Inspired by Autumn de Wilde’s recent feature film of Jane Austen’s EMMA, in which the house was Emma’s home of Hartfield, Firle Place will be hosting The Regency Wardrobe, an exhibition by Stephanie Smart in September & October 2021.
Tickets will be available to purchase from April 2021.
More here: https://firle.com/the-regency-wardobe/
This exquisite collection of 11 Regency costumes and a myriad of accompanying accessories, has been created by the hands of decorative paper textile artist Stephanie Smart, but all is not as it first appears… Astonishingly each of the items in the entire collection, from dresses and shoes, to fans, jackets and bonnets, have been entirely made from only paper and thread. The exhibition re-interprets the popular Regency art form of the paper cut silhouette and also responds to the history of Firle Place, with one piece uniquely inspired by one of the most famous parts of our historic collection.
The exhibition will be displayed throughout the house, using the historic room settings, (many still featuring their confection of Regency colours from the film of EMMA), as the perfect period backdrop for the costumes. The exhibition will culminate in a beautiful ball dress in-situ on a Regency style chalked floor – an ephemeral art almost lost to time. Frequently created for Regency balls, (initially for the safety of the dancers whose shoes could slip on the floors), chalking the floor brought a new transient dimension to the ballroom decorations, which would turn to dust over the course of the evening.
Stephanie Smart started her unique fashion house and fine art studio, The House of Embroidered Paper, in 2017. Each garment she produces is a work of paper textiles employing paper craft techniques and embroidery and inspired by period and place. The ambition behind every piece is that it be simultaneously visually beautiful, technically ambitious and conceptually interesting.
The exhibition is a beautiful representation of Regency style which will undoubtedly be a highlight of the Firle year.
Some of items in the collection will be for sale at www.stephaniesmart.wixsite.com
