From Whitechapel to Oxford Street, the contribution of Jewish designers in making London an iconic fashion city cannot be underestimated. Join us to celebrate quintessential London style in an electrifying night inspired by our Fashion City exhibition. Enjoy music, talks and workshops that immerse you in everything from colourful East End fashion to the glitz and glamour of Carnaby Street. Don’t be afraid to wear your finest and show what really makes the city a fashion capital!
FULL PROGRAMME:
Ground floor (food and drink available 7-10pm)
Performance | 7.45 – 8.30pm; 9 – 9.45pm
Grab a drink and join Jewish performance collective ‘Homos and Houmous’ for an evening of drag, trivia and games as they bring 1920s cabaret to the East End. Think Shabbat dinner argument meets Bette Midler doing musical stand-up in a New York bathhouse.
Exhibition tours | 7.15pm; 8.15pm
Join one of our hosts for an introductory tour of our Fashion City exhibition, highlighting the major contribution of Jewish designers in making London an iconic fashion city.
Headwear making workshop | 7 – 9.30pm
Drop in to our creative hub and make your own outfit-elevating headwear with award-winning milliner, Sahar Freemantle.
Club MiniJupe | 7pm – 9.45pm
Dance along to the 60s pop and psychedelia sounds of DJ Leenda Karina.
3rd floor
‘Second-hand trade in 19th Century London’ pop-up talk | 7.30 – 8pm
Learn about the history of the second-hand clothing trade, Jewish old clothes dealers and their connections to contemporary sustainability issues and ethical consumption today with Danielle Dove.
Maytime in Mayfair film screening | 8 – 9.45pm
A 1949 classic telling the story of an impoverished man who becomes heir to a glamorous West End fashion house. With an introduction from Beatrice Behlen, Senior Curator of Fashion and Decorative Arts.
‘M&S: Foundations of a fashion city’ pop-up talk | 8 – 8.30pm
Get intimate with fashion history and explore the unique role of M&S and other Jewish designers in developing new styles of underwear in the 20th Century in this talk with Lorraine Topper.
‘From the Islands to the City’ pop-up talk | 8.30 – 9pm
Discover stories about new life in London and multigenerational love of fashion with Rianna Norbert-David, building on histories of the East End fashion trades and the work and lives of Windrush generation tailors.
A STITCH IN TIME: MENDING WORKSHOP
Sun 18 Feb | 10.30am-12.30pm | Tickets from £25
Throughout history, the clothes we wear have been mended, remade and adjusted – something that has become less common with mass-manufactured fast fashion. Inspired by our Fashion City exhibition and the sewing and tailoring skills it highlights, we invite you to join a workshop showcasing the benefits of mending and reusing today. You will learn new skills including sashiko stitching and applique to creatively repair your clothes at home. Bring in your own items or use our materials and learn how to repair holes and make a patch. The workshop leader will also bring examples of repairs for inspiration and will give advice on how to tackle specific projects.
Alice Cullen is a textile designer and workshop leader with a passion for sprucing up second hand textiles to create ‘new’ clothes and accessories, to inspire people to shop differently and live more sustainably.
STORIES FROM THE FASHION CITY: AN AFTER-HOURS TOUR
Sun 11 Feb | 5-6.30pm | Tickets £16-£20
Join one of our museum hosts to learn about the Jewish designers, makers, and retailers featured in the Fashion City exhibition. This tour will explore how the lives of these individuals contributed to the creation of London as a centre of global fashion in the 20th century. From the tailor’s shops of London’s East End to the couture salons of the West End, Jewish people worked in various roles of the fashion industry. There will be time for you to explore the exhibit on your own after the guided portions of the tour.
WALKING LONDON’S QUEER HISTORY
Sat 3 Feb | 3-4.30pm | Tickets £12-£15
Queer people have lived in London since its founding and their traces can be found throughout the city. In recent times, we have seen queer people step decisively into the open, but what of those living in England’s capital through Roman occupation, the medieval period, and the English Civil War?
Walking through the City, we will uncover histories previously hidden from the narrative: queer struggle alongside queer love and joy, late night trysts in St Paul’s Cathedral, and thieves in controversial clothing. Starting at the Royal Exchange and ending in Farringdon, join us as we uncover stories that prove queer people have always been here – and always will be.
SECRETS OF THE WAREHOUSE
2-8 Feb | 1.30-2.15pm | Tickets £10-£12.50
Join one of our guides to explore the hidden history of our Georgian warehouse and its neighbouring streets. Visit some areas not regularly open to the public and gain an insight into the working lives of the Dockers who once walked these floors.
WELCOME TO DOCKLANDS TOUR
Sat 3 Feb | 2-3.15pm | Tickets £10-£12.50
This tour covers the history of London’s docks, the East End, and the people who have lived and worked here for over two centuries. Walking through the historic building that holds our wonderful museum, you will discover how unused marshland was transformed into the immense and iconic Canary Wharf! Your guide will take you through the grim details of working on the docks, the ins and outs of the Sailortowns of London, and the heroic efforts of those defending the docks during the war, as well as much more.
POST-WAR POPLAR AND THE WORLD OF CALL THE MIDWIFE
Sun 25 Feb | 2-3.30pm | Tickets £12-£15
Join our guide to explore the history of the streets of Poplar and their connections to Jennifer Worth’s first memoir, ‘Call the Midwife’. Stops will include the Lansbury Estate, Poplar High St and the site of Poplar Workhouse, Chrisp St Market, All Saints Church and St Frideswide’s Mission House (“Nonnatus” House). Hear about the local community, and the nurses and nuns of the Order of St John Divine who served them.
WALKING THE FASHION CITY: WEST END
Sun 25 Feb | 11am-1pm | Tickets £16-£20
From individual dressmakers to designers providing the highest level of couture clothing, the West End has been home to a wide range of Jewish fashion makers over the twentieth century. On this walk, you’ll see the sites of these businesses, hear more about how they operated, and the ways in which the designers behind them managed to both transcend stereotypes and defy expectations. Covering sites of iconic boutiques, renowned London fashion houses and high street stores we all know and love, this walk with Nick Collinson, The Urban Rambler, is part of a special series inspired by our exhibition, Fashion City.
AN EVENING WITH MR FISH
Tue 5 March | 6.30-8.30pm | Tickets £8-£12
An evening celebrating Mr Fish, the Jewish ‘boy from Wood Green’ whose extraordinary creative vision became the centre of media frenzy in the sixties. Join us for an event that spans from the Swinging Sixties to the present to explore the playful and sometimes subversive approach to dressing adopted by Mr Fish and friends, which continues to impact fashion today.
From short talks exploring everything from the Peacock Revolution to David Bowie’s style, the evening will bring together fashion, music and conversation to reflect on the unapologetic individuality that came with Mr Fish designs and garnered a loyal following in everyone from fashionable young professionals to international celebrities.
MAKING THE WEST END A FASHION DESTINATION
Tue 19 March | 6.30-8pm | Tickets £8-£12
Join us and learn more about the stories of Jewish designers, makers and retailers who made London’s West End a fashion destination. From the glitz and glamour of Carnaby Street boutiques to the sophisticated styles of couturiers, the West End has been home to a host of fashion makers who dressed the rich and famous and founded retail chains still on today’s high street.
In this discussion, we invite our guests to reflect on the broad range of fashion stories in the West End and explore how Jewish makers of all levels of fame and obscurity contributed to making London a fashion capital.