Textile Craze Fashion and Decoration under the Second Empire

From 07 June 2013 to 14 October 2013

This ongoing exhibition is organised by the musées nationaux du Palais de Compiègne, the musée de l’Impression sur Etoffes in Mulhouse and the Réunion des musées nationaux [the Musée de la Mode et du Textile (Decorative Arts) Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, and the Musée des Tissus de Lyon] - Grand Palais.

The exhibition at the Palais de Compiègne looks at the extraordinary quality and variety of textile design during the Second Empire and explores the parallels between clothing and upholstery fabrics. Fabrics were very much in vogue in home decoration and fashion under the Second Empire (1852 - 1870), encouraged by the sumptuous festivities in the court of Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie and by unprecedented development in the textile industry. Crinoline dresses demanded yards of fabric and ever more trimmings, while the imperial palaces or private mansions made lavish use of fabrics to decorate walls and furniture, as contemporary photographs show. Textiles became a symbol of wealth and comfort. This escalade, fuelled by technical innovations and the first department stores, created a veritable ‘craze’ for textiles.

Photo Credit: Palais Impérial de Compiègne

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