Dr Susan North, curator of Fashion before 1800 at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, speaks to Poppy Benner about a very special acquisition made possible by the legacy of V&A benefactor, Betty Saunders

I am the V&A’s curator of Fashion before 1800, and have worked at the museum for over 26 years. Previously I worked for the National Archives of Canada. My route to the V&A was a long and circuitous one, from failed scientist to art historian and then to dress historian, but all this disparate experience has proved remarkably useful as a fashion curator.

Typical activities of my role include cataloguing my collection, selecting and researching objects for new displays or publications, such as 18th-Century Fashion in Detail (2018), writing book and label texts, styling objects for photography and answering enquiries about historical fashion for researchers and students.

Acquisitions is a very important activity involving research, proposals to senior colleagues, and negotiating the funding for purchases. In the case of T.26-2018 – the beautiful Dutch gown of the 1770s made with English printed cotton (pictured) – it was offered to us by a trusted dealer in textiles and dress. It would normally have been beyond the means of our extremely modest acquisition budget, but because of a very generous bequest we were able to purchase it. Betty Saunders had had a successful career in the fashion industry, working with lots of luxury brands, and she was also a dedicated volunteer and V&A Member. So, to honour her contribution to fashion, we used her bequest to acquire this dress – the earliest example of a printed gown in the V&A’s collection.

The V&A is very fortunate to have a team of excellent conservators to look after our textile and fashion collections. Once the gown had been acquired, I worked with colleagues in Textile Conservation, who mounted it elegantly on a mannequin and then, with colleagues in Technical Services, to install it in Case 1 of the V&A’s Fashion Gallery. Finding the resources to continue to build our collections is always a challenge. Historical fashion is increasingly rare, and the public is well aware of its monetary value, so almost all the most significant garments have to be purchased. We rely on our colleagues in Development and the generosity of benefactors to help us with this.

Our ‘dedicated followers of fashion’ are many and very diverse! Some visitors want to see the latest contemporary fashions on display, while some are interested in historical dress. Many others are makers – embroiderers, lace-makers, weavers, fashion designers and fashion students – and they want to see the textiles and fashion in our stores to study materials, techniques, structures and designs. This helps to instruct and inspire their own creations.

Everything in my collection is a rare and special survival that has managed to escape relentless recycling, centuries ago. Because of the work involved (and no small element of luck if bidding at auction), each new acquisition, such as the 1770s Dutch gown, becomes my centre of focus and a ‘new’ favourite. This dress tells an intriguing story of textile trade and fashion influence in late 18thcentury Europe. The ‘English gown’ became a fashionable style for informal dress beyond Britain during this period. The Netherlands had its own very vibrant local industry of printing cottons, as well as imported calicos from India, but printed cottons from England were also fashionable and highly desired.

Donations in Wills provide vital financial support for the V&A and help to protect the collection for future generations to enjoy. If you would like to speak to one of the V&A’s legacy experts or request a hard copy of their legacy brochure, please call 020 7942 2898 or email legacy@vam.ac.uk. For more details on how your gift could help, visit vam.ac.uk/info/legacies