History's killer fashion: arsenic dress to go on display at York Castle Museum
“Shaping the Body: Food, Fashion & Life” from 25 March 2016
In contemporary language, ‘killer fashion’ tends to refer to cutting-edge designs, but a new exhibition – Shaping the Body: Food, Fashion and Life - opening at York Castle Museum for Easter 2016 explores different periods in history where following the latest fashion trends could quite literally curtail your life expectancy!
As the exhibition’s senior curator, Ali Bodley, explains, fashion history is littered with designs and styles that would could have lethal consequences when worn: “Ingredients that we now know to be toxic were regularly used during the dying of fabrics or in cosmetics applied directly to the skin, but often in relatively low concentrations during each wear or application, so it is not until much later that the devastating effects would have been experienced.”
One example of this is a stunning Victorian green gown, which will be on display in the new exhibition. Part of the treatment process to produce its vibrant colour involved arsenic, and traces of the poison remain in the dress today – so curators wear gloves when handling it. “On a dry fabric, this might not cause too many problems, but as soon as the wearer started to perspire, the arsenic could be absorbed into the blood stream – and as the arsenic absorbed replaces phosphorus in the bone, it would accumulate until it reached levels where it could cause illnesses from rashes and ulceration to dizziness, confusion and weakness of the hands and feet – permanent damage for which there is still no cure,” explains Ali.
Indeed, arsenic is not the only poison used in clothing production – mercury was commonly used in the production of felt for hats, and those who inhaled its vapours often suffered physical and neurological ailments including formication – the sensation of small insects crawling under the skin - insomnia, profuse sweating or increased salivation. “This was the origin of the phrase ‘mad as a hatter’ – and the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland represented a person suffering from mercury poisoning,” adds Ali.
Other fashions on display were not lethal, but certainly paved the way for 21st century body modifiers, who also feature in the exhibition. Displays feature a selection of rare and unusual corsets, including one that cinched the waist to an eye-watering 19 inches. “This wasp waist corset was probably worn by a young woman, and would have been reasonably comfortable, designed to be worn whilst playing tennis as well as resting – something that could not be said of the most extreme examples of corsetry which took waists down to 16 to 18 inches,” comments Ali. “These corsets were designed to accentuate the curves from bust to waist to hips, but the years of having such a narrow waist would have forced compression of internal organs – and it is little wonder that women would faint given the slightest excitement!”
Shaping the Body takes a broad view of fashions worn by everyday people throughout history, as well as exploring how diet and lifestyle has affected health and body shape over the last 400 years, from the once popular ‘TB chic’ of pale skin and protruding shoulder blades, to the obesity crises of the 19th and 21st centuries. Visitors will also be able to compare their contemporary lifestyles with those of manual workers across the ages, to see how a modern gym session would compare to field ploughing or carpet beating!
Shaping The Body opens at York Castle Museum on 25 March 2016. For more details, please visit www.yorkcastlemuseum.org.uk
ENDS
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