Vintage finds inspire nostalgia of times gone by

A treasure trove of vintage fashion will be on display in a fundraiser for Dunedin’s iD show. Rebecca Fox talks to Jane Malthus and Sally McMillan about what they have found. When dress historian and curator Dr Jane Malthus opened a suitcase and found a treasure trove of vintage dresses, she could not help herself. They had to come home with her. "I was just gasping. I was so thrilled these clothes still existed and hadn’t just been thrown away." The suitcase wasone of two that belonged to Central Otago fashion collector Eden Hore’s housekeeper, Alma McElwain. McElwain, who modelled part time and was with him at Glenshee for 12 years, was, according to a 1996 piece in New Zealand Geographic published shortly before his death, thought to have ignited Eden’s interest in fashion. Malthus, who co-authored Central Otago Couture about Hore’s collection of more than 220 high-end fashion items, had been rung by a Canterbury family who had the suitcases. The suitcases had been given to them by McElwain, who was working nearby for a time, but her employer did not want all the clothes in his house. “So she had gifted some of them to this woman, who had three daughters.” Malthus could not help herself when she got the call. She had to go to have a look. "I knew that there were more clothes than was in Eden's collection because he said in an interview, and it's one of the interviews that's playing in the Toitū [Otago Settlers Museum] exhibition, that he started buying clothes in the early ’60s, and none of those clothes were in the collection.” © Allied MediaThe purple twill weave coat, a fabric take on the Central Asian-styles of the late 1960s and early 1970s, by Miss Cantwell c1971 which was the label of Cantwell Creations based in Christchurch. Behind is an orange plaid coat by Selby c1970, who was better known for shoes but made tailored clothes from the 1950s-1970s. Photo: Gregor Richardson. Having been asked not to sell the clothes, the family had kept them for many years, wearing the occasional dress. When Malthus opened the suitcases, she could not believe what she found — dress after designer dress. "The upshot was I took the two suitcases home with me thinking we would just add them to the collection.” Unfortunately, it was not that easy. The collection is owned by the Central Otago District Council (CODC) and is overseen by the the Eden Hore Central Otago Trust. "We just don’t have any extra storage space at the moment.’’ So the garments are being looked after by Malthus, on racks in archival boxes in her home. When Malthus, wearing her other hat as a member of the iD Dunedin board, and its co-chair Sally McMillan wanted to do a fundraiser for the trust in the year iD is not held, showcasing vintage fashion seemed an obvious pick. Malthus got permission from the Eden Hore trust to use the suitcase dresses in a fundraiser. "And then other people came out with their archives. That was a little surprising thing for us, that some people have kept all sorts of things,” McMillan says. As iD has had a focus on sustainability for many years, an archive show fitted well with its ethos. Textile and clothing manufacture is one of the biggest contributors to waste in the world which many in the fashion industry are trying to address. "So doing an archive show makes sense for us. Showing people that you can wear vintage, you can update it, reimagine it.’’ © Allied MediaThe orange floral sheer dress of the late 1960s is from Milady Styles of Auckland who specialised in making dresses from lightweight chiffons and gauzes, often including tiered ruffles. Behind is a lavender outfit by Auckland designer Kevin Berkahn. Photo: Gregor Richardson Instead of getting rid of quality fashion pieces, put them in the back of the wardrobe, McMillan advises. "But don't throw it out. I know sometimes things do shrink in the wardrobe and that can be a problem for a lot of people.” Malthus was wearing a Dada skirt on the day of the interview that she had not been able to wear for a while. "So case in point.’’ The idea with the show was to take the archive garments and reimagine them on today’s models. "We've raided the wardrobes of various Dunedin fashion mavens, of which there are thankfully many, and come up with some fantastic stuff from between, I guess, maybe the ’80s to about 2000.” © Allied MediaGarments from Dunedin's Nom*D : The fair isle dress is from the RED Collection, inter-2003, to be worn with the red long socks; The Invincible blazer is from Nom*D winter 2002. Photo: Gregor Richardson Margie Robertson, from Dunedin’s NomD, has lent garments from her own archive of NomD outfits shown at the early iD fashion shows. Tanya Carlson has also lent garments for her own personal collection. "They’re both really well-loved Dunedin designers.” Nostalgia is one of the reasons many people have saved these garments, Malthus and McMillan say. "They’re central events in their lives that people associate the clothes with. We’re hoping there is a huge amount of nostalgia around clothing, and we're hoping that people will be sitting there on the night going, ‘oh my God, you used to have that! And do you remember I wore that to Sharon's wedding? Oh God, that terrible dress that you had to wear as a bridesmaid; oh my God, it was so itchy’,” McMillan says. McMillan, a lawyer, has contributed her first suit — a red leather skirt and jacket by Brigid Brock she wore to court with white heels. Brock’s designs were known for her variations in shape and proportion and as it was the 1980s, big shoulder pads were a given. “It’s very of its time. I could barely walk in it. And definitely couldn't sit down in it.” Eventually, her boss said she might want to get something a bit more conservative. "Because apparently red leather with white stilettos, apparently that wasn't conservative. Like you'd no more wear that to work, particularly as a lawyer these days, than fly to the moon, so to speak.” Dunedin’s Barbara Brinsley has also shared some of her collection of overseas designers, garments she has bought second hand. There is also the outfit Lyn Farry modelled in the 1966 Benson Hedges Fashion Design Awards — the winning Wool Award entry, a coat and dress ensemble designed and made by Lower Hutt designer Colleen Stroud. "She’s kept it all these years.” The McElwain collection includes pieces by designers such as Colin Cole, Lewis Townsend, Kevin Berkahn and Siltex. "Siltex was really big in its day for probably older women,” Malthus says. They include trouser suits and mini dresses, some with intricate embroidery and beading that would have been hand-sewn by designers such as Berkahn, a bridal and evening wear designer. "Kevin would have stitched all that on by hand. So the leaves might have been beaded up already, but he would have pieced it all. He loved doing that stuff. It's really special.” Another find was an early “bare midriff” design of purple and silver brocade trousers with a full-length overgarment by Berkahn. The outfits have led Malthus to do more research into the history behind the garments, discovering Barbara Hulanicki, who founded the iconic London fashion label Biba in 1963, reintroduced the empire line to fashion. "She was all about nostalgia and reintroduced this empire line which is a really big thing in the ’60s.” Townsend, a notable New Zealand designer and pattern maker of the time, used it in his “1960s take on Jane Austen dressing”. He worked for the likes of El Jay and Liz Mitchell as well as producing under his own label Lewis Townsend Original. Much care has been taken with garments when they are being tried on and modelled. But Hore often encouraged people to try on the dresses when they visited him. "That is one of the reasons why I felt we could justify using these things as it’s because that’s what he did. He took them around all sorts of places, fundraising for Plunket , and garden clubs, you name it. He did garden parties at his house outside of Naseby,” Malthus says. “We can use them in the spirit in which they were kind of intended to be used.” Holding archiveD at the Savoy, a venue that holds memories of dances, weddings, birthdays and afternoon teas, is also fitting. "It's got a fantastic sort of vintage faded glory thing going on, which echoes with the clothes.” While the hair and make-up for iD is required to be fairly neutral, they hope with the help of Dunedin salon and iD supporter Aart, it will be a “wee bit more special” for the archive show. "It’s pretty exciting.” The models will walk the catwalk to music suited to the garment’s history. "Every one is a banger. I hope, like the clothes, the music will resonate,” McMillan says. They hope the one-off event will help raise funds for the iD Dunedin Fashion Charitable Trust. "People find it very hard to take a charity seriously when basically it's about frocks.” McMillan says what people fail to realise is iD actively fosters the fashion design community including the Otago Polytechnic School of Fashion and associated departments. "We have many, many volunteers at every event and they're getting really valuable hands-on experience. So it's a kind of one-stop shop for the furthering of education across those different disciplines.” However, like most charities, funding in New Zealand is very tough. As a result iD had moved to putting on a show every two years. To see: archiveD, The Savoy, August 27, 7pm.

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