction houses, garage sales, and even rescuing some items from the trash.[2] He has also written several books on fashion.[5]
Walford is currently the museum's Director/Curator. The museum's other founder, Kenn Norman, who serves as the Chair of the museum's board, has a background in finance, project management and design.[3][5]
Southworks Gallery
For the first ten years of its existence the museum lacked a permanent gallery, so it created exhibitions that travelled around Canada and the world, from Hong Kong to Bahrain.[6] A pilot gallery in a mall [5] in Cambridge Ontario, in 2013 saw almost 8000 visitors in the four and a half months the museum was open there.[7]
Hespeler Post Office
In June 2015 the museum opened in a 3,000 square foot decommissioned post-office that had been opened in 1929[8] in the former town of Hespeler, now a neighbourhood of Cambridge.[4][3] The museum retained and restored the original terrazzo floors and installed replicas of antique light fixtures for lighting.[8] A restoration project for the clock over the museum's front doors was funded by the public.[9] The town of Cambridge was once a textile manufacturing hub, making the museum a suitable fit with the town's history.[3]
Collection
The museum's collection encompasses over 10,000 items.[4] These items range from what may be the oldest existing European shoe worn in North America (it was reputedly worn in New Amsterdam and dates to about 1660),[2] to dresses by Hollywood designer Adrian (Adolph Greenberg)[4] to 1970s handbags made from cigarette packs.[6]
Exhibitions
Before establishing the current gallery space, the museum created travelling exhibitions and pop-up shows.
2009 exhibitions
Open Drawers (Collection highlights) - Guelph Civic Museum, August 15–30
Talkin' Bout My Generation (1960s fashion) - Waterloo Region Children's Museum, June–September
Everyday Wear (Daywear fashions 1820 - 1920) - Ball's Falls Centre for Conservation, November 2009 - January 2010
2010 exhibitions
The Towering Art of the Shoe (high heeled shoes 1780 - 1980) - New Town Plaza, Sha Tin, China, May 2010
All exhibitions cancelled due to COVID, and instead, renovations were made to the gallery space
2022 exhibition
Museum reopened briefly in December 2021 before closing again in January, and reopening February 23, 2022. Exhibitions include:
300 Years of Fashion - 40 Outfits Illustrating the History of Fashion 1720 - 2020
Frock On - A Century of Teenage Fashion, Music, and Culture, 1920 - 2020
Specs Appeal - A History of Eyewear (renamed from its original title 20/20 that was to debut in 2020)
Portraits from Mali: Photographs by Malick Sidibe and Seydou Keïta 1951 - 1976
References
^"About Us". FHM. Fashion History Museum. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ a b c d eSlone, Isabel (18 May 2016). "Welcome to the Fashion History Museum of Cambridge, Ontario". Racked. Vox. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ a b c dWeidner, Johanna (10 September 2015). "Fashion a window to history at Cambridge museum". Guelph Mercury. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ a b c dAggerholm, Barbara (1 November 2014). "Fashion museum styling a permanent home in Cambridge". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^ a b cIngrid. "Fashion in the Museum: The Opening of The Fashion History Museum". Worn Through; Apparel from an Academic Perspective. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^ a bHicks, Jeff (26 July 2013). "Fashion History Museum opens in Cambridge". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^Aggerholm, Barbara (June 2014). "After a fashion". Grand.
^ a b c d e fMartin, Ray (9 July 2015). "Fashion History Museum settles into Hespeler core". Cambridge Times. Retrieved 14 December 2016.
^Martin, Ray (24 May 2016). "There's a whole lot happening in Hespeler". Cambridge Times. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^ a b c dBuchanan, Vinnie (6 May 2016). "Fashion museum a hidden treasure in Hespeler". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
^Buchanan, Vinnie (6 May 2016). "Museum a Hidden Treasure in Hespeler". The Record.
^ a bCorkum, Keith (4 Aug 2016). "Fashion exhibit combs through Ken's closet".
^"Calendar". Fashion History Museum. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
^Thompson, Catherine (13 November 2016). "Fur, feathers and controversy Museum explores fashion's uneasy history with animals". Waterloo Region Record. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
^"Dior: 1947 - 1962 | Ontario Museums".
^"Fashioning Canada Since 1867". 14 March 2017.
^"Looking good, eh? Fashion museum showcases the best of Canadian style | CBC News".
