Meet Elisabeth Murray, who has recently moved to Bath as the new Senior Curator of Fashion Museum Bath, having previously worked as a curator at the V&A.
How long have you lived in Bath?
I moved to Bath in the summer of 2024 – it’s great to get to live in such a beautiful part of the world. The Fashion Museum and its re-development is first and foremost for the residents of BANES, and for me it was essential to immerse myself in the community to understand how the Museum can best serve everyone.
What associations do you have with The Fashion Museum?
I have very fond memories of visiting the Museum. Its Collection is designated by Arts Council England as one of outstanding national significance and it was fantastic to see so many beautiful and important pieces on display. There is incredible expertise within the Fashion Museum team, and so it was particularly interesting to see what temporary exhibitions were programmed, and the curatorial approach taken. It’s now a pleasure to get to work with the team behind the shows.
You previously worked as a curator at the V&A. How did this develop your interest in fashion history?
I moved to the V&A from Hampton Court and Kensington Palace, where I had worked in the Royal Ceremonial Dress Collection. At the V&A I was based in the Textiles and Fashion section and worked across the collection, on gallery displays, learning projects, and on two major exhibitions Africa Fashion and Naomi: In Fashion. It was inspiring to work with so many talented fashion creatives. It was also wonderful to be surrounded by so many colleagues with a textile and fashion specialism.
Why did you decide to work as a curator?
I always liked history, and knew I wanted a career in that area. I particularly loved fashion history but thought it was too niche to actually be able to focus on! Little did I know… At this point I had no idea ‘curator’ was even a job – that is one of the reasons I’m so keen to make the different jobs in museums visible, so everyone knows the potential careers open to them. For me, I was lucky that I did some work experience at a historic house and spent time working with their fashion collection (a polite phrase for some clothes in the trunk in the attic). It was great and I’ve never really looked back.
What are your work priorities for 2025?
The priority for me is familiarising myself with the Collection which contains over 100,000 objects, ranging from haute couture and ready-to-wear to home dressmaking and high-street fashion. The Collection also has archival material such as fashion publications, photography and designer archives, as well as unique objects such as the only known dress worn by Queen Charlotte housed in a museum collection. Getting to know this vast collection, immersing myself in the local community and getting to know my Fashion Museum colleagues are all key priorities. As you can imagine, I’ve only just begun to scratch the surface!
What sort of care is required for the collection?
Fashion objects, like all items in museum collections, require carefully controlled environmental conditions – such as precise temperature, relative humidity and light levels – to ensure they stay in good condition. Our team monitor and care for the collection at our temporary home at Dents Glovemakers in Warminster. A major priority is the continual cataloguing of the collection, working to expand the knowledge held and recorded about each piece. We also want to make sure everything gets photographed, which is no small task. It may sound quite ephemeral, but good documentation is fundamental to the care of the collection, and the research will all feed into the new Museum.
Do you have a favourite outfit from the collection?
I have so many favourites, and they change daily. A piece I find hugely powerful is a menswear ensemble designed by Bianca Saunders for The Missing Thread: Untold Stories of Black British Fashion exhibition at Somerset House in 2023, recently acquired as part of our Dress of the Year programme. Saunder’s look was a celebration of the work of Trinidadian textile artist Althea McNish (1924-2020), one of the first designers of African-Caribbean descent to receive international recognition. It marks the work of two incredible creatives and is a powerful reminder of the role fashion plays in sparking and mediating conversation.
The Fashion Museum Bath is temporarily closed for a major transformation to create an eminent new Fashion Museum located in the Old Post Office building in the city centre. For more details, visit fashionmusuem.co.uk