fashion conservation

Conserving Dress: A Sequins of Events

Object Conservator Bethany Skuce discusses the challenges of working on the delicate Charlotte Duclos evening dress made from gelatine sequins.
 

"We definitely have to worry about the sweat from our hands when we're handling textiles in general, but it's a particular concern with this dress due to the humidity and heat sensitivity of the gelatine sequins".

Evening dress
Charlotte Duclos
1909
Gelatin sequins, silk

Worn by Mary Joy Newland (1883–1960), an American railroad heiress of Irish origin, who married the Dutch Count Julius Menno Frederik David van Limburg Stirum et du Saint Empire (1877–1954), of one of the oldest noble families of Europe, in 1908.

The sequins of the dress are an early form of plastic made of gelatin. Manufacturers in France started to produce gelatin sequins in the 1890s and they quickly became popular as they were lightweight, could be coated in any colour, and made into any size or shape. However, they are very difficult to clean and will melt if exposed to heat, or dissolve if exposed to sweat orrain. 

Donated 1988 by Ms Patricia Mencarelli

BELUM.T3003