Early in Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway, the titular character reflects on her wardrobe during an early morning stroll down Bond Street: “Her old Uncle William used to say a lady is known by her shoes and her gloves…” Less than a century later, and the latter have become more practical necessity than fashion requirement – their brief resurgence on the spring/summer 2018 catwalks notwithstanding.
Now, a major exhibition at the Fashion Museum Bath is putting a spotlight on the considerable role that gloves have played in fashion history. “Everybody blames the 1960s for gloves falling by the wayside somewhat,” says Rosemary Harden, curator of Glove Stories. “Until that point, every little girl tried to emulate her mother with their clothes. Then the youth quake happened in Swinging London, there was a different mode of dressing thanks to designers like Mary Quant, and, with that, out they went.”
It marked the downturn of a British industry that had thrived for centuries – ever since the Worshipful Company of Glovers was founded in London in 1349, receiving a Royal Charter from King Charles I in 1638. It’s the Worshipful Company’s own collection – featuring gloves from the last 400 years – that form the bulk of Glove Stories. “It felt vital to showcase the truly exquisite craftsmanship that went into producing gloves in Britain through the years,” Harden continues. “There used to be hundreds of dedicated specialists across Britain, particularly in Somerset, Dorset, and Wiltshire.”
Among the more than 150 gloves on display are several pieces of royal attire – including the coronation gloves worn by both Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Elizabeth II, which will be shown alongside each other for the first time in history from July. Also featured are the Duke of Edinburgh’s carriage-driving gloves, made using doeskin from the Balmoral estate, and a pair of the 19th-century Limerick gloves favoured by Queen Victoria – cut from such fine leather that they could be rolled up and kept in a walnut.
Most stunning of all, however, are the collection of 17th-century gloves. By the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, gloves had a central role in a host of symbolic rituals – from initiating duels (known as “throwing down the gauntlet”) to receiving visitors, when a pair was often gifted by the host. By extension, they became wildly elaborate, featuring lavish satin panels; silver and gold thread; and embroidery depicting birds, flowers, and life at court.
Not that the practical uses of gloves are neglected in Glove Stories. Also on display are a pair of multi-terrain combat gloves worn by a Logistic Support Team Commander during 2012’s Operation Herrick in Afghanistan and a Soviet cosmonaut’s glove from a 1986 space mission. Quirkiest of all? The pair worn by Star Wars actor Mark Hamill for his role in The Empire Strikes Back.
Glove Stories is on display at the Fashion Museum Bath through March 1, 2020.
