Robinshaw and Reid, circa 1905, Wellington, by Berry & Co. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa (B.044437).
Feathers have long been a fun part of fashion but did you that from the 1850s to the 1910s, feathers were considered the height of fashion? They were worn by royalty, military men, debutantes and fashionable women alike adorning all kinds of outfits and accessories. This Monday 5th July, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa is opening Feathermania: Fashion to die for, a new exhibition that celebrates how feathers formed an integral part of a fashionable woman’s wardrobe throughout the second half of the nineteenth century.
The exhibition has been curated to coincide with the recent release of Claire Regnault’s book Dressed: Fashionable Women’s Dress 1840 to 1910, published by Te Papa Press. Visitors can expect to see ‘feather finery’ using feathers sourced from all over the globe, including Aotearoa New Zealand. Feathermania features feather adorned mantles, fans, muffs, and matching collars and even jewellery from the national collection.
At the height of ‘feathermania’ in the late nineteenth century, an international fashion commentator even went as far as commenting that ‘A well dressed woman nowadays is as fluffy as a downy bird fresh from the nest’.
Feathermania: Fashion to die for is on at Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington from 5th July 2021 to late April 2022 with free entry.
Mantle, c. 1900, maker unknown. Gift of Mrs Phyllis Cousins, 1967. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (PC001072).
Feather pelerine, United Kingdom, maker unknown. Purchased 2010. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (GH016753).
Fan, circa 1902, maker unknown. Gift of Jean K. Gilmer, 2009. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Te Papa (GH016629).