By Hannah Fox
Opening this weekend is “House Style: Five Centuries of Fashion at Chatsworth,” set to be the largest exhibition to ever be staged at Devonshire’s family home. The Gucci-sponsored exhibit will feature 500 years’ worth of style, including couture pieces, wedding gowns, coronation robes plus 19th century fancy dress alongside letters, photographs, examples of textiles and design as well as the family’s famous collection of bug and insect jewellery.
Six gowns from the 1897 Devonshire House Ball, also known as the “party of the century,” will be featured as part of the exhibit. As part of the Gucci sponsorship, the exhibition also features two dresses designed by the fashion house’s creative director Alessandro Michele; the Duchess’s dress was inspired by the Merian books in the Devonshire Collection and can be found in the State Closet, while the heavily beaded dress for Lady Burlington is shown in the State Music room.
The idea for the exhibit came when Lady Laura Burlington (wife of William Cavendish, the Earl of Burlington, son and heir of the 12th Duke of Devonshire and current resident of the home) was looking through the Chatsworth textile archives for a christening gown for her son. She came across huge collection of clothing and textiles that has amassed over the centuries and that would be perfect for an exhibit.
“It is so exciting to see the designs become a reality for this complex and layered exhibition. House Style has developed over the last six years to encompass far more than we originally envisaged when we first started delving into the Chatsworth archive,” said Lady Burlington to InStyle. “In some cases, clothes that haven’t seen each other since the 19th century are being reunited. I hope visitors will appreciate the scale and ambition of the exhibition, and enjoy exploring the stories that this clothing and memorabilia reveal about the Cavendish family.”
The exhibition will take place at Chatsworth House to 22 October.