by our exhibitions and the collection.
Recent acquisitions
Hollywood glamour in Manchester
On Tuesday 8 December, Manchester Gallery of Costume's Dr Miles Lambert successfully bid for an Audrey Hepburn dress for the Gallery's collection. The dress, which was worn by the Hollywood star, is an haute couture fuchsia pink evening gown from 1967 designed by Hubert Givenchy, Audrey's favourite dress designer. The piece was bought from Kerry Taylor Auctions in London for £3,500 (hammer price). The dress will go on display in the newly refurbished Gallery of Costume, which is currently undergoing major improvements and will re-open on 13 March 2010.
The purchase was part funded by the Manchester Art Gallery Friends and the MLA/V&A Purchase fund.
Georgina von Etzdorf outfits
Georgina von Etzdorf, evening jacket in 'Hothouse' design, 2001-2
Collecting
The Gallery collects about 150 new items per year, mostly outfits from the last 50 or 60 years, as the collections are already very strong pre-1945.
We have recently been very fortunate to receive a collection of outfits from the archives of Georgina von Etzdorf, one of the most innovative and creative British textile companies of the last 30 years. Eighteen outfits designed and produced by the firm have been donated, beginning with the first design 'Poppy' (1981) and moving through 25 years to 2006, when the company ceased trading.
This generous donation is in recognition of the successful retrospective exhibition held at Manchester Art Gallery in 2006.
Descriptions and images of all the outfits can be found in our online collection.
Georgina von Etzdorf, evening dress in 'Neptune' design, 1998
The collection
Collection themes
