Barnsley fashion exhibition strutting to Cannon Hall Museum in style

After a delay of three years caused by COVID-19, a fashion exhibition featuring expert photography of some of the industry’s biggest names, haute couture, and unique garments heads to Barnsley this summer.

Open at Cannon Hall Museum from 20 May and running until 10 September, ‘Catwalking: Fashion Through the Lens of Chris Moore’ charts the changing face of the catwalk over six decades.

The impressive exhibition celebrates fashion editorial and visitors will be able to enjoy the extraordinary collection from The Bowes Museum featuring 200 original photographs by Chris Moore. These showcase era-defining fashion moments, as captured in the salons of innovative designer André Courrèges in the 1960s all the way to the meteoric rise of supermodels such as Linda Evangelista, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell who came to be the epitome of high fashion.

The exhibition offers a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the fashion industry, with interview footage providing further insight into the craft of a man, now 89, who has seen and shot it all.

Alison Cooper, Exhibitions Officer, said: “Chris Moore has captured iconic fashion moments throughout the decades and to see his images hanging on the walls at Cannon Hall will be a real treat for visitors.

“Visitors will be able to see the original supermodels up close and wonder at the designs of the top fashion houses.  Barnsley has always had a strong fashion presence dating back to Georgian times and local links will be celebrated and explored in the exhibition.”

Cannon Hall Museum will also display original catwalk outfits from the houses of Jean Paul Gaultier, Comme des Garçons, and Vivienne Westwood. This stunning display also pays homage to the Barnsley women who made their mark in the fashion industry.

Victoria Nixon, a Barnsley-born ex-model and now published author, is one of these key figures. Known for modelling a steel dress for British Steel she has created a replica of the gown which will feature as part of the exhibition at Cannon Hall Museum.

Another key figure in fashion editorial, British journalist and Global Editorial Director of Vogue, Dame Anna Wintour DBE shares a unique connection to Cannon Hall. Her grandfather’s first wife, Cicely Spencer Stanhope, was the second daughter of Walter Spencer Stanhope of Cannon Hall. When Cicely sadly died, he remarried to Alice Foster, and had two children, one being Anna’s father Charles Wintour.

Lastly, if that wasn’t enough, the exhibition will feature ‘A Male Perspective: Redressing Fashion’ featuring looks collected over the past 40 years by Simon Nicholls, a Barnsley-based salon owner who considers himself, not so much a traditional collector but rather a fan who has ended up as, the ‘custodian of a collection’.

Simon said: “Fashion, both male and female, is a brilliant way to express yourself and channel your creativity. Male fashion has created some iconic looks over the decades and I am delighted that these garments will sit alongside the female costumes in the exhibition offering a unique male perspective on the collection.”

The collection will see a Vivienne Westwood Striped Bondage Tailored Suit from 1995 and ‘Sex’ T-Shirt rereleased from 1976, an Alexander McQueen embroidered suit and a fringed and embroidered shirt, both from 1999, worn with a feather neck piece, and a Jean Paul Gaultier one shoulder suit from 1985.

Simon added: “Gaultier showed a collection titled Et Dieu Créa l'Homme (And God Created Man) where male models wore wide-leg trousers, with a wrap over panel giving the appearance they were wearing skirts. He returned to the ‘man-skirt’ in various forms throughout his career – from printed sarongs, forever immortalised by 90s-era David Beckham to the kilt-like style the designer made his own personal uniform.”

You can find out more about the full exhibition on our website.