Dr Bethan Bide collaborates in upcoming major exhibition at the Museum of London

Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style is a major exhibition at the Museum of London which uncovers the major contribution of Jewish designers in making London an iconic fashion city.

Fashion Historian and Dr Bethan Bide, School of Design, is collaborating with Dr Lucie Whitmore, Fashion Curator at the Museum of London Docklands, as the Academic Advisor to its upcoming major exhibition, Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style (13 October 2023-14 April 2024). The exhibition will uncover the major contribution of Jewish designers in making London an iconic fashion city and draws on research conducted by Dr Bide and Dr Whitmore. This research was made possible by a grant from the Pasold Research Fund. 

Hat designed by Otto Lucas - image provided by Museum of London

From East End tailors to the couture salons of the West End, the exhibition tells the overlooked story of Jewish designers, makers and retailers responsible for some of the most recognisable looks of the 20th century. Featuring fashion and textiles, oral histories, objects, ephemera and photography, Fashion City will use the places and spaces of London to weave together individual stories with a broader social history.

Representing all levels of the fashion industry at key moments throughout the twentieth century, the exhibition will allow visitors to step into the world of a 1960s Carnaby Street shopping boutique and a traditional tailoring workshop from the East End. Fashion City: How Jewish Londoners Shaped Global Style will be the first major exhibition in two decades centred on the museum’s extensive Dress & Textile collection.

Rahvis evening gown 1952 - image provided by Museum of London