Archival Elegance

DRESSING FOR POWER IN THE 1980S

MEET SARAH NICOLS, CURATOR FOR THE ENGAGING COLLECTIONS AT LEICESTERSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL'S MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

IMAGE: Suit by Thierry Mugler - Leicestershire Museum Archives 

NAME: Sarah Nicols

JOB DESCRIPTION: Curator - Engaging Collections. The main part of my job is to facilitate access to the museum's collections, allowing people to come and view the archives for either work or private study.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE COLLECTIONS? 

The Fashion Collections span from 1750 through to the present day and number over 20,000 pieces of costume including underwear, dresses, separates, coats, women's and men's tailoring, handbags, hats, shoes and fans. Made up of designer wear, high street and home-made garments, the archive helps to give a glimpse into the lives of ordinary people.

We are proud to have a collection that can be handled, photographed, and examined in every detail. You can look inside the garments learning about their construction, you can see and feel the different fabrics that have been used to mount, line and support the garment, offering you a unique insight into these historic clothes. The resources that we have offer the visitor an experience that is just not possible from online images and garments on display.

CAN YOU TELL US WHAT piece within the archive evokes power and why?

Has to be a piece by Thierry Mugler (1945-2022). Woman's black wool suit trimmed with crystal and star shaped clasps, mid 1980s.

It's the strong structured feel of the whole outfit, the wide shoulders and the narrow waistline that to me, evokes power and takes me back to the power dressing of the 1980s.

Before the 1970s most working women were confined to traditional female occupations, secretaries and typists. By the 1980s more women were becoming lawyers, politicians, and corporate executives. In these new roles a new identity was needed, a new way of dressing emerged led by the French designer Thierry Mugler and became known as the 'Power Suit', helping women to be taken seriously in traditionally male dominated careers.

HOW CAN WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ARCHIVES AND COLLECTIONS? 

You can follow the collections on Instagram at @leicestershire_collections

or visit the website at www.leicestershirecollections.org.uk

Alternatively, you can contact the collections directly via email to book a viewing at:  museums@leics.gov.uk (Museum Collections) or fashion@leics.gov.uk (Fashion Collections)